New PSU not providing power to Hard Drives

Question

I recently bought a new graphics card for my computer and a more powerful PSU to match the requirements. After installing the parts, when I tried starting the computer it didn't boot Windows and instead went to the BIOS. According to the BIOS, none of the hard drives are being recognized as present. I do not hear them running.

I had reused the existing SATA power cable, so I swapped it for a new cable that came with the PSU. No change. I tried another cable, no change. I tried swapping to another SATA outlet on the PSU, no change.

To go over the steps I've taken:

1. Removed the old GPU
2. Removed the old PSU
3. Installed the new PSU
4. Installed the new GPU
5. Attempt to boot up, problem encountered
6. Swap to new cable, problem persists
7. Swap to another new cable, problem persists
8. Swap to another SATA outlet, problem persists.

I haven't heard any strange sounds nor have I smelled anything burning.

Does anyone know what could be causing the problem and how to fix it?

Specs:

• Corsair 450M Old PSU
• EVGA 850 GT New PSU

Answer 1

HDD Damage Likely

I suspect the HDDs may have been damaged by sustained overvoltage when you first powered up the new PSU on the old cable. While the two PSUs accept similar 6 pin modular connectors the pinouts are different to match the specific pinout on the respective PSU. Pinouts vary across manufacturers and can also vary between models within the same manufacturer.

PSU SATA Pinout

Corsair 450M

PSU:    5 ■ 1
        2 3 4

Drive:  1 2 3 4 5

EVGA SuperNOVA 850 GT

PSU:    1 4 3
        2 5 ■

Drive:  1 2 3 4 5

Transient Voltage Suppression (TVS)

Depending on your drive model the damage from the voltage spike may have been borne by the TVS diodes. You may wish to review the information at the link that follows from The HDD Oracle a platform for Platform for OPEN research on Data Recovery about TVS failure and recovery/repair.

TVS FAQ: http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=100&t=86

Full Pinout Diagrams

Answer 2

Background

I was in a very similar situation. I wanted to save time by not re-running a SATA power cable from an existing Corsair PSU being replaced with an EVGA PSU. The result was the same as you described - disks would no longer power on, even when installed in a different system. Blind Spot's answer led me down a path to replacing the HDDs' external PCBs. I managed to save two 3TB WD Red NAS drives and the data that was on them. Mine were configured in a TrueNAS core pool which resumed functioning after some soldering and PCB replacement. I'm guessing since this is question is over a year old, your issue has been resolved one way or another, but wanted to add my experience.

Disclaimer

If data contained on the drive is highly sensitive and you don't want to take any chances, find a reputable company to handle recovery and eat the cost. It might be expensive depending on how much data you're trying to recover, but sometimes it's best to leave it up to a professional.

How I solved my issue

If you're willing to accept the risk of damaging your HDD further, read on. To be clear I am not a professional. I'm a novice when it comes to troubleshooting components on a PCB so I wasn't confident I'd be able to even identify TVS diodes, much less isolate which one(s) are failing. My drives have an external PCB as I assume most do. In my theory, replacing the PCB would mean replacing any damaged TVS diodes. I'm not sure this applies to all HDDs, but in my case I would need to swap a BIOS chip from the damaged board to the new one. If you don't swap the BIOS chip, data will not be readable even if the drive spins up. That said, you'll need to be at least a little comfortable with soldering. I'm no expert in this area either but I'd recommend practicing removing chips of similar size on an old PCB before putting a heat gun anywhere near your drive's PCB.

Quick steps:

1. Take pictures of everything. You may need these for reference when you start removing and re-soldering components.
2. Locate the serial number for your PCB. You'll likely need to remove the PCB from the exterior of the HDD enclosure. Mine had a couple T8 screws holding it in place. Location is likely to vary by brand but for my WD Red NAS drives it was printed on the boards and looked like this: "2060-810011-001"
3. Identify your BIOS chip(s). I got lucky and the AliExpress seller did this step for me in the item photos. Example photo from AliExpress seller
4. Find someone selling an exact match for your board. I had two different serial numbers to deal with, but managed to find both replacement boards on AliExpress for under $20.
5. Purchase a basic soldering setup. You'll want flux, solder wick, solder etc. You could probably get away with just an iron, but I opted for one with an air gun too ($130). Removing an IC with an iron alone can be tricky. I won't get into too many details here. There's tons of youtube videos about PCB and SMD soldering tools and techniques if you've never done it before. Practice on a board that doesn't matter first!
6. Once you've done all your shopping, remove and discard the BIOS chip(s) from your new, working board and clean up the pads.
7. Pull the BIOS chip off your fried board.
8. Refer to your pictures and solder your existing BIOS chip onto the new board. Make sure you're maintaining the orientation of your circuits.
9. Re-attach the PCB to your HDD enclosure
10. Cross your fingers and/or pray to any God(s) of your choosing. Plug it in.

Wrap up

I managed to repeat this process twice for two slightly different PCB's with success. It's a nerve wracking process, but if you take your time and plan your steps it can be done by a complete novice. Compared with the cost of sending it out to a company, it's relatively inexpensive at around $200 USD depending on what tools you decide to purchase and the replacement PCB. In my case the data on these drives was sort of a nice to have, so I was willing to risk losing my data altogether. Thankfully I was able to recover all my data and continue using the drives... for now. I think there's a saying around data backup which goes; "1 is none and 2 is 1" or something like that, idk google the source. I'm certainly going to be more cautious about swapping in new hardware without reading carefully. Good luck and my condolences for your data loss. Hope this helps someone.