Hard Drives keep getting bad sectors

[jferraro]

We purchased a DELL Dimension E521 around 2007 and now am on 3rd hard drive (two Western Digitals and one Seagate). Each time I install a new one, it works for a little while and then suddenly develops bad sectors or unreadable area.

What is going on here???

Hard to believe I can get three bad hard drives in a row in under 2 years.

[patio]

PSU would be my guess as the culprit.
I'd also replace the data cable as well.
IDE or SATA ?

[jferraro]

I am guessing a PSU is a Power Supply Unit. Is there anyway to test it to see if it is faulty?

I was also told that bad RAM or a bad Motherboard controller could cause this. Could this be the case?

Computer has a SATA cable.

[Geek-9pm]

...

I was also told that bad RAM or a bad Motherboard controller could cause this. Could this be the case?

Computer has a SATA cable.

The drives have warranties. You will have to replace the motherboard. Do not risk another Hard Drive. As for the Power supply, just amuse it is suspect. Even if it test OK, you should replace it as a precaution. The replacement PSU would cost less that  that the motherboard and Hard Drive. Ebay has 600 watt replacement for about $25
 

[jferraro]

I would rather test the motherboard and Power Supply first before assuming they are bad. Is there anyway to test them?

[patio]

Best test for the PSU is to borrow a known good one from a friend of the same or greater wattage and swap it in there.
Of course this will not give any short term results at all because it takes a drive awhile to fail....
MBoard would have to go to a shop...

[Geek-9pm]

For the average user? No.
At the risk of making a Hard Drive go bad? Not worth it.
In the manufacture of the boards that have some very high tech methods of testing new boards. This is way beyond what you would do in a small shop.
Static tests are almost of no value. Except when the board is really bad.

[jferraro]

I am utterly confused as to what to do now. Yes, I can get another hard drive, but it may get bad sectors again if some computer part is causing it.

[BC_Programmer]

so then the suggestion for a PSU is just being ignored?

[jferraro]

I am open to all the suggestions.

Just wondering if there is a way to find out which part is causing the problem and just replace that part without having to purchase a PSU, then find out the replacement hard drive still goes bad, then replace the motherboard, then another replacement drive goes bad and so forth....

[burned703]

This is a very good topic. I would like a bit more of explanation as how the PSU conflics and makes the HD go bad.  I always thought it was just to give power and not damage another part of the computer.

[BC_Programmer]

it's not a "conflict"-

a PSU can easily go "bad" and start providing the wrong voltages or amperages, which can cause malfunctions with ANYTHING on the PC, and even permanent damage.

in this case, For example, power fluctuations while a Disk drive is writing data could cause data corruption- viewed as bad sectors.

[jferraro]

BC_Programmer,

Are you saying one could get a bad sector and in reality it may not be a physically bad sector and instead a software bad sector which can be corrected?

[Bgs]

As far as i read i have a question too if the Power Cycle Count is below the average and the normal count what could it cause?it can cause disk read errors?

[Geek-9pm]

Trust me. A PSU can do more damage that you can imagine. But it is rare. (That is like saying automobile collisions due to bad brakes are are.)
A PSU could sit in a test jig for 24 hours and show no sign of failure. But if it was in a PC that has a bad history, the PSU can not be proven innocent. PSUs do not have cavil rights.
Anybody who worked in manufacturing may know what this is about. The are extreme tests that are used in the manufacture's  process to weed out rare problems. But these techniques are not used on returned suspect items unless there is a need for more research. Those tests are not done to recycle a low profit product. Lesser, quick check tests will qualify an item as refurbished. Yet such materiel can not be sold or used as if it were new.

This is not meant to confuse. You said that three good drives failed in this machine. About the only thing you can reuse with no fear would be the case of the machine.