PSU keeps frying hard drives

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KHoov72

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Jan 11, 2014
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Hey everyone,

So I've recently built a pc that I guess one could consider to be a higher end gaming rig. Everything has worked perfectly with the exception of my HDD. I currently boot and run from a 120 GB SSD and the computer runs pretty much flawlessly. When I try to add a HDD for some extra space however, the HDD dies.

This has happened with 3 different drives in a row with the same model HDD. The most recent time it was only hooked up to the PSU. I've verified that the drives are indeed dead after being plugged in to my computer by hooking them up to another computer.

The curious thing is that there are other components plugged in to the same power cord which remain unharmed.

Anyone have any ideas?
 
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maxwellmelon

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Oct 2, 2013
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is it the same connector all three times if so the connector could be wired wrong.
you take a multimeter and messure the voltages of the pins on that connector and compare it to specs. should only have 12 volt 5 volt and a 3.3 if its an sata power connector google. black should be ground, yellow 12 volt, and red 5 volt. if they are more then .5 volts higher then something is wrong. compare the black to ground by putting one of the test leads on the power supply metal case and make sure it reads 0 volts.
 
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fzabkar

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Sep 22, 2010
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Instead of just blindly replacing HDDs, you should be dumping your PSU. Moreover, you should be examining the HDD boards for physical damage. The most likely cause of failure is an overvoltage on either the +5V or +12V supply. Since your SSD is most likely a 5V-only device, I would suspect the +12V rail. Look for a shorted 12V TVS diode.

See http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/TVS_diode_FAQ.html

Photo clips:
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/

 
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KHoov72

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Jan 11, 2014
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I don't believe that its been the same connector every time but the one I used most recently is the most accessible so its certainly possible. Unfortunately my power cord is just all black wiring haha but I can figure that out I think. The voltage readings from my bios are 12.3V and 5.16V for the 12+ and 5+ respectively. I do own a multimeter that I could check the plugs with just to make sure though. Supposedly this PSU has over-voltage protection but who knows how well that works.

 
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KHoov72

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Would I be looking for the shorted TVS diode on the HDD? Also, do optical drives like a DVDR-W operate on only 5V as well? Because I'm also successfully powering one of those with this power supply. Sorry, forgot to mention that earlier.
 
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KHoov72

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That would make sense. 12.3 V is a little high but not terribly high I don't think. The HDD is a Seagate Barracuda 1TB drive, model ST1000DM003. It looks like I dont have a small enough torx bit to open the HDD so I dont know about getting a picture of it.
 
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9dost2

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Mar 2, 2014
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Did you determine what was causing the hdd's to fry?

I literally have the exact same problem. I have gone through three brand new hard drives (1 wd caught fire, 1 Seagate just died and would not spin up, and 1 wd ended up with the click of death). The last hdd I actually hooked it up with an external dock through a 3.0 usb. It worked fine and the computer recognized that it was there. It did not show that it was active, but at least it recognized it. I did not try partitioning it to make it active, I just decided to hook it up internally .... then the click of death resulted.

I boot off of a 128gb ssd, have one dvd-rom and the computer runs fine. Until I hook up a hdd. I checked the voltage in bios, everything is fine. I checked the voltage with a voltmeter on the 15 pin sata power connecter and the 5V, 12V and 3.3V all look to be ok. I also tried two different power connecters when connecting the hdd's with the same result.

I don't know if it matters but I have a Asus Z87-Pro motherboard and Corsair RM850 power supply.
 
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fzabkar

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Sep 22, 2010
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PSUs are under the most load during startup. Measuring the voltages after things have settled down is not a definitive test. During startup, a failing PSU is likely to overshoot, especially when a RAID array is spinning up all at once. That's when the damage occurs. You can minimise such problems by employing staggered spinup, or configuring your data drives to power up in standby (PUIS).

In any case you should examine the drive's TVS diodes. If they are shorted, then this will prove that your PSU was responsible.
 
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