Feeling thick - installing hard disk stops power??

katie279

katie279

katie279

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A sunnier or damper area than Ron-ski....
Hi all,

Finally getting around to installing an extra HDD in a new build. Has been running beautifully off a 1TB SSD, but want to add an extra 4GB HDD for extra padding.

Done this dozens of times over the years, but whenever I plug it in the pc fails to even start (ie no lights, no boot, no fans etc).

When I disconnect it, it works again??

Install:
Plug power supply to sata wire in directly, no daisy chains.
Plug SATA cable from motherboard sata 1 port to HDD
That's it....???

What am I doing daft??

Build is a Ryzen 1800X
MSI 450B
32Gb ram
1 GB SSD
Geforce 2700 rtx super

And the mystery 4gb HDD!
 
Heh, damn it, yes, not sure I'd get much out of a 4gb disk... ;)

PSU is superflower 650w 80 plus gold

HDD is brand new
 
Would it be possible for this to stop the pc dead though?? I'd assume it'd get to post screen or at least spin the fans etc???

I can stick it in my NAS and check if HDD is functioning pretty easily, so might do that
 
Ok done a quick check - fails to boot with power cable only connected, will check disk in NAS and that should pin down if disk faulty
 
Hmm - plot thickens, put it into my Synology NAS in a spare hot slot and it boots fine?

Run a smart test and that returns normal. Will do a thorough test.

I've tried two different power cables, also - very odd.

Could it still be faulty even though it's working in my NAS? (this suggests the power and SATA connections must be fine?)
 
Try the HDD on the cable with the SSD on, in daisy chain.

If that works, plug the cable into the port on the PSU that didn't work.

If that works, try both of the drives on the other cable.

Could be the PSU or the cable at fault.
 
Ta both - think you're right here - must be the cable or the PSU port.

Ok daisy chain sounds like a good way to test, cable for that is annoyingly short, but I'll just dangle the drive temporarily.

DoneADougalOnSofa said:
Just a quick question... the power cable from PSU to HDD- did you have to plug in an extra modular cable to get that? Wondering if you've grabbed a cable from a different PSU ...
Click to expand...
hmmmm.... why? I'm not sure to be honest was in a Phantek's bag, so I assume I put them there when I got the case (PSU I bought at same time) - are you going to tell me PSU cables are not interchangeable or something?
 
katie279 said:
Ta both - think you're right here - must be the cable or the PSU port.

Ok daisy chain sounds like a good way to test, cable for that is annoyingly short, but I'll just dangle the drive temporarily.


hmmmm.... why? I'm not sure to be honest was in a Phantek's bag, so I assume I put them there when I got the case (PSU I bought at same time) - are you going to tell me PSU cables are not interchangeable or something?
Click to expand...


Yes, I am... ;) You should only use the modular cables that came with your PSU. The pinouts are not standard between manufacturers!
 
DoneADougalOnSofa said:
Yes, I am... ;) You should only use the modular cables that came with your PSU. The pinouts are not standard between manufacturers!
Click to expand...

Hmm, well that then could well be a clue - although helpfully none of the manufacturers appear to mark their cables, standardise the outputs etc as far as I can see, so not certain how I'll be able to tell which set it came from. I think from memory I also got a corsair PSU not too long ago (end of last year) for another build I was doing, so could well have mixed them up.... time to dig around....!
 
katie279 said:
Hmm, well that then could well be a clue - although helpfully none of the manufacturers appear to mark their cables, standardise the outputs etc as far as I can see, so not certain how I'll be able to tell which set it came from. I think from memory I also got a corsair PSU not too long ago (end of last year) for another build I was doing, so could well have mixed them up.... time to dig around....!
Click to expand...

To be honest, the cables should be quite difficult to mix up, especially modular, I have 3 PSU's, a Super flower, Corsair and Silverstone, they all have different connectors (PSU end) it would be impossible to put the wrong one into the wrong PSU.

The connector that is causing your system to not start when the hard drive is connected, leave the hard drive out for now, and plug that same connector into your 1TB SSD, see if the system starts, if not then its the connector for sure, faulty wire or connector causing the PSU to short.
 
Last edited:
Ok - all working! Thanks very much for all the help, this forum is the best place on the web for PC brains!

Dug out Superflower cables (assume the bag I was using was Corsair, but fitted perfectly) - as soon as I used Superflower ones, everything was working hunky dory.
Out of interest checked with two other cables from the incorrect bag and that didn't work - so unless spectacularly unlucky and three dud cables in one bag, then it appears you can't mix these cables despite them fitting perfectly with each other.

Learn something every day...!
 
katie279 said:
Ok - all working! Thanks very much for all the help, this forum is the best place on the web for PC brains!

Dug out Superflower cables (assume the bag I was using was Corsair, but fitted perfectly) - as soon as I used Superflower ones, everything was working hunky dory.
Out of interest checked with two other cables from the incorrect bag and that didn't work - so unless spectacularly unlucky and three dud cables in one bag, then it appears you can't mix these cables despite them fitting perfectly with each other.

Learn something every day...!
Click to expand...

I had a real strong hunch about this one straight away, as I used one XFX SATA-PSU lead on an EVGA PSU once, and no boot. No power, no go, nothing... until I unplugged that cable, then everything was fine again.
I found that one out the practical way too- luckily no hardware damage!
 
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