Geeky1University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
edited August 2003
yea; in that case if the drive is mounted in front of the intake fan, it's not heat-related. It's most likely a power supply issue...
//Edit
Say Blackhawk, I've got at least 500gb of space I could store a backup copy on for you... after all, we wouldn't want the RIAA coming after you, now would we?
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BlackHawkBible music connoisseurThere's no place like 127.0.0.1Icrontian
edited August 2003
Bah! Took alot of time to get mine. Lots of lan parties, FTP's and waiting in queued on DC and Kazaa. Get your own
Originally posted by Geeky1 yea; in that case if the drive is mounted in front of the intake fan, it's not heat-related. It's most likely a power supply issue...
What would be the reason for the drives working correctly for a short period of time then after i had either had it replaced or had simply formatted it? As it stands right now, i am completely unable to boot the pc unless my lights are off and my other drives are unplugged. Only the HDD can be plugged in at this point, but it's still not working properly. At least it doesn't click when it's in on it's own though.
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BlackHawkBible music connoisseurThere's no place like 127.0.0.1Icrontian
edited August 2003
If you have to turn off the lights and other drives it's cause of your PSU. It's either not giving enough juice or it's dieing.
Yeah i figured as much, but why would a format help the drive for a short period of time? And do you think that my drive will be screwed now and need replacing again?
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BlackHawkBible music connoisseurThere's no place like 127.0.0.1Icrontian
edited August 2003
As for the format, I don't know. I think you should wait changing the HDD till you get a new PSU and try it out.
click n spin it the read write heads getting stuck near the center of the disk...
The issue with your first drive was probably dma channeling issues.
As windows encounters errors writing to disk, it downgrades the dma channel settings, sometimes to the point of total crap performance. I have had via 4 in 1 drivers cause the same issues.
I just got hold of a new 400W PSU and the problem seems to have been resolved. I have all of my drives connected up and my lights on and all is well. My drives aren't having problems spinning up anymore and are reading and writing at just over 50 MB/S.
Thanks for the help guys, i would never have known it was a power problem, and would have just kept on returning my drives to the store i bought them from.LOL:p
Ok, i really really wanted to believe that this was a PSU problem, but unfortunately the problem has returned again. I just can't understand why drive after drive that i get goes exactly the same way...click...spin up...click spin up....aaarrrggghhh.
Does anybody have any other idea on what might be causing my problems? As i am certain that it is not down to my drives.
TIA
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Geeky1University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
Geeky it's none of those. My cables have all been changed and this problem has spanned every other component in my pc including the motherboard. That's why i can't understand it. It can also happen when my case is open so it's definetely not the cooling>
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Geeky1University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
It's a 400W enermax. The drives still do the same thing with all of my other drives unplugged and my lights out with the case open, and even if i only have my main drive connected up. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't happen constantly, it's completely random. Sometimes my system will be alright for a few weeks and then all of a sudden it will happen, and then it just repeats untill i eventually get the BSOD. The other night i got the blue screen and then the drive wouldn't spin up at all and my bios wouldn't see it, then all of a sudden it worked fine again. Very very strange. The problem is that it seems to be getting worse.
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Geeky1University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
edited September 2003
Well, I'm basically totally stumped and w/o being able to take a look @ it, all I can do is make a list of things to try (all of which you may have already tried...)
In order of things to try/retry:
<ol>
<li>Replace the CMOS battery. Why? Because I'm out of ideas, it's like $2, and you never know...
<li>Disconnect all drives but the problem drive (both power and data connections) and see if it still acts up. If it DOESN'T, go to Step 3. If it DOES, go to step 3.
<li>Check the jumpers on all your IDE devices- 1 master, 1 slave per channel. Make the hard drive(s) the master device(s), with the fastest optical drive as the secondary master (or secondary slave if you have more than 1 hard drive) and any other drive as the primary slave. If this doesn't fix it, go to step 4.
<li>Replace all the IDE cables with KNOWN GOOD cables. Go out and buy them if you have to- rounded IDE cables improve airflow and aren't all that expensive anyhow. The Antec Cobra Cables are probably the best on the market (they're like $12 each...). Plug all the drives in again and see what happens. If it still acts up, go to step 5.
