Hard Drive / SSD unreadable until disconnected and reconnected

[happywally]

i bought a Silverstone SG12 chassis and threw some old parts in to make a system.
Was using a Western Digital Velociraptor 500gb Hard Drive

Everything was functioning really well for about a week until one day the computer froze and wouldn't respond. after restarting, BIOS detected the hard disk but it couldn't read it, and therefore couldn't enter windows. multiple restarts didnt work, and eventually after waiting for a day or two the hard disk would be readable again.

at first i thought it was the hard drive failing, so i bought myself a Samsung 750EVO SSD to replace it. Installed the SSD and OS, and everything worked again. However shortly after the SSD experienced the same problem.

to cut the long story short. after heaps of investigating, i have found that whenever i experience this issue, i need to disconnect the hard drive/SSD sata cable (or at the motherboard) and reconnect it, and after that every thing returns to normal for a while more. but the problem returns after a couple of days of use.

does anyone know whats going on?
is it something to do with static build up or magnetic fields??
the hard disk / SSD is well cooled with its own fan directed at it.

 

[CTurbo]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from happywally : "Hard Drive / SSD unreadable until disconnected and reconnected"

i bought a Silverstone SG12 chassis and threw some old parts in to make a system.
Was using a Western Digital Velociraptor 500gb Hard Drive

Everything was functioning really well for about a week until one day the computer froze and wouldn't respond. after restarting, BIOS detected the hard disk but it couldn't read it, and therefore couldn't enter windows. multiple restarts didnt work, and eventually after waiting for a day or two the hard disk would be readable again.

at first i thought it was the hard drive failing, so i bought myself a Samsung 750EVO SSD to replace it. Installed the SSD and OS, and everything worked again. However shortly after the SSD experienced the same problem.

to cut the long story short. after heaps of investigating, i have found that whenever i experience this issue, i need to disconnect the hard drive/SSD sata cable (or at the motherboard) and reconnect it, and after that every thing returns to normal for a while more. but the problem returns after a couple of days of use.

does anyone know whats going on?
is it something to do with static build up or magnetic fields??
the hard disk / SSD is well cooled with its own fan directed at it.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Welcome to Tom's Hardware, @happywally!

I suspect that the issue could be coming from a faulty connection to both the WD VelociRaptor and the new SSD. I'd recommend you try swapping the SATA cable and plugging the primary SSD to another port on the motherboard to see how the system would react. It's also recommended to backup all important files somewhere off-site before proceeding with the troubleshooting. Do you have access to another computer where you can test the drives?
If swapping the connections didn't help, I'd suggest you go to the motherboard manufacturer's official website and make sure you got all the latest SATA controller & Chipset drivers. While on it, also make sure you got the latest BIOS version installed as well.
I'd also check the settings after doing a BIOS reset and make sure that the boot priority is properly set as well as configuring the SSD in AHCI SATA mode through the BIOS interface.

Hope it helps. Keep us posted.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[happywally]

Welcome to Tom's Hardware, @happywally!

I suspect that the issue could be coming from a faulty connection to both the WD VelociRaptor and the new SSD. I'd recommend you try swapping the SATA cable and plugging the primary SSD to another port on the motherboard to see how the system would react. It's also recommended to backup all important files somewhere off-site before proceeding with the troubleshooting. Do you have access to another computer where you can test the drives?
If swapping the connections didn't help, I'd suggest you go to the motherboard manufacturer's official website and make sure you got all the latest SATA controller & Chipset drivers. While on it, also make sure you got the latest BIOS version installed as well.
I'd also check the settings after doing a BIOS reset and make sure that the boot priority is properly set as well as configuring the SSD in AHCI SATA mode through the BIOS interface.

Hope it helps. Keep us posted.
SuperSoph_WD

Yup did all that already.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there again, @happywally!

This sounds pretty unfortunate. So if new SATA cables didn't help you with this. Maybe you should also take a look at the power supply unit and test it if necessary. It might also be a good idea to power down the system and reseat all the connections inside the PC rig. This will ensure that there are no loose cables that could possibly be causing this disconnecting.
If you have a PC repair store nearby, it might be a good idea to take the PC there and let the guys do full diagnostics on the system. They could easily find what is the malfunctioning hardware and let you know how to fix it.

Hope this works. Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[happywally]

I've done a lot of troubleshooting already.

What I can't seem to understand is how a simple unplug and replug of the SATA cable fixes everything, and how the com runs great after that for a few days before the exact same problem reoccurs.

Surely it's more than just a clear cut one hardware issue...