Smoking SSD and HDD power cables

[TheAsel]

Hi, first time posting here and not a native speaker, I hope I'm doing everything right. This is my problem:

 

Three days ago when I turned on my computer that I built almost 4 years ago (never had any problems) it shut off and it smelled like burnt plastic. I disassembled everything and found the source of the smell to come from the power supply (Corsair RM550) so I ordered a new one (Seasonic M12II-520 Evo).

 

It arrived yesterday so I connected back all the cables to the new power supply, tried to turn it back on but it still wasn't working, the fans spun for maybe a second and then it would shut off. I tried disconnecting all the unnecessary parts such as the graphics card and left the bare minumum but nothing changed.

 

Fast forward to today: I double checked all the cables and connections and tried once again turning it on. I see smoke coming from the disks so I immediately turn off the power supply and disconnect the cables. From the image below you can see that the SSD power connector (the one on top) is a bit molten while the HDD (the one on the bottom) was mostly ok, just a little molten plastic that I removed. The other HDD I had in my system doesn't look damaged.

So my questions are:

• What is causing the issue? My first idea was the power cable connecting the disks to the power supply since I didn't replace it with the new ones that came with the new power supply.

• Can I recover the data from the disks? There isn't anything really important in them but the SSD was my primary driver with the OS and some files I'd like to recover if possible (music library, photos, save files).

If it's useful to know I live in Italy. If you need any more informations/photos feel free to ask. Any help is greatly appreciated!

[LukeSavenije]

3 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

What is causing the issue? My first idea was the power cable connecting the disks to the power supply since I didn't replace it with the new ones that came with the new power supply.

those pins that literally melted away, that thing's dead

 

4 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

Can I recover the data from the disks?

only by going to a recovery centre if you're lucky

[WereCatf]

5 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

So my questions are:

• What is causing the issue? My first idea was the power cable connecting the disks to the power supply since I didn't replace it with the new ones that came with the new power supply.

• Can I recover the data from the disks? There isn't anything really important in them but the SSD was my primary driver with the OS and some files I'd like to recover if possible (music library, photos, save files). 

It was probably the cables, yes. You didn't check that the wiring is the same on the old and the new cables, did you? If the positive and negative rails are different in the new cables from the old ones, then that'd definitely cause the kind of damage you got on your SSDs. As for recovery: like @LukeSavenije there said, only a proper recovery-specialists can save any data at this point.

[TheAsel]

1 minute ago, WereCatf said:

It was probably the cables, yes. You didn't check that the wiring is the same on the old and the new cables, did you? If the positive and negative rails are different in the new cables from the old ones, then that'd definitely cause the kind of damage you got on your SSDs. As for recovery: like @LukeSavenije there said, only a proper recovery-specialists can save any data at this point.

Yeah I was dumb for not thinking to replace the old cables with the new ones. I'll try to use a spare HDD with the new cables to see if that's the issue. Otherwise I don't know what it could be. Thanks for the replies!

[Spotty]

4 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

I disassembled everything and found the source of the smell to come from the power supply (Corsair RM550) so I ordered a new one (Seasonic M12II-520 Evo). 

Is your RM550 still within warranty period? If it is, send it back to Corsair for replacement.

 

4 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

What is causing the issue? My first idea was the power cable connecting the disks to the power supply since I didn't replace it with the new ones that came with the new power supply. 

Never mix PSU cables from different units. Always use the cables that come with the unit (or cables specifically designed to be compatible with that PSU).

What about the rest of the system? Any signs of damage elsewhere? Motherboard? Graphics card?

@jonnyGURU @Stefan Payne You two will get a kick out of this one.

 

4 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

Can I recover the data from the disks? There isn't anything really important in them but the SSD was my primary driver with the OS and some files I'd like to recover if possible (music library, photos, save files).

Possible. You would need to contact a data recovery service. This will be costly. HDD would be easiest as a simple controller swap would possibly do the job. The SSD I'm not sure about.
If it's just music and photos on there, well I'd just write it off as a loss and buy new drives. Save files for video games mostly get stored in the cloud if you're using platforms like Steam, so when you log in to your steam account and try to play the game it will automatically download your save files.

[TheAsel]

9 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Is your RM550 still within warranty period? If it is, send it back to Corsair for replacement.

