My computer won't start when SATA is active
My computer won't start when SATA is active
Hello! My computer experienced a crash earlier today, freezing and shutting down abruptly. It began looping through repeated reboots without ending. Initially, I considered disconnecting everything except the GPU, RAM, M.2 SSD, and CPU. The PC started up normally, but once I reconnected the SATA drives, it would restart endlessly again. After several attempts with cables and BIOS settings, I tested the HDDs on an older machine I own. No issues were found, and all files remained intact. Thinking it might be a Windows error on my current system, I tried reinstalling Windows, but it always restarted during installation. After an hour, I removed a RAM stick and it worked without reboots. However, even after running a memory diagnostic with both sticks active, the HDDs still wouldn<|pad|> to function properly after reinstalling the OS. The PC won’t boot to Windows and simply restarts itself. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.
Many thanks in advance! Here are my specifications in case they might help:
•CPU: Ryzen 5 3600XT
•GPU: Gtx 1660 Super
•RAM: 8GB x2 DDR4 Corsair Vengeance
•STORAGE: 1× Seagate 2TB HDD, 1× Seagate 4TB HDD, 1× WD Blue 500GB SSD
•PSU: EVGA 500BQ 80+Bronze
This might be a sign that the PSU is beginning to fail, causing inconsistent power supply. It doesn't seem directly connected, but maybe
I would attempt to obtain another PSU and check if the problem continues.
Could it be related to a motherboard problem, like specific SATA ports not functioning or being inactive when another is active? Need to review the motherboard specifications for those ports.
Did you perform MemTest86+ multiple times on the RAM stick you removed, and did the system function properly? Even after running a memory test, the issue remains consistent with a faulty DIMM or an incorrect IMC channel. Inspect each DIMM individually using MemTest86+. Any errors found should be considered potentially defective; disable XMP overclocking and re-test the RAM. If it still fails without XMP enabled, discard that DIMM. It’s also possible the CPU or motherboard is faulty—verify this by testing a single working DIMM in each memory slot on the motherboard and observing results.