Sata drives not detected?

WrathWasHere

Prominent
Jul 24, 2017
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Last Wednesday my disk drive and my two hard drives completely stopped working without any warning. I had just replaced my power supply recently so I tried using other power supplies, but it didn't fix it. I bought a new motherboard, but tried it out, but it didn't fix it. I tried other sata cables,but it did not fix it. I bought 2 new hard drives, but it did not fix it. When I looked in the bios it said that nothing was plugged in, when I currently have 2 cables in those drives. I reinstalled my sata drivers, but it didn't work. I have tried everything I could think of, what should I do?
 
Solution
You really don't have much of a choice at this point in time but to "start over" as it were.

You've just got to rebuild your system from the "ground up" as if you just assembled all your components and you begin the building process, along these lines...

(Before you begin we're assuming you've already checked out your memory with the Microsoft Windows Memory Diagnostic tool or other memory diagnostic program and you've checked out the CPU with the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool.)

Conceivably the problem(s) you've been experiencing can be due to a defective component, i.e., some hardware issue. It's difficult to tell at this point.

When all is said & done the only definitive way for the PC user to determine if it is a hardware issue...

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
1| Please list your full system's specs like so:
CPU:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:

2| You've mentioned that you needed to change the PSU, what was the make and model of your prior unit? Was there an issue to begin with?

3| I'm assuming you had a pair of unused SATA data cables that you used?
 

WrathWasHere

Prominent
Jul 24, 2017
6
0
520
CPU: i-5 6600k
Motherboard: Asrock z270
Ram: 2x8 GB Corsair Vengence
SSD/HDD: Samsung M.2 1 TB 850 Evo, WD Blue 1 TB 7200 RPM (3), WD Blue 3 TB 5400 RPM
GPU: MSI Branded GTX 1070 Gaming X
PSU: EVGA Supernova Platinum 750 watt
Case: Thermaltake v71
OS: Windows 10

2| a fully modular Corsair 750 Watt

3| I used spare ones and new ones that came with the new motherboard

Additional: The first bug I received that day was that my computer powered on but would not display anything. I then reset the CMOS and ended up with another issue, I was stuck in a loop of start up crashes and I noticed my drives weren't detected (except for my m.2 SSD). I fixed the start up issue but I still could not fix the drives. I have been in the bios numerous times and I still cannot find the solution
 

WrathWasHere

Prominent
Jul 24, 2017
6
0
520


This problem happened after I had the SSD and hard drives for 6 months. I figure that this is highly unlikely but I will check.
 
You really don't have much of a choice at this point in time but to "start over" as it were.

You've just got to rebuild your system from the "ground up" as if you just assembled all your components and you begin the building process, along these lines...

(Before you begin we're assuming you've already checked out your memory with the Microsoft Windows Memory Diagnostic tool or other memory diagnostic program and you've checked out the CPU with the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool.)

Conceivably the problem(s) you've been experiencing can be due to a defective component, i.e., some hardware issue. It's difficult to tell at this point.

When all is said & done the only definitive way for the PC user to determine if it is a hardware issue is to replace a possibly defective component with a known non-defective component. Realistically (for most PC users) that's not an option that is open to them. I understand that. But at least at times one can, at the least, determine the component that is or most likely the cause of the problem(s).

Anyway, if you want to take that route, here's an outline of the basic procedure you might follow...

The basic approach would be along the following lines...
A. Get inside your desktop computer case (after disconnecting the A/C plug from your wall socket) and determine that the CPU, heat sink, memory modules & graphics card are all properly seated and all connections appear secure. Remove (disconnect) ALL - repeat, ALL - peripheral devices INCLUDING ALL HHD & SSD drive(s), optical drive(s), sound card, etc. Disconnect ALL storage devices, printers, and any other devices connected to the machine.

(As an aside, if it's practical to do so and not too onerous, it would be even better if your would remove the motherboard + components from the case and work with it outside of the case - perhaps on the cardboard case the MB was packaged in if you still have it or some other non-electric conducting surface, e.g., cardboard, wood, etc.)

B. In any event, all you'll be working with is your motherboard, processor, heat sink, RAM, graphics card, power supply, keyboard & mouse. Better yet, should your motherboard have onboard graphics capability, disconnect your graphics/video card from the system. Just ensure that following access of the BIOS/UEFI interface, if there is a BIOS setting for onboard graphics display that BIOS setting is enabled since that setting is frequently disabled as the default setting.

C. Reconnect your A/C cord and power on the system. What happens? Do you get a "normal" screen display? No error messages or strange notations from the system?

D. Can you access your BIOS/UEFI without any difficulty at this point and review the CMOS-BIOS settings? In particular, ensure that the SATA controller mode is set to AHCI (which should be the default setting). Check the hardware monitor/PC Health in the BIOS to determine that all temps are within normal range? The latter check is extremely important in the diagnostic process.

E. Assuming all is well at this point, leave the system powered on for the next hour or so, checking to see if anything untoward shows up. Using your reset button, try powering down & up a few times to determine if there are any problems there.

F. Now you can install your graphics card in case it hasn't as yet been installed.

G. Along the way of the above steps if there's any indication of a faulty PSU, test that component with a PSU power tester (assuming you have one) or better yet, substitute a known non-defective PSU should one be available.

H. Should all appear well at this point this is an indication that there's nothing wrong with the basic components of your system. While not absolutely definitive this is so, it's a very strong indication that something else is amiss.

All this, of course, is to rule out at least to some degree) that the problem is not hardware-related insofar as the basic components currently installed in the PC.

I. Finally, install any BIOS update.

J. At this point install the SSD boot drive in your system and boot to the OS. Hopefully the system will boot & function problem-free. Work with the boot drive as the ONLY drive installed for some time to determine no problems exist.

K. Install one of your secondary HDDs and similarly work with the system to determine all is well.

L. Then the other HDD.

I just don't see any other practical series of troubleshooting steps at this point but perhaps you have some other ideas. Good luck!
 
Solution