<li>Take everything out of the case and put it on a non-conductive surface- basically, assemble the computer on a sheet of plywood, a desktop, whatever- just make sure it's non-conductive. If the motherboard is on a removeable motherboard tray, take it off. You should literally have everything but the case, case speaker/buzzer, and the LEDs out of the case. Taking out the buttons for power and reset would be helpful, but isn't necessary. Basically, the computer should be hooked up as if it were in a case, but spread out on a piece of wood, a desk, or whatever... I suggest either the wood or the edge of a desk, so you can plug cards into the motherboard and have them properly seated. If the board is sitting on a surface, and there's no indentation for the cards, you won't be able to properly seat the cards, which could further bork the system. If the system is stable outside the case, the issue is either heat-related or something is shorting out. If the system STILL doesn't work properly, go to step 6.
<li>Start removing stuff- start by replacing the RAM with known-good stuff. If that doesn't work, start taking out any PCI cards, one at a time, and seeing if it still acts up. If it suddenly starts working properly when a card that had been in it is removed, it's that card that's probably the culprit. If it's still acting up, change the CPU for a known-good one, and if it's STILL acting up, change the video card, followed by the motherboard. If none of this works, go to step 7.
<li>If nothing up until now has worked, try another power supply (like a 3rd one- not the enermax or the old one).
<li>Finally, if that doesn't work, start disconnecting the drives again (one at a time), leaving the problem drive connected.
</ol>
<ol>
If, after all that, it's still acting up, do the following:
<li>Curse- the more profane, the better. Be as loud as possible. Preferably with the windows open. Make sure the neighbors can hear you- use a bullhorn if necessary.
<li>Call the hard drive manufacturer and curse @ the support person. See line 1 for details.
<li>Break stuff- but just the dead hard drive for now. A sledgehammer or large car may be useful/necessary.
<li>Curse more. See guidelines in line 1 for detailed instructions.
<li>Post here about how pissed off you are that you can't get it working. Curse, but bleep it out.
<li>Curse more. See guidelines in step 1 for detailed instructions.
<li>Post at www.short-media.com about how pissed off you are that you can't get it working. Curse, but bleep it out.
<li>Curse more. See guidelines in step 1 for detailed instructions.
<li>Call the motherboard manufacturer and curse @ the support person. See line 1 for details.
<li>Tell the police (you're neighbors will probably have called them by this time...) it's a computer problem. They should leave it at that.
<li>Break more stuff- time to move on to the motherboard.
<li>More cursing. See step 1 for instructions.
<li>Post pictures of broken board, hard drive here and at Short-Media.
<li>Curse more. Make it interesting- see if you can imitate someone with Tourette's Syndrome. Walk around the neighborhood muttering to yourself, occasionally yelling obscenities at people while pretending to have a spasm.
<li>Call back hard drive manufacturer. Use the bullhorn this time.
<li>Break the remaining parts of your computer while cursing @ it at the top of your lungs.
<li>Log onto www.newegg.com using a friend's computer for some Shopping Therapy.
<li>Have a nice day
</ol>
Yeah i've tried memtest mate Basically as i said before, this problem has spanned every piece of hardware (apart from my CPU) that's in my pc. Even the drives are new, but the problem still persists. That's what i can't understand. For all intents and purposes this is an entirely new PC. New mobo, new ram, new PSU, new drives (including HDD's), new cables, but it still happens
Comments
//Edit
Say Blackhawk, I've got at least 500gb of space I could store a backup copy on for you... after all, we wouldn't want the RIAA coming after you, now would we?
The issue with your first drive was probably dma channeling issues.
As windows encounters errors writing to disk, it downgrades the dma channel settings, sometimes to the point of total crap performance. I have had via 4 in 1 drivers cause the same issues.
thats just my .02
Tek
Thanks for the help guys, i would never have known it was a power problem, and would have just kept on returning my drives to the store i bought them from.LOL:p
Does anybody have any other idea on what might be causing my problems? As i am certain that it is not down to my drives.
