Disk Error Occurred. 3rd HDD dead?

[Addikt]

So I've had this problem for a while. It first started with a WD 150 Gig Raptor that ended up dying complete. My computer would BSOD and then no restart it would say that a Disk Error Occurred.

Now what I originally thought was that it was a heat issue. I took measures to ensure that my computer runs cooler, but these WD Black drives just run so hot. The drive itself doesnt' get that hot, but it seems that the exposed controller chip on the WD Blacks get so hot they can literally burn you. So far my computer has killed 2 WD Black 1GB drives as well, the exact same thing happens.

After all efforts now, I'm looking at another dead drive. Prior to them dying I ran hardware checks and diagnostics. The drive passed both a CHKDKS with no errors, as well as quick and extended drive tests using the drive tool provided by WD. I've checked my voltages in the BIOS and they are readnig as they should, hovering just a little high on the 12V rail at about 12.43v or so.

What's killing these drives? Is it my motherboard? I have an ASUS P5W DH DX and it gets incredibly hot too, my RAM does as well granted I had to up the voltage to 2.1v to get it to run stable. That's OCZ Platinum, forget what rev. as I'm not at my computer right now.

The only other thing I can think of, other than the mobo is the PSU. But that said, I haven't had any other symptoms related to a PSU not putting out enough power. The voltage levels read by the mobo could confirm that, then again those are not under a load.

I'm stuck, what do you guys think? I really need advice. The only next step is to throw this thing out the window with myself after it. I'm really stuck.

 

[C1]

If one had to guess, then you are probably damaging the CC on the HDD from overheating.

Either employ a customized cooling fan (or arrangement) for the chip or change the drive type.

 

[Ben90]

Download Hwmonitor to check your temps. However I doubt your drives are overheating. Believe it or not HDDs are less prone to failure when they are running warm vs being too cold.

Anything within the drives operating spec should be fine.

 

[Devilpapaya]

So far my computer has killed 2 WD Black 1GB drives as well

1GB? wut

But seriously, my 2 cents I did some preliminary research here and have not been able to find any other report of these drives overheating. That being said I'm not sure what the problem could be beyond a damaged SATA port/controller.

 

[Addikt]

Haha, sorry they are 1 TB drives, no a GB. I did some research too and I didn't find any issues regarding heat for these drives too. From what I understand, they get a little hotter, but not substantially.

Also, one thing I failed to mention in my original post was that the third HDD actually started to crap out only 4 days after I installed it into my system. It seems that the life is getting shorter and shorter, almost exponentially with the installation of a new drive.

Also, another thing I've noticed is that my Razer Lachesis fails to boot properly. I have to unplug the USB when the computer starts up, as the mouse doesn't respond. Then after plugging it in one of the front USB ports and disconnecting it and putting back on the original USB port, it works again. Then again, this might be an issue related to data corruption because the drive is failing.

I've been feeling that the signs are pointing to either a faulty PSU or faulty motherboard. I've checked the mobo for damaged capacitors or scorch marks, but I can't find anything. I'm just wondering why the controller on the drive is getting so hot, could too much voltage be sent to it? Even after letting the computer 'cool off' for an entire day I get boot failures most of the time. Getting the computer to boot to XP is essentially a roll of the dice.

It's caused me so many hassles I just want to build a new system because no one can seem to solve the problem for me. The motherboard also gets very hot, but I've added extra fans and vents so the case is very cool. At this point, I'm just at a loss and I really need help from you guys.

 

[C1]

A simple thing would be to put a VOM meter on the HDD & USB port pins while they are working under load. Not sure about SATA connectors, but molexes can be easily checked using needle probes. PSU connections are defined in this thread:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2056029&highlight=

You can buy an in expensive VOM meter for less than $10. You can also purchase a PSU from Frys & if that's not the problem then they will take it back.

If your voltages are OK (eg, within plus/minus 5&#37 then I wouldnt worry about the PSU (ie, assume its okay).

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I've seen this happen several times. In all three cases, it was bad PSU's. Not saying this is your problem but, that has been my experience.

 

[Addikt]

I'm starting to get other sluggish behaviour, but I don't know what the cause is now. If I open too many YouTube videos at one time, my system slows to a crawl. Before all of this started happening, I had no problems whatsoever, even when I had 20+ windows open. Now if I go over 6 windows with YouTube videos loading, IE/Firefox both slow to a crawl. Could this be directly attributable to a bad drive, or could it be a memory issue?

Another thing to note is that the heatsink on my RAM has peeled off. The quality doesn't seem all the great though, it's some OCZ platinum and when touching the memory module it doesn't feel as if it gets too hot. This was an issue far before I started having these problems with dying drives though, the memory has had a loose heatsink for at least 2 years and I never bothered to replace it. Could it be catching up to me two years later?

The system has been running stable for about a day now. I unplugged 2 of my 5 hard drives, but still my boot drive is running just as hot as it did before. I also removed the case door and lint filters to ensure better airflow.

Regardless, a lot of programs that use to boot almost instantaneously lag my system. Winamp will load, but it takes a solid minute before I even see the media library. IE/Firefox both hang after about 6 windows with streaming content are loaded. When the system BSODs it's reboots quickly and I don't even have a chance to read the message on the screen.

At this point I'm just wondering where I start. I think I'm going to try ANOTHER clean install of Windows XP. I'll remove all of my media drives and see if that may fix the issue. My only problem is that I don't want to risk further damage of the drive if the cause is a faulty PSU or mobo. I imagine undervolting/overvolting the drive could cause permanent damage. Of course I can RMA the drives, but I think WD would get pretty suspicious when I send in three drives for RMA at the same time.

Should I just bite the bullet and get both a new mobo, PSU, and memory? I really don't want to spend that kind of money, but at this point, I'm pretty sure it's not the drive itself.

I look at what I have and I might as well build a completely new system with all the parts that COULD be the issue. Then again, this all started happening when I put everything into my new Element S case. Maybe I screwed something up, but heat never seemed to be a factor in my old case. Then again, I've put in more powerful hard drives and perhaps the airflow just isn't as good. Right now I'm running the computer with my case doors off.

Thanks for the patience guys. So many good responses and I agree with you C1. But the last thing I want to do is rip out my OCZ ModXstream 700W to find out that it's not causing the problem. In my opinion though, I too think that the PSU is to blame. I've never had anything but problems with OCZ PSUs, the one that this one replaced blew up on me. Like I said, I checked the voltages in the BIOS and they seemed stable, no dips or drops really. Then again, the system wasn't under load.

 

[Addikt]

So, I unplugged two of my hard drives and I had a hard time booting my system. Still received the Disk Error Occurred message. Turned off the computer and power supply, and left it sitting for about a day and a half with no use.

Now I've started running the system again and it's completely stable, no errors, no slowdowns. That said, it feels like the hard drive may be a bit cooler, but not by much.

With less stress on the PSU running 3 drives, rather than 5 does this confirm that my OCZ ModXstream 700W is the problem? I was under the impression that hard drives aren't really power-hungry devices.

I also have to mention that this has happened in the past. The computer stabilizes for a few weeks and then I just get the same problems all over again. Still not sure if it's a heat or power issue.