Hard drive shuts down power supply

[PJBHDD]

A couple of days ago, I turned on my computer, heard a pop and the computer immediately shut down and wouldn't turn on. I turned it on again, this time it powered on for 1-2 seconds and immediately powered off.

I disconnected the hard drive and it powered on fine. Connected the hard drive and it stayed on for 1-2 seconds and powered off. I tried the hard drive in 3 other computers, every time the hard drive was connected, the computer would not stay powered for more than 1-2 seconds. It almost appears as if the hard drive is shorting the power supply. It will not get to the BIOS. The power LED flashes and then the entire computer powers off.

Has anyone seen this behavior? The drive is still under warrantly, but my last backup is almost 6 months old. My drive spec:
Seagate ST3650640A 650GB with firmware: 3.AAD

Thanks in advance for any information.

[jono-ats]

Sounds like a shorted TVS. The cause and fix has been covered many times on this forum. Do a search for TVS.

[Zorb]

There may be a cause for a shorted TVS diode. Check your PCB for corrosion first, as well as checking the PSU voltages. If it fried because of a high PS voltage, you will be exposing the drive to that excessive voltage without one of its protective mechanisms if you use it on that computer with TVS removed.

[PJBHDD]

Just wanted to post a thank you to Jono-ats and Zorb for responding to my posts and pointing me in the correct direction of the TVS. The data was worth $250.00 max to me. All the DR company quotes ranged from $500 to $1500.

I didn't have a multimeter and removed both TVS and was able to boot my drive and Ghost it to Two other drives. Before this thread, I've never heard of a TVS. Thanks again to all posters on this site!

[Zorb]

Buy a simple multimeter for $20 for the future. It's useful.

Good that you got your information off the drive.