PSU & HDD problem...

PowerPie5000 · 14 Apr 2013 at 21:05

I built a PC for our living room using parts from OCUK around 7 months ago and now it's decided not to boot! It gets to the Windows starting screen straight after post and then stays there with the HDD light on solid! The same thing happens when i try both safe and repair modes too. I also recently noticed the +5V rail was running at 5.208v most of time (saw this in the bios when i was tuning the fans)... It also shows 5.208v using HWMonitor.

Now, i also had a USB keyboard go faulty on me a little while ago (some keys stopped responding)... Is this all a coincidence or is my PSU going bad? Seeing as both the HDD and USB keyboard use the 5V rail.

If the PSU is faulty and it's killed both my keyboard and HDD, will Cooler Master or OCUK sort out replacements? Everything is still under warranty.

snips86x · 14 Apr 2013 at 22:05

What is your spec?

PowerPie5000 · 14 Apr 2013 at 22:10

snips86x said:
What is your spec?

It's a cheap gaming/media PC for our living room (and for my partner to use), so nothing particularly special or power hungry:

Asrock B75 Pro3-M motherboard
Intel Core i5 2500 CPU
8GB Avexir DDR3 RAM @ 1333MHz (2x4GB)
KFA2 GTX 660 Ti EX OC graphics card
1TB Toshiba/Hitachi 3.5" SATA HDD
Sony Optiarc DVDRW SATA optical drive
Cooler Master GX550 PSU (550W)
Windows 7 64-bit

Everything running stock.

snips86x · 14 Apr 2013 at 23:23

Have you tried to reset the CMOS?

PowerPie5000 · 15 Apr 2013 at 00:54

snips86x said:
Have you tried to reset the CMOS?

Yes (although nothing has been changed in the bios).

Anyway, I think the issue is a failing HDD as it randomly freezes for about 10 seconds (HDD light on solid) and HD Tune is giving it a 'warning' status. I'm typing from the same PC at the moment and every so often I can hear a click/ping sound... I managed to get the PC to boot by giving it a good hard slap! The drive is just over 7 months old and has logged 888 hours of power up time (that's only 37 days!)... A drive shouldn't be failing at this age with so little use!

I'm guessing I should RMA it with OCUK, but i'll need to backup the data first. Do they send a new drive out first like some companies (so I can clone the failing one)? Or do I have to return this one first? I'm still wondering if the high 5V output from the PSU has contributed to this? Maybe I should RMA both?

bremen1874 · 15 Apr 2013 at 02:07

5.208V is a touch high but within spec. (+/- 5% = 4.75V to 5.25V).

Early death on HDDs is just bad luck.

You're unlikely to get advance replacement on the failed drive, but you can always ask.

You should obviously have anything important backed up already.

PowerPie5000 · 15 Apr 2013 at 08:25

bremen1874 said:
5.208V is a touch high but within spec. (+/- 5% = 4.75V to 5.25V).

Early death on HDDs is just bad luck.

You're unlikely to get advance replacement on the failed drive, but you can always ask.

You should obviously have anything important backed up already.

The highest reading I've had so far is 5.274V (maybe a spike?). Most stuff is backed up, but I don't perform backups every time I use the PC. Advance replacement is the way to go these days as long as screenshots can be provided as proof... It's a real pain and time consuming having to install and download everything all over again.

pastymuncher · 15 Apr 2013 at 08:38

The bios is not a accurate way of observing rail voltages. The only way to be sure is to use a multimeter. Admiral Huddy did a excellent guide on how to do it here.

Idleman · 15 Apr 2013 at 13:15

Have you run a health check on your hdd? If not, do so.
As you say you are using the Pc at the moment, I assume you are using another keyboard. So I don`t think the +5V rail is the problem. Have you connected the current keyboard(the one you are typing on presently) into the same USB port as the faulty keyboard.

PowerPie5000 · 15 Apr 2013 at 13:59

Idleman said:
Have you run a health check on your hdd? If not, do so.
As you say you are using the Pc at the moment, I assume you are using another keyboard. So I don`t think the +5V rail is the problem. Have you connected the current keyboard(the one you are typing on presently) into the same USB port as the faulty keyboard.

I performed some tests using HD Tune and it came back with damaged blocks and a warning status. I'll need to RMA the HDD with OCUK as it's only around 7 months old and not even been used that much. I'm temporarily using an old Gigabyte wireless keyboard plugged into a different USB port (front) and it seems ok apart from the occasional loss of signal.

Idleman · 15 Apr 2013 at 14:04

PowerPie5000 said:
I performed some tests using HD Tune and it came back with damaged blocks and a warning status. I'll need to RMA the HDD with OCUK as it's only around 7 months old and not even been used that much. I'm currently using an old Gigabyte wireless keyboard plugged into a different USB port (front) and it seems ok apart from the occasional loss of signal.

Have you tried plugging the other keyboard into a different USB port. It is not unusual for some devices not to work in certain ports. I had a similar problem, but plugging into another port it worked.

PowerPie5000 · 17 Apr 2013 at 22:50

OCUK have received the faulty HDD and i got an email saying that i'm being sent a "B GRADE" replacement! I bought my HDD brand new and don't like the idea of getting a used replacement, especially when it comes to storage devices (i'll definitely be checking how many hours it's logged!). Do you guys think this is acceptable? Would you be mad if you bought a brand new item and then have it replaced with B grade stock if it failed 7 months down the line? That's only 7 months out of it's 2 year warranty!

EDIT: I still had just under 17 months warranty left on the drive i sent back, i hope i don't get less warranty with a B grade HDD

.

bremen1874 · 17 Apr 2013 at 23:08

It depends why it was classed as b-grade, but as long as it's 100% okay and they continue to honour the warranty from the original drive I would accept it. You might want to request something in writing about the warranty on the replacement drive to avoid any problems later.

Personally I RMA all drives directly back to the manufacturer, but even then you usually endup with a refurbished drive not a new replacement.

PowerPie5000 · 18 Apr 2013 at 14:24

Received the replacement drive today and it's as dead as a dodo! It clunks followed by a couple of clicks and whirrs and that's all i get! HD Tune and Crystal Disk Info can see the drive but can't detect the SMART status, firmware, temps, features or anything! Tried it in both our PCs with no luck

.

Not looking good is it? This might be enough to put me off using Toshiba drives now

.

EDIT: After wading through some user reviews it seems a thing called "the click of death" is common with these drives. I know this has been said about Hitachi drives too, but mine has been fine for around 2 years now... It's a shame i can't say the same about Toshiba drives though.