 

Unfortunately not.

9 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Never mix PSU cables from different units. Always use the cables that come with the unit (or cables specifically designed to be compatible with that PSU).

What about the rest of the system? Any signs of damage elsewhere? Motherboard? Graphics card?

Yeah I don't know what I was thinking, I was in a rush and I didn't even think about replacing the old cables with the new ones. I did however change all the other power cables (PCI-E, MOBO, CPU) before turning it on this morning (exept the disk ones obviously...). I don't see any damage on the PCBs or connectors of the other components, hopefully those are safe.

 

9 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Possible. You would need to contact a data recovery service. This will be costly. HDD would be easiest as a simple controller swap would possibly do the job. The SSD I'm not sure about.
If it's just music and photos on there, well I'd just write it off as a loss and buy new drives. Save files for video games mostly get stored in the cloud if you're using platforms like Steam, so when you log in to your steam account and try to play the game it will automatically download your save files.

What's inside them it's not worth the cost for sure, just a bit annoying to lose. I was thinking about taking the power connectors from another disk and replace the broken ones to at least try to backup the files, is it possible or just a dumb idea?

[WereCatf]

18 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

What's inside them it's not worth the cost for sure, just a bit annoying to lose. I was thinking about taking the power connectors from another disk and replace the broken ones to at least try to backup the files, is it possible or just a dumb idea?

No, the components themselves on the PCB are also 100% fried. Replacing the connector wouldn't fix those.

[Spotty]

4 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

I was thinking about taking the power connectors from another disk and replace the broken ones to at least try to backup the files, is it possible or just a dumb idea?

It's possible to replace the controller boards on HDDs if you have another HDD of the same model you can disassemble for parts. So you'd be looking at the cost of a new HDD that you're going to probably ruin just to try and get the data back off the old drive. It should just be the controller board that is fried, the data on the discs themselves in theory should still be intact and undamaged.
SSD not so easy I don't think.

If you really need the data off the drives, get a quote from a professional data recovery service. Probably cost a few hundred, maybe more.

 

27 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

What's inside them it's not worth the cost for sure, just a bit annoying to lose.

In that case then just bin the drives and buy new ones.

[Stefan Payne]

1 hour ago, TheAsel said:

I disassembled everything and found the source of the smell to come from the power supply (Corsair RM550) so I ordered a new one (Seasonic M12II-520 Evo).

Oh god, why?!
Why the heck would you order that old thing?!

You had a somewhat decent PSU that had potentially some issues and replaced it with some really bad unit?! WHY?!
 

I really hate that people buy such low end unit whose electrical performance and safety features are worse than the lowest end units of other brands. You're better off with a Cooler Master Master Watt Lite than that...

 

1 hour ago, TheAsel said:

I see smoke coming from the disks so I immediately turn off the power supply and disconnect the cables.

Congratulations! You found the lack of Protections of your new, "awesome" Seasonic unit...

Should have went with a better one...

 

1 hour ago, TheAsel said:

• What is causing the issue? My first idea was the power cable connecting the disks to the power supply since I didn't replace it with the new ones that came with the new power supply.

Without words...

I don't want to check the pinout from a Seasonic unit right now but, here what I could find:

https://www.overclock.net/forum/18082-builds-logs-case-mods/1420796-repository-power-supply-pin-outs-68.html

 

Here your old Corsair RM:

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=148945

 

So 12V where 5V should be or ground. 5V where 3,3V should be and 3,3V where 12V should be.

Great job, man!

 

1 hour ago, TheAsel said:

• Can I recover the data from the disks? There isn't anything really important in them but the SSD was my primary driver with the OS and some files I'd like to recover if possible (music library, photos, save files).

Nope, they are totally done as the data is stored electronically.

And you might have given 12V to the Drive where 5V should be.

 

Improbable that something survived.

 

 

And now you know the importance of working protection because if the PSU would have had it, it might not have burned...

 

So you should send your Seasonic back where it came from or recycle it.

[TheAsel]

5 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

Oh god, why?!
Why the heck would you order that old thing?!

You had a somewhat decent PSU that had potentially some issues and replaced it with some really bad unit?! WHY?!
 

I really hate that people buy such low end unit whose electrical performance and safety features are worse than the lowest end units of other brands. You're better off with a Cooler Master Master Watt Lite than that...

