HDD ceased functioning properly on its own, only starting when connected to an external adapter.
HDD ceased functioning properly on its own, only starting when connected to an external adapter.
- You purchased three 14TB WD140EMFZ drives from Amazon. Everything functioned perfectly for five months in your system. No hardware changes were made during the process. When two drives failed, they didn’t spin up, weren’t recognized by BIOS, and showed no signs of trouble. Later, you managed to connect a working drive to the motherboard and a faulty one to an external HDD adapter with extra power. The bad drive finally worked again. All data was backed up successfully.
Why this happened:
- Checked connections and positioning multiple times.
- Tested each drive individually in different setups.
- Swapped cables, tried in another PC, and even used the original case.
- PSU is powerful enough, so power issues aren’t likely.
- Drive diagnostics didn’t flag any errors.
- External adapter only worked with a modified setup (different case).
- Hard drive health seemed normal until external connection.
What you might have missed:
- The external adapter may not be compatible with your motherboard or firmware version.
- BIOS settings or power management could affect recognition of certain drives.
- Physical damage or corrosion inside the drive might have been overlooked.
- Ensure the adapter supports the exact model and firmware of your drives.
Seems like the 3.3v problem, though it's strange they functioned before any changes to the PSU. Were you using any adapters or splitters for power? Most PSUs prevent WD drives from working directly with standard SATA connectors because of the 3.3v pin, which can cause the drive to reset repeatedly. You can cover the pin or use a Molex adapter to a SATA power splitter. I don't like covering pins, so a Molex splitter is probably the better choice.
Check pin #3 on the SATA power cable. https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Fix...el-Disks-/
I recently tried it and it functions properly. I even recalled researching the problem before replacing the drives. I used splitters, though I’m certain I also employed them in the new setup. It’s odd that one drive operates just like a standard drive without a splitter, but now everything is working correctly. Thanks a lot—I was coming up with wild theories in my head!
I can't express that directly, but you can check the pictures yourself. The one showing the vertical part is the one that functions without an adapter.
I'm referring to the production year. Although the months differ slightly, it's likely there was a change around that time. I think all white label drives now face the 3.3V problem, but it wasn't always the case, so perhaps the model shifted in 2020 or later.