Eating Hard drives

My system consists of a SOYO MB, Tualatin 1.2g processor, HP floppy drive, Sony CD Rom, ATI Radeon 7500 graphics card, and an Intel 56k modem. In the last year, I have killed 2 new Maxtor 20 gig hd, a new Western Digital 60 gig hd, and am reduced to using a 6 gig WD hd with a bad boot sector. I have a 2.5 gig Seagate hd installed just to get it to boot. I have gone thru a 1.2 gig WD hd, and a 2.1 gig Quantum Fireball hd serving in the same capacity.
Can anyone suppy any advice on what to do or where to look for a solution to this problem?

Sorry, I forgot to add : The average CPU temp is 91 degrees F, System temp is 86 degrees F

do the hard drives just stop working or do they make any sort of sounds??

any other hardware failing as well, or that you're having problems with?

Some gurgle to death, some just slow down and die, some give no warning. No other hardware failure

Have you tried any of the HDs in other machines to see what's happened?

Yes, and unfortunately none have ever worked again. On one Maxtor, I was able to view the contents of the drive before croaking completely, and there was nothing but gibberish where the files were.

A quick guess would be the power supply is faulty. I would also change the HDD cable, and get a surge protector extension strip between your mains supply and your PC.

Do your lights flicker a lot/ blow bulbs frequently?

Cheers

I'd go with Nihil. Sounds like a power supply problem. Sounds like this has been a costly problem if you've lost so many HDs. I know it doesn't help but I'd consider salvaging what you can from the box and cutting your losses by getting rid of it. Experimenting to find the problem could cost you more. If you're determined to sort it out, and can live with the cost, then please let us know what you find out. Sorry I can't be aymore help.

Good Luck

I do have a surge protector, and I recently replaced the original 300 watt P.S. with a new same wattage P.S. I replace cables every 6 months as a matter of maintainence, and the lights only flicker during our 2 or 3 times a year rainstorms(no lie!!) which is what makes this so screamingly frustrating. Also, the system is only run 10-12 hours a day

I do wish to know the cause, but that might not be a bad idea Elmore. Thanks to all who help. It has become one of those things where the desire for the solution is based more on pride than good sense. I will not be defeated by a mere machine.......

Frying four hard drives in a year ?

You don't have a security guard attaching his magnetic flashlight to the case at night, do you?

I would first go with power:
. surge protector already covered.
. is the main (house ) source supply properly grounded?

Then environment ( static charges ):
. where is the case? Is it on the floor, on a carpet, on the desk ?
. Is it very dry air? Do you ever get a shock when touching the the case, etc.?

I have also seen hard drives fried because of voltage spikes in phone lines ( someone takes out a pole down the road, the wires cross ) but that usually fries the modem as well. A good surge protector should have a place for the phone jack.

And if you are using a cable modem make sure it is properly grounded ( my cable company actually goes around and checks these every once in a while )

By the way, when the drives are installed in the case does the case ground them? Drives used to have grounding plugs but they did away with them because most get grounded with the attaching screws anyway, It might be worth a look.

Hey Guy's !!

CLUE:

Quote:

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Sorry, I forgot to add : The average CPU temp is 91 degrees F, System temp is 86 degrees F

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well these are not to bad.. but if you want to kill 7200rpm hdds.. try running them in a poorly ventilated case 24hrs a day for 30 or so days.. and dead hdd is the result..

In this situation the only failure seems to be the hdds all are most likley 7200rpm types.. especialy the 60G.. only thing that shoots this idea is the older (smaller) hdds dieing as well..

hmm another thought.. do you do Lan game a lot?.. moving the system around could be subjecting the system to vibration that can lead to failure of hdds.. .. idea only..

You don't mention other problems.. is the system stable? that is when the hdds are running ok.. if you had PSU probs or even heat related there would be other clues..normaly..

but a possability as nihil mentions are spikes on the mains.. he asked if light dim and blowen bulbs.. well a spike is hi voltage - high frequency bursts of electricity that are able to pass from the mains input to to dc output with out being touched by the PSU filters.. (cheap PSUs that is).. only to zap some poor device.. .. the cpu and mem are prptected by their own MOBO PSU.. hmm and you've had co cd-rom/cd-rw/DVD-rom failures in this time?

dambed.. too confusing.. sry

cheers