Weird Hard Drive Problem

[Amfmclockradio]

So, my pc has been having this problem for a while now and I can't seem to figure it out. I have 3 HDDs connected in my pc for storage. One of them started frequently disappearing shortly after I would power it on. I would have to unplug the drive and plug it back in to the SATA port to get it to comeback each time (it wouldn't boot until I did so).So I switched the drive to another SATA port (Leaving SATA 1 unused) and the problem went away for a few days, but then a different drive started doing it on a completely different port. Both drives tested okay with Speccy and CrystalDisk. I am really lost on this one. Anyone got any ideas? I'm running Windows 8 and my motherboard is an Asus M4A88T-M.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

Could be the power supply not providing ample power to the disks, or the SATA controller it self going bad.

 

[Amfmclockradio]

Could be the power supply not providing ample power to the disks, or the SATA controller it self going bad.

I can't seem to figure out what model my PSU is. It came with my ThermalTake Tsunami Dream. And when you say SATA controller, do you mean the SATA port? Or the whole SATA setup thats a part of my motherboard?

 

[Dauntae]

I'd say more than likely it's the PS, The ones that come in the case are not usually of good quality, Yes the sata controller is part of the MB

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

Agreed, if the PSU came with the case, that's the most likely culprit. As for a SATA Controller... In most consumer builds, it's the entire storage portion of the motherboard, basically one chip controls most all, if not ALL of the SATA ports, part of the chip could be going out, but it's not likely... Usually see total losses on all ports instead of random ones.

 

[Amfmclockradio]

Here's an interesting update. The voltage switch on the power supply was set to 230 volts. I'm the only person who has messed with my PC since I built it, so if it's truly set to 230 volts, it's been that way for years. I'm almost afraid to power it on again with it set to 115. Could this explain why it's been acting weird? Can I flip the switch back and move on? Someone give me some good news... haha

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

Well... What's the voltage at the wall? If the wall is 220v and you set that PSU to 115 then it will blow up...

That aside, if the PSU is at the wrong voltage right now and has been for years, chances are parts are burned up from stress.