2 HDD's destroyed by Dell mobo &/or PSU?

[KlokWyze]

About a year back I thought I fixed my friend's Dell Dimension 4700 when I scanned her HDD (hds728080pla380) & it came back with 1 or a few bad sectors. Looking online, the consensus seemed to be to just replace it as the drive was likely to fail.

Now I just got the same PC back with another failing HDD (WD500aaks). Here are 2 screen shots from a HD Tune scan. PIC01PIC02

Now I got these pics from a scan I did with my good PC so something is definitely wrong with the HDD..... even though is a little less than a year old.

1:Can this 2nd drive be saved or is it basically trash? (i dont need any data off of it)
2:Is it possible the the motherboard or PSU from the Dimension 4700 is destroying these drives? Or could it simply be from viruses, retarded endusers, etc.?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

It is definitely possible for a bad PSU to damage a HDD but, I've never experienced or heard of a bad MB damaging one. That being said, it is much more likely bad usage habits by end users resulting in malware etc.

 

[KlokWyze]

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
It is definitely possible for a bad PSU to damage a HDD but, I've never experienced or heard of a bad MB damaging one. That being said, it is much more likely bad usage habits by end users resulting in malware etc.

So malware can permanently damage a hard drive? I thought that this wasn't possible or @ least, improbable. For it to happen twice just seems like it could be something else in the pc causing it. Then again, it's 3 high school kids & 2 9 year olds using this.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Originally posted by: KlokWyze

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
It is definitely possible for a bad PSU to damage a HDD but, I've never experienced or heard of a bad MB damaging one. That being said, it is much more likely bad usage habits by end users resulting in malware etc.

So malware can permanently damage a hard drive? I thought that this wasn't possible or @ least, improbable. For it to happen twice just seems like it could be something else in the pc causing it. Then again, it's 3 high school kids & 2 9 year olds using this.

You're right, I was using it as a catch all phrase as I tend to deal with a lot of older folks doing computer support who don't really understand how computers work. I do think end user abuse is more likely than PSU causing the problem but, you'll have to check to be sure.

 

[elconejito]

I had a similar issue with a friend's dell also. Her first hard drive that died, she lost ALL of her son's baby photos (no backup). I put in another drive for her, and that one died too, although I was able to rescue 99% of the data. She is now on her 3rd drive (and a new SATA cable just for kicks) but I have no confidence that this drive will last either. The computer is otherwise fine, so I can't begin to guess if it's the motherboard, the PSU, or something else. Could it be user error? Maybe, but she's pretty careful with it and has only one kid who I'm pretty sure doesn't go around punting it around the room.

 

[KlokWyze]

Originally posted by: elconejito
I had a similar issue with a friend's dell also. Her first hard drive that died, she lost ALL of her son's baby photos (no backup). I put in another drive for her, and that one died too, although I was able to rescue 99% of the data. She is now on her 3rd drive (and a new SATA cable just for kicks) but I have no confidence that this drive will last either. The computer is otherwise fine, so I can't begin to guess if it's the motherboard, the PSU, or something else. Could it be user error? Maybe, but she's pretty careful with it and has only one kid who I'm pretty sure doesn't go around punting it around the room.

Was it a Dell Dimension 4700 or something with a LGA775 mobo?

I simply can't believe these failures to be attributed to the drives themselves. I'm probably going to recommend she replace the HD, mobo & probably the case because I don't think standard ATX or Micro-ATX boards will fit in this case.

 

[elconejito]

It is a Dell Dimension with a P4, but I don't remember the model. Whatever the midrange model was at the time. Her first drive lasted maybe 2 years, the next one just one year, and the current one has been in for about 6months. Yeah, I find it hard to believe it is coincidence (although it could be). One drive... stuff happens. Two drives... That's odd. If the third one goes too, I'm telling her to replace it. Without knowing what the point of failure is, it will be best just to replace the whole thing. I hadn't previously known anyone else who had this problem so i figured it was an isolated incident. Ironically, she liked it so much when she first got it that she got an identical one for her parents... no problems whatsoever.

 

[someone16]

I would try to replace the PSU. I've had a case where I had a HP that just kept killing my HDDs every year or so until I replaced the PSU.
Most lower end PSU's cost only like $40 anyways, so its worth a shot to try

 

[KlokWyze]

Ok then, I'm recommending that she replaces the PSU & of course a new HD. Hopefully the drive will last....