TIA
What brand is the PS you got ahold of?
In order of things to try/retry:
<ol>
<li>Replace the CMOS battery. Why? Because I'm out of ideas, it's like $2, and you never know...
<li>Disconnect all drives but the problem drive (both power and data connections) and see if it still acts up. If it DOESN'T, go to Step 3. If it DOES, go to step 3.
<li>Check the jumpers on all your IDE devices- 1 master, 1 slave per channel. Make the hard drive(s) the master device(s), with the fastest optical drive as the secondary master (or secondary slave if you have more than 1 hard drive) and any other drive as the primary slave. If this doesn't fix it, go to step 4.
<li>Replace all the IDE cables with KNOWN GOOD cables. Go out and buy them if you have to- rounded IDE cables improve airflow and aren't all that expensive anyhow. The Antec Cobra Cables are probably the best on the market (they're like $12 each...). Plug all the drives in again and see what happens. If it still acts up, go to step 5.
<li>Take everything out of the case and put it on a non-conductive surface- basically, assemble the computer on a sheet of plywood, a desktop, whatever- just make sure it's non-conductive. If the motherboard is on a removeable motherboard tray, take it off. You should literally have everything but the case, case speaker/buzzer, and the LEDs out of the case. Taking out the buttons for power and reset would be helpful, but isn't necessary. Basically, the computer should be hooked up as if it were in a case, but spread out on a piece of wood, a desk, or whatever... I suggest either the wood or the edge of a desk, so you can plug cards into the motherboard and have them properly seated. If the board is sitting on a surface, and there's no indentation for the cards, you won't be able to properly seat the cards, which could further bork the system. If the system is stable outside the case, the issue is either heat-related or something is shorting out. If the system STILL doesn't work properly, go to step 6.
<li>Start removing stuff- start by replacing the RAM with known-good stuff. If that doesn't work, start taking out any PCI cards, one at a time, and seeing if it still acts up. If it suddenly starts working properly when a card that had been in it is removed, it's that card that's probably the culprit. If it's still acting up, change the CPU for a known-good one, and if it's STILL acting up, change the video card, followed by the motherboard. If none of this works, go to step 7.
<li>If nothing up until now has worked, try another power supply (like a 3rd one- not the enermax or the old one).
<li>Finally, if that doesn't work, start disconnecting the drives again (one at a time), leaving the problem drive connected.
</ol>
<ol>
If, after all that, it's still acting up, do the following:
<li>Curse- the more profane, the better. Be as loud as possible. Preferably with the windows open. Make sure the neighbors can hear you- use a bullhorn if necessary.
<li>Call the hard drive manufacturer and curse @ the support person. See line 1 for details.
<li>Break stuff- but just the dead hard drive for now. A sledgehammer or large car may be useful/necessary.
<li>Curse more. See guidelines in line 1 for detailed instructions.
<li>Post here about how pissed off you are that you can't get it working. Curse, but bleep it out.
<li>Curse more. See guidelines in step 1 for detailed instructions.
<li>Post at www.short-media.com about how pissed off you are that you can't get it working. Curse, but bleep it out.
<li>Curse more. See guidelines in step 1 for detailed instructions.
<li>Call the motherboard manufacturer and curse @ the support person. See line 1 for details.
<li>Tell the police (you're neighbors will probably have called them by this time...) it's a computer problem. They should leave it at that.
<li>Break more stuff- time to move on to the motherboard.
<li>More cursing. See step 1 for instructions.
<li>Post pictures of broken board, hard drive here and at Short-Media.
<li>Curse more. Make it interesting- see if you can imitate someone with Tourette's Syndrome. Walk around the neighborhood muttering to yourself, occasionally yelling obscenities at people while pretending to have a spasm.
<li>Call back hard drive manufacturer. Use the bullhorn this time.
<li>Break the remaining parts of your computer while cursing @ it at the top of your lungs.
<li>Log onto www.newegg.com using a friend's computer for some Shopping Therapy.
<li>Have a nice day
</ol>