Computer Won't Post

[T6]

yes, the system should reach the point where it says that it couldn't find a os and it should be rebooted/checked

[Ray2047]

Interesting test on another computer today. With the suspect hard drive plugged in it won't post. Unplug and computer posts. Best guess is a partial short in the HD pulling down the power supply too much.

[T6]

that sounds easy to fix, if you like a soldiering iron and burn your fingers

[ThirdOfSix]

Ray2047,

I have not used many SATA drives so I have not done my normal study of the buss structure etc....I was a hardware type first.

Anyway, are you aware that some SATA drives need 3.3V power supplied on the power connector?

The catch is that some computers do not provide that voltage on the connector. And, the adapters that add a SATA power connector from the normal IDE molex power connector of course do not provide it.

Since I am not very familiar with the SATA bus structure and any cable termination that is used and what voltage buss is used for that termination, I don't really know what happens if you randomly move SATA drives of different ages between systems that do or do not provide the 3.3V power to the drive.

OK, enough rambling, have you checked the SATA connectors on the drive and on the computer?

The internal SATA connectors are not very robust and are easily damaged. I have had a motherboard with a bad connector and at least one drive with a bad connector.

I would get a magnifying glass and examine those connectors very closely.

[Ray2047]

Tested on two computers and three power supplies. One pre-SATA PSU and an adapter and two with dedicated SATA supplies.