In this post I am going to write about one way in which you might be able to detect bad sectors.

In this post I am going to write about one experience I have had detecting bad sectors on a Hard Drive.

In the future I will write other posts about my personal experiences detecting bad sectors.

Below is one experience I have had detecting bad sectors.

I have a friend that brought me his Compaq Presario desktop Computer to repair. This computer had windows xp installed on it. When I first got the computer it would not boot into windows xp. When trying to boot the computer into windows xp it just locked up on the windows xp boot screen before even loading the windows xp desktop. The model number for this Compaq Presario desktop computer is SR2010NX.

Some of the hardware installed in this Compaq Presario desktop computer is listed below.

1.AMD Sempron Processor 3400+

Read information about Processor and central processing unit (CPU) from Wikipedia

2.NVIDIA GeForce 6150LE Graphics

Read information about graphics processing unit (GPU) from Wikipedia

Read information about Video cards from Wikipedia

3.This Compaq Presario desktop computer had a 120GB desktop Serial ATA (SATA) 3.5 inch
7200 rpm mechanical hard disk drive in it and not a Solid-state drive (SSD).

4.512MB of DDR2 SDRAM memory

View all the hardware that is installed in the Compaq Presario SR2010NX Desktop computer as well as any other product specifications at the hp website.

View the hp support webpage for the Compaq Presario SR2010NX Desktop computer at the hp website.

View the upgrading and service guide and all other guides for the Compaq Presario SR2010NX Desktop computer.

I made sure that i did not have to use a data recovery program to recover any data from this computer before trying to fix it or running any hard drive tests that would destroy the data. My friend said no data needed to be recovered from the computer. After finding out that i did not need to use a data recovery program to recover data from the computer i then tried to restore the computer using the recovery partition installed on the hard drive to fix any problems that would be causing windows xp not to boot.

After restoring the computer for the first time using the recovery partition installed on the hard drive i then tried to boot the computer into windows xp again and while trying to boot the computer into windows xp it still just locked up on the windows xp boot screen before even loading the windows xp desktop.

At this point I decided to test the computer with the PC-Check Diagnostic program.

I always use the self-booting version of the PC-Check Diagnostic program to test all the hardware in notebook, laptop and desktop computers.

I used the self-booting version of the PC-Check diagnostic program to run a full set of diagnostic tests on the computer.

When testing a computer with PC-Check i usually run each test more than once even if the test passes to make sure that the test will pass every time it is run.

Sometimes you will encounter problems with a computer being able to pass a test once when PC-Check runs the test the first time but when the test is run more than once the test will not pass or the computer will lockup or reboot because of failing hardware in the computer or a bad Power Supply.

I tested all the hardware in the Compaq Presario desktop computer except the CD/DVD drive.

The tests that I ran in PC-Check to test this computer are below.

When i ran all the motherboard and cpu tests in PC-Check they always passed.

The AMD Sempron Processor 3400+ in this Compaq Presario desktop computer only had a single core.

When i am testing a processor with multiple cores i always make sure to select each processor core before running all tests on that processor core to make sure that i test all processor cores.

The extended memory test i ran under the advanced diagnostics memory test menu by choosing test system memory always passed.

The cache memory test i ran under the advanced diagnostics memory test menu by choosing test cache memory always passed.

The video memory test i ran under the advanced diagnostics memory test menu by choosing test video memory always passed.

The Internal cache test for the hard drive always passed.

The Mechanics Stress Test for the hard drive always passed.

when i ran the three hard drive tests below for the first time they failed.

Read Test
Read Verify Test
Non-Destructive Write Test

After running the three hard drive tests above for the first time and having them report 1 or more bad sectors i decided to run the test below to try and erase all the data on the hard drive and repair the bad sectors.

Destructive Write Test

After running the Destructive Write Test for the first time i new that all the data was erased on the hard drive and all the bad sectors were repaired on the hard drive because no bad sectors were reported while running the Destructive Write Test.

I also confirmed that all the bad sectors were erased on the hard drive after running the Destructive Write Test by running the Read Test, Read Verify Test and the non-Destructive Write Test for the second time. I new that all the bad sectors on the hard drive had been repaired because no bad sectors were reported while running the Read Test, Read Verify Test and the non-Destructive Write Test for the second time.

After repairing the bad sectors on the hard drive for the first time i then tried to install windows xp.

After installing windows xp for the first time i then tried booting the computer into windows xp and was able to boot the computer without any problems into the windows xp desktop for the first time.

At this point i decided to try and boot windows xp again and see if the computer would boot into the windows xp desktop.

Sometimes the computer would boot into the windows xp desktop 2, 15 or 20 times without problems but at some point the computer would lockup while trying to boot into the windows xp desktop before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen. Once the computer locked up while trying to boot windows xp before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen it would lockup every single time you tried to boot the computer into windows xp either before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen until i ran PC-Check to repair all the bad sectors on the hard drive.

When the computer locked up i ran PC-Check to test the hard drive again. The hard drive tests i ran are below.

Read Test
Read Verify Test
Non-Destructive Write Test

After running the Read Test, Read Verify Test and the Non-Destructive Write Test