SATA disk "disappear" ...

[bolero1000]

Hi,

Randomly (could be 1 week or 1 month ..) my PC freeze/hang with the HD
led ON (fixed).
Problem is that, for unknown reason the SATA disk (a Maxtor 6V200E0)
"disappears", also from the BIOS.
If I reset the PC & I stop the boot & go in the BIOS no more SATA
disk !! Only the IDE's one is present.

To solve the problem I've to switch off (power supply button) the PC,
on again & normally at this point the SATA disk is back.

On the System event logger I've on this disk/controller:
- 1 event 51
- a lot of events 11
- few events 50

I already tried to:
- change power supply
- change SATA cable & controller slot on the MB
- update the SATA controller driver (from Gigabyte & Nvidia sites)
- test the disk (seatools), all OK

Any ideas ??

XP SP2 Home edition
Gigabyte GA-K8N-SLI
AMD 3200 + 1 GB PC3200 memory (tested OK with memtest .. just in
case ..)
1 IDE 80GB WD + 1 SATA 200GB Maxtor 6V200E0

Thanks & Best Regards,
Luciano

 

[Guest]

On Sun, 07 Oct 2007 01:38:42 -0700 (e-mail address removed) wrote:
| Hi,
|
| Randomly (could be 1 week or 1 month ..) my PC freeze/hang with the HD
| led ON (fixed).
| Problem is that, for unknown reason the SATA disk (a Maxtor 6V200E0)
| "disappears", also from the BIOS.
| If I reset the PC & I stop the boot & go in the BIOS no more SATA
| disk !! Only the IDE's one is present.
|
| To solve the problem I've to switch off (power supply button) the PC,
| on again & normally at this point the SATA disk is back.
|
| On the System event logger I've on this disk/controller:
| - 1 event 51
| - a lot of events 11
| - few events 50
|
| I already tried to:
| - change power supply

Did you change to one with more wattage?

| - change SATA cable & controller slot on the MB
| - update the SATA controller driver (from Gigabyte & Nvidia sites)
| - test the disk (seatools), all OK
|
| Any ideas ??

Change the drive itself?

Add more cooling?

The drive clearly has decided to shutdown. Unstable or low voltage is one
possible cause. Overheating is another. Internal defect is yet another.

 

[bolero1000]

Hi,

Did you change to one with more wattage?

Yep, original was 300W, new one 420W.

Add more cooling?

Added a new frontal fan, HD temperature between 30 & 35C

Change the drive itself?

The drive clearly has decided to shutdown. Unstable or low voltage is one
possible cause. Overheating is another. Internal defect is yet another.

Thinked about that but:

- SMART & producer tool all OK (no errors)
- googling on the groups/web seems that I'm not the only one with a
similar problem always with a SATA disk, never found a solution ....

Thanks & Ciaoooooo,
Luciano

 

[Brian Cryer]

Randomly (could be 1 week or 1 month ..) my PC freeze/hang with the HD
led ON (fixed).
Problem is that, for unknown reason the SATA disk (a Maxtor 6V200E0)
"disappears", also from the BIOS.
If I reset the PC & I stop the boot & go in the BIOS no more SATA
disk !! Only the IDE's one is present.

<snip>

I would suspect the disk (although, as Phil has pointed out there are lots
of possible causes). Most disk manufacturers provide a diagnostic utility
that can be downloaded from their website. I'm sure Maxtor will provide one.
Search for it, download it and run it.

Hope it helps and that you get to the bottom of it.

 

[bolero1000]

Hi Brian,

<snip>

I would suspect the disk (although, as Phil has pointed out there are lots
of possible causes). Most disk manufacturers provide a diagnostic utility
that can be downloaded from their website. I'm sure Maxtor will provide one.
Search for it, download it and run it.

Hope it helps and that you get to the bottom of it.

Yes, found & already ran it few times (seatools as Maxtor has been
buyied by Seagate), both short & long test OK, no errors, clean as a
whistle ..
Also SMART show a perfect status ...