It had good reviews and was cheap, I couldn't afford to pay more for a new one. I think I'm the one at fault here, not the power supply. But still, if you have any advice for a better PSU for around the same price I can still return this one (ordered from amazon.it), thanks! At least I've learned my lesson and from now on I'll always replace the old cables 

[Spotty]

16 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

It had good reviews and was cheap, I couldn't afford to pay more for a new one. I think I'm the one at fault here, not the power supply. But still, if you have any advice for a better PSU for around the same price I can still return this one (ordered from amazon.it), thanks! At least I've learned my lesson and from now on I'll always replace the old cables 

How much did you pay for the M12ii 520W? Showing 68 Euros on Amazon.it for me. What are you system specs by the way? CPU, GPU?

In no particular order...
Bitfenix Formula  (79 Euros) - https://www.amazon.it/BitFenix-bp-fm450ulag-9r-Alimentazione-per-PC/dp/B0775QFP8F/

BeQuiet Pure Power 11 (63 Euros) - https://www.amazon.it/quiet-Pure-Power-alimentatore-computer/dp/B07JJH9XLP

Corsair CX550 (63 Euros) - https://www.amazon.it/Corsair-CX550-Alimentatore-Plus-Bronze/dp/B06X15NZ2X/

 

From that I probably wouldn't get the Formula due to its price compared to the other units, but if you can find it a little cheaper elsewhere it might still be an option to consider.
 

The keen eyed observers are probably noticing a theme  

[TheAsel]

2 minutes ago, Spotty said:

How much did you pay for the M12ii 520W? Showing 68 Euros on Amazon.it for me. What are you system specs by the way? CPU, GPU?

Yes, that is the correct price. I have an i5 4690, MSI GTX 970, 8 GB DDR3 of RAM and an MSI H97 PC Mate Motherboard.

I'll look into your suggested power supplies, but is the one I bought really that bad? Just curious! Thanks for your time by the way, really appreciate it! 

[Stefan Payne]

20 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

It had good reviews

Where?! from whom?!
and from when?!
Ever looked at how old that thing is?!

 

20 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

and was cheap,

Cheaper than be quiet Pure Power 10/11, System Power 9, Xilence Performance X, Bitfenix Formula?

 

Those are way better than what you got. And also feature some kind of safety you do not have.

 

20 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

I couldn't afford to pay more for a new one.

Even for that price, there are better ones.

That one is almost 60€ over here.

For that money you can get far better units.

 

What you got is 30€ Performance with lipstick on for 60€...

 

20 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

I think I'm the one at fault here, not the power supply.

You both are.

The PSU you got lacks protection.

 

Look at those:

https://www.computerbase.de/2017-07/cooler-master-cougar-xfx-zalman-netzteil-test/3/#abschnitt_schutzschaltungen

^ XFX zweite Revision is your S12II-Bronze

 

20 minutes ago, TheAsel said:

But still, if you have any advice for a better PSU for around the same price I can still return this one (ordered from amazon.it), thanks! At least I've learned my lesson and from now on I'll always replace the old cables 

See above.

Be quiet Pure Power 10/11

Bitfenix Formula

 

Would be my preferred ones.

400W at least.

[TheAsel]

3 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

Where?! from whom?!
and from when?!
Ever looked at how old that thing is?!

Mainly PcPartPicker, Amazon and had a good experience with Seasonic in the past. I'll be more careful next time.

 

4 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

See above.

Be quiet Pure Power 10/11

Bitfenix Formula

 

Would be my preferred ones.

400W at least.

Ok I'll check those and return the one I bought, thanks!

[Lagercat1]

you should make sure your mobo, cpu , gpu are ok bc i would be worried about everything oif thats what happend to your ssd...

[Guest]

4 hours ago, TheAsel said:

Unfortunately not.

How is it your RM550 is no longer under warranty?  You said you bought it four years ago and it has a 7 year warranty.

 

Math extrapolates that 7 - 4 = 3.  You have 3 years of warranty left.

 

[seagate_surfer]

It is very rare to see a storage device with a 7-year warranty, you should better check with the manufacturer just in case ...

[Spotty]

7 hours ago, jonnyGURU said:

How is it your RM550 is no longer under warranty?  You said you bought it four years ago and it has a 7 year warranty.

