Question on Hard Drives and PSUs

[Harper]

Customer with a 40Gb Seagate 7200 RPM Hard drive in there Compaq Presario Desktop Computer.

The computer will not POST.

I looked at the hard drive, and power connection is missing the 2 middle pins. You know how your Power Supply as RED, BLACK, BLACK and YELLOW wiring to your hard drive. The 2 pins that are suppose to be connect to the hard drive are the 2 BLACK CABLEs.

Since I am not any sort of Electrical Engineer on these matters, could some one confirm with me that this is one of the reason why this PC might not post.

 

[Harper]

The plot thinkens......

Not sure what I did, but the computer is now booting up with the hard drive that is missing pins 2 and 3 from the power connection.

I currently have a half a mind to leave this drive in there?
With Pin 2 and 3 missing from the power plug for this hard drive, what can happen to this drive?

I know that the warranty is now void due to physical damage. But will it cause any harm to be missing pins 2 and 3 on the power plug for the drive?

 

[Harper]

The plot still thinkens......

It should not hurt anything. Some compaqs use these types of power connections because there very cheap as is the PSU.

actually, one little interesting thing was that I found a warranty tag on this hard drive....... OUR WARRANTY TAG.

So the drive is not from Compaq, and thankfully I can blame this **** up on the other techie.
He was a little rough on it when he was taking the drive out of the removable rack.

What color are the two wires still there? Red and Yellow? or Red and Brown?

Red and Yellow.
Basically cable 1 and 4.

Anyway..it would not cause your post issue...and if your overly concerned and the PSU has an unused 4 pin connector..then use that..or a Y-cable to power the HD.

In the end, I was able to get everything up and working again by using cable sellect. This manchine will not boot up any other way.
So we can have a clear conscience, we used another drive as the orginal drive was part of an ungrade deal.
We did discuss about just quietly giving the end user the oringal drive (with the 2 missing pin), but since the PC is getting used as a business manchine, we thought that it's best not.

So instead, the Techie that broke the drive just got himself a new one. I will be taking that one out of his wage later on this week.

 

[Apokalipse]

I don't trust getting a PC from HP, you don't know what the quality of the hardware will be.

 

[Harper]

I don't trust getting a PC from HP, you don't know what the quality of the hardware will be.

I don't trust any PC that I don't build myself.

I really hate it when I have these end users that got screw over by some one cheap-@$$ computer store using all pieces provided by the lowest bidder. And then a few years later, they come and see me with this attitude of "Don't like home job computers. Give me a Compaq (Piss)ario."

I normally tell them this
"Look, I am going to be giving you a computer where you know exactly what is going in there. And i will out line what you can and can not do with it"

Normally they go for the cheapest option only to get the $#!+s with me 3 months down the track when they realise that there kid would like to place games and I stuck explaining to them that there is no APG slot on the motherboard as they were too tight @$$ in the first place.

I get people like my dad trying to explain to me that Mac's are build with superior componants. Only to open them up and find a Maxtor Hard Drive in them.
Sorry, I had 3 Maxtor die on me (1 of them was a warranty replacement for other), I am not a big fan of Maxtor Drive.

Steve Buscemi's line about the NASA space shuttle in the movie Armageddon makes a lot of sence to me when I look at name brand PCs "...all built by the lowest bidder..."

 

[Harper]

Could this hard drive self destruct?

Last night at the dinner table, I was talking with one of my sister/family freinds about this problem.

I told him about the hard drive that is missing the 2 male pins from the 5.25 Molex Connector.
Anyways, he started laughing. He then told me that there is a good chance that the hard drive could BLOW UP. And with the why he was discribing it, he was telling me BLOW UP in a fashion where the hard drive itself is (and the PC surronding it) will be scatter from one end of the room to the other. And while you are at it, there will be 4 metal discs (the harddrive platters) getting set out in random directions at 7200 RPM (like a Skaarj Disk Launcher from Unreal).

Now this guys know a bit more one the electricals of a computer that I do. He's also been in the IT Game for the last 20 years or so.

I do release that with out any ground cables, this hard drive is going to be F.U.B.A.Red the first power spike that hits it. But blowing up with sharpenal going from on and of the room to the other?

But the question I ask, is he spilling $#!+, or is there an actual problem with this drive blowing up and taking the computer and computer user with it once a power spike hits it?

 

[Deadguy]

I would think there was more risk from a fire.Then the drive actualy blowing up.The case is pretty solid and there is really nothing in the drive to allow it to explode.Not that you want to burn someone's place down ether. = )

 

[Harper]

In otherwords, provide that the person that broke the drive in the first place keeps it for himself, I don't have any thing to worry about then.

 

[Deadguy]

I tried looking to see if the drive constantly spin's at 7200 rpm.I doubt it a lot but couldnt find anything that say's it stop's or switches to a cruising speed.Kind of intriuged me.

 

[Harper]

No....a HD will not blow up. It may burn componets on the board, break a drive arm..ect but will not explode. Unless TNT is used......LOL

I will just kick the $#!+ out my sister's freind next time i see him. After all, he is full of it.