Not sure is the host adapter/controller on the MB could be involved
somehow ... but I don't know any way to test it ...

I tend to not consider SW/Windows (for once ...) as the disk
disappear also from the BIOS (but you never know ... )

Thanks & Best Regards,
Luciano

 

[kony]

Hi Brian,



Yes, found & already ran it few times (seatools as Maxtor has been
buyied by Seagate), both short & long test OK, no errors, clean as a
whistle ..
Also SMART show a perfect status ...

Not sure is the host adapter/controller on the MB could be involved
somehow ... but I don't know any way to test it ...

I tend to not consider SW/Windows (for once ...) as the disk
disappear also from the BIOS (but you never know ... )

Thanks & Best Regards,
Luciano

When the drive drops out/missing, try resetting system right
after slightly repositioning both ends of the data cable.

Remove power and data cables, inspect them - cables, HDD
contacts, motherboard contacts. Reinstall them. If that
doesn't help, try another data cable. If you have another
system handy, try connecting in the other system.

How frequently does the drive get *lost*?

Is the PSU a good brand and of ample capacity? Are there
any known problems with it such as fan failing or known bad
brands of capacitors likely to fail? Google may find more
info on this by searching for your brand and model and
"capacitors", although a small percentage of most PSU may
succumb to this, but a larger # of failed specimens should
be cause for concern.

If all else fails, see if Seagate will replace the HDD.

 

[bolero1000]

Hi,

When the drive drops out/missing, try resetting system right
after slightly repositioning both ends of the data cable.

Remove power and data cables, inspect them - cables, HDD
contacts, motherboard contacts. Reinstall them. If that
doesn't help, try another data cable.

Tried already another SATA cable, different "slot" on the MB SATA
connectors.
Changed also to power cable (as I installed a new powersupply) ..

How frequently does the drive get *lost*?

Could be 1 week or 1 month ... my PC is always ON.

Unfortunately none available, and also if I've one, problem is really
random & could take some time to appear (see above ...)

Is the PSU a good brand and of ample capacity? Are there

LC Power LC6420GP V2.0 Green Power 420W (my PC was previously working
with a 300W)

any known problems with it such as fan failing or known bad
brands of capacitors likely to fail? Google may find more
info on this by searching for your brand and model and
"capacitors", although a small percentage of most PSU may
succumb to this, but a larger # of failed specimens should
be cause for concern.

Googling I find only positive reviews on this PSU ...

If all else fails, see if Seagate will replace the HDD.- Hide quoted text -

Do you think Seagate will accept a RMA for a disk with 0 (zero)
errors ??

Thanks & Ciao,
Luciano

 

[kony]

Could be 1 week or 1 month ... my PC is always ON.


Do you think Seagate will accept a RMA for a disk with 0 (zero)
errors ??

What other options do you have? Besides the cables, if the
system otherwise works ok including other drives, all you
can do is either accept losing the drive every week or
month, throw it away, or see if they'll replace it.

I did overlook one thing, if it is potentially running too
hot you might increase the ventilation. I've had Maxtor
drives that overheated if just sitting on a desk upside
down, but were fine once installed in a drive bay with a
reasonable amount of airflow through it. Even so, at this
point I would be weary of trusting the drive to store data
and suggest making a backup of the contents if you hadn't
already.

 

[bolero1000]

Hi,

I did overlook one thing, if it is potentially running too
hot you might increase the ventilation. I've had Maxtor

Yes, when I started to investigate (some time/months ago now ...) I
noticed that the HD were around 40-45C (peaks 50C), put a frontal fan
and now are in the 30-35C range.

What other options do you have? Besides the cables, if the
system otherwise works ok including other drives, all you
can do is either accept losing the drive every week or
month, throw it away, or see if they'll replace it.

Well I tried to send an email also to the MB producer (Gigabyte) will
see their answer .. & could I try to write Seagate, why not ??

Thanks for the help & Ciaooooooo,
Luciano