Device connection on SATA bus causes the computer to fail to start completely.
Device connection on SATA bus causes the computer to fail to start completely.
I possess a 7-year-old computer that I wish to pass on to my son. It runs on a Gigabyte H370M DS3H motherboard, features a Core i7-8700 (3.2GHz) 12MB - 6C 12T - 1151 processor and 16GB 2666MHz DDR4 RAM. The system originally came with two Samsung 860 EVO SSDs (500GB, SATA III, RAID 2.5) and a GeForce GT 1030 Silent LP 2GB GDDR graphics card. Before making changes, it used a 450W power supply and the GeForce GT 1030. I upgraded the PSU to 650W and swapped the GPU for a Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT PULSE. Initially, everything worked fine. Now, when I power on the PC, nothing happens. The fans spin very slowly—just a fraction of a second before it stops completely. I suspect the issue lies with the SATA bus. After disconnecting all SATA connections, it boots into BIOS but fails to start when any drive is connected. Even after replacing the SSDs with an older HDD, the same problem persists. I’ve tried various SATA ports and even a PCIe SATA 3.0 card, but nothing resolves it. If no devices are connected, the system starts and enters BIOS; however, adding a drive still prevents it from launching. I removed the RX 5700 XT and tried using the built-in video, but the problem remains. I worry that during these changes, I might have damaged the motherboard. My concern is that rushing the process without proper precautions could have caused further issues. Have anyone else encountered similar problems? Is this a common fault?
It seems your PSU was connected wrong from the start on the connectors for the SATA SSDs. A simple solution is to buy Molex to SATA adapters and use them.
Testing a drive with a SATA cable but no power still presents the same challenge. This suggests whether the issue stems from the power source or the motherboard.
You used the original power cables linked to the earlier PSU. That would be incorrect. As you mentioned, with the 450W PSU in the original setup, the PC functioned perfectly.
Aha, that wasn't my intention. When I link to the SATA bus, power was consistently connected. I'll attempt it again tomorrow and will update you. Thanks!