 

Math extrapolates that 7 - 4 = 3.  You have 3 years of warranty left.

 

Isn't warranty period on the RM550 5 years? That's what's stated on the Corsair website and in reviews for the unit.

If they already had the unit before they built their current system (from a previous build), or if they bought it 2nd hand, then it's possible it doesn't have warranty.

 

Regardless, I'd still try claiming warranty through Corsair for it, might get lucky and it will still have valid warranty. Worst they can do is say no, warranty expired.

[Tz000]

12 hours ago, TheAsel said:

Hi, first time posting here and not a native speaker, I hope I'm doing everything right. This is my problem:

 

Three days ago when I turned on my computer that I built almost 4 years ago (never had any problems) it shut off and it smelled like burnt plastic. I disassembled everything and found the source of the smell to come from the power supply (Corsair RM550) so I ordered a new one (Seasonic M12II-520 Evo).

 

It arrived yesterday so I connected back all the cables to the new power supply, tried to turn it back on but it still wasn't working, the fans spun for maybe a second and then it would shut off. I tried disconnecting all the unnecessary parts such as the graphics card and left the bare minumum but nothing changed.

 

Fast forward to today: I double checked all the cables and connections and tried once again turning it on. I see smoke coming from the disks so I immediately turn off the power supply and disconnect the cables. From the image below you can see that the SSD power connector (the one on top) is a bit molten while the HDD (the one on the bottom) was mostly ok, just a little molten plastic that I removed. The other HDD I had in my system doesn't look damaged.

So my questions are:

• What is causing the issue? My first idea was the power cable connecting the disks to the power supply since I didn't replace it with the new ones that came with the new power supply.

• Can I recover the data from the disks? There isn't anything really important in them but the SSD was my primary driver with the OS and some files I'd like to recover if possible (music library, photos, save files).

If it's useful to know I live in Italy. If you need any more informations/photos feel free to ask. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

Its your cables... you reused your cables from your previous PSU.

 

I did the same thing when building up a new PC for my wife I had some spare black cables from a EVGA psu and used them on an older XFX psu because that psu had ugly colored cables and the system just would not turn on at all swapped out the cables with the stock xfx ones and boom no issues.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Spotty said:

Isn't warranty period on the RM550 5 years? That's what's stated on the Corsair website and in reviews for the unit.

If they already had the unit before they built their current system (from a previous build), or if they bought it 2nd hand, then it's possible it doesn't have warranty.

 

Regardless, I'd still try claiming warranty through Corsair for it, might get lucky and it will still have valid warranty. Worst they can do is say no, warranty expired.

Is it?  I thought it was 7 years, then RMx was 7 years, then it was upgraded to 10 years.

 

But if it was 5 then upgraded to 7 with RMx, then my bad.

 

But still... if it was bought and built four years ago, there would be one year left on the warranty if it's a five year warranty.

 

[Stefan Payne]

wait a minute...

The Pins that are burned are suspicious...

Because neither 3,3V, 5V nor 12V is burned.

 

ONLY the GND Pins are burned. Almost all of them!

 

Look at the pinout here:

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/hdd-sata-power-disable-feature,36146.html

[seagate_surfer]

What an observer! What do you suggest is happening here?

[LukeSavenije]

32 minutes ago, seagate_surfer said:

What an observer! What do you suggest is happening here?

just fyi: you need to quote or mention people to let them reply

 

this one's on me: @Stefan Payne

[Stefan Payne]

9 minutes ago, seagate_surfer said:

What an observer! What do you suggest is happening here?

My guess would be that 12V and one GND was mixed up, but the other GND was fine.

 

So in theory it was a clean short. But because the PSU didn't have UVP or OCP on 12V, it couldn't detect the fault and powered up, thus causing the carnage we see here.

 

Here what I wrote about the Pinout:

On 3/22/2019 at 1:16 PM, Stefan Payne said:

here what I could find:

https://www.overclock.net/forum/18082-builds-logs-case-mods/1420796-repository-power-supply-pin-outs-68.html

 

Here your old Corsair RM:

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=148945

 

So 12V where 5V should be or ground. 5V where 3,3V should be and 3,3V where 12V should be.

Great job, man!