Can Audio wires/Power supply wires cause my Hardrive to Freeze? (if nearby- Magnetic fields?)

by entry
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I have the freezing/halting issue of my primary hardrive. I did format the computer, it is like brand new.

But sometimes on Startup it goes Black....

and when i get this issue, I turn the computer off, and pull out the Wires, straighten them and put them back it, and then restart, the AFTER THAT the computer works fine. :confused:

So the test for the adjusting wires fixes it..... :confused:

NOTE my 2 hardrives are OUT SIDE the compute cage....just out, but connected.

I once asked could faulty/old wires be the cause of the computer crashing?

I have 2 hardrives, primary {windows} + secondary {contains data}


But now am asking...

Can any of the following Near my hardrives (primary+ secondary HDs) cause the compute freezing? - DUE TO MAGNETIC FIELDS ?

-Speaker wire?
-Powersupply wire?
-Audio wire?
  • Profile picture of the author rickfrazier1
    Very unlikely to be from magnetic fields. I have seen computers working just fine in some prety nasty electromagnetic fields without significant problems. It really takes a strong field to directly affect a hard drive externally. If moving wires seems to make it healthy (at least on a temporary basis) it is much more likely that you have a bad connector or two.

    You stated that the drives are "outside" the case. If they are connected to the motherboard in the regular manner, with no side on the case, you may also have other issues, like overheating of the CPU (Processor) or other components. Also, there are different types of hard drives, ane each is affected somewhat differently by their connections. Older IDE and Pata type drives were connected with a wide flat cable, using a parallel data transmission method, plus a large (usually white) power connector. Newer SATA drives use a Serial data transmission method and a much smaller cable and smaller power connector. Each is subject to it's own type of connection problems.

    The older Parallel cables could act as if the contacts got "dirty" sometimes, thus unplugging and reconnecting the cables would "wipe" the connections and they would work great again for quite some time. The white power cable had large "molex" type pins. The "male" pins of the drive go into a mating "female" socket of the power cable. The female sockets can get "spread" from repeated connection cycles or trying to insert the cable at an angle, making a poor power connection. You can usually tell by looking into the connector. A good socket will look like a o with a break on one side. A worn/spread one will look more like a c and may appear somewhat oval. You can usually carefully bend them back into a closed, o shape and get them to work again.

    The newer SATA data and power connectors have much less insertion and retention force than the older style, and are much easier to partially unplug accidentally. They use a different, wiping connection than the older style drives, and in the proper environment, are very reliable.

    However, neither connection method is very good if the drives are outside the case and there is any stress placed on the connectors or cables. Generally, the old style connectors can get away with supporting the drive weight if needed, but with the new ones, the drive WILL get disconnected. Similarly, the old style will survive a moderate amount of stress on the cables or connectors, but the newer style will lose connection with very little stress or movement.

    It is best to secure the drives inside the case, get the drives connected properly, verify their operation, and leave them alone. If the cables are in decent shape to begin with, you should have trouble-free connections. If not, you may actually have other issues that SEEM to be cable related. However, if you are operating with drives outside of the case and cables or drives subject to any movement, there is a very good chance your problem is not the actual drives, but the cabling, and it will only get worse with time. Please bear in mind that the physical and electrical design of the computer system assumes the cables are plugged in and left that way. The cables are not designed for continual flexing or being connected/reconnected often, and the hard drives are not rated for the shock and other stresses of being outside of a substantial case.

    You would be amazed at how high the levels of shock are for an un-restrained hard drive from even a very small drop. I can recall "drop testing" of a product in the late 90's where we found that a 6" drop to a concrete floor approached 200 G's (200 times normal gravity) for internal components of a particular product we were developing. Needless to say, hard drives really aren't designed to withstand significant shock, especially when running. Depending on the angle a drive is subjected to, a drive might survive, or be essentially destroyed by even a six inch drop.
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    • Profile picture of the author entry
      Cheers very much, for your detailed answer
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  • Profile picture of the author Floyd Fisher
    Sounds more like one of the heads on your boot drive is sticking than electrical interference.

    If you can, back that bad boy up and get an rma before it totally goes on you.
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    • Profile picture of the author entry
      Originally Posted by Floyd Fisher View Post

      Sounds more like one of the heads on your boot drive is sticking than electrical interference.

      If you can, back that bad boy up and get an rma before it totally goes on you.

      what do you mean by sticking?

      and what is a rma?
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