How to kill 2 hard drives instantly

[vonfeldt7]

My new computer has been running fine for the last few days, until last night when I decided to re-arrange the cables. When I got done, it wouldn't turn on, it would try for about 1/2 or 1/4 of a second, and then turn off. After many hours of frustration, and process of elimination, I've found that both hard drives are bad. They won't boot with any system.

What killed them? My motherboard, and CPU still work (or I'm assuming they do...I got into the bios as long as the hard drives aren't hooked up).

The only thing I can think of, is the fact that my power supply made a "crack" then some smoke came from it. The power supply still works though...

I don't know, I'm just really confused, if someone could help me, or at least give me an idea of what happened, that be great, because if it happens again, I'll be so pissed of I wont' know what to do with myself. Maybe Dell is the way to go afterall (kidding...I hope)

EXCELSTOR Jupiter Series ESJ8160S 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3250310NS 250GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

MSI TurboStream 600W ATX 12V V2.2/ EPS 12V/ BTX 600W Power Supply 90 - 264 V Safety / EMI Approvals: FCC certification - Retail

 

[porterjw]

The only thing I can think of, is the fact that my power supply made a "crack" then some smoke came from it. The power supply still works though...

Blown capacitor inside the PSU - I wouldn't trust it for continued use and would get a new one ASAP.

When arranging the cables, was the PSU turned off via the switch on the back? I've had the same thing happen to be before; system was off, PSU was on. It's not too common, just one of those things that sometimes happens.

Do you hear anything coming from the Hard Drives (spinning up, etc.)? It's probably a moot point, but reset CMOS, then try to boot again.

 

[vonfeldt7]

Blown capacitor inside the PSU - I wouldn't trust it for continued use and would get a new one ASAP.

It still works...which is what confuses me. Anyways, it doesn't matter, as I'm getting a new one.

When arranging the cables, was the PSU turned off via the switch on the back? I've had the same thing happen to be before; system was off, PSU was on. It's not too common, just one of those things that sometimes happens.

Yes, the switch on the power supply was turned off, it was still plugged in however.

Do you hear anything coming from the Hard Drives (spinning up, etc.)? It's probably a moot point, but reset CMOS, then try to boot again.

They were trying to spin up, but then the computer would turn off. I tried resetting CMOS.

I'm ordering new stuff (new hard drives, new power supply) and my only concert is that (A) I don't want it to happen again, and (B) I'm worried about my motherboard/CPU. I hope it didn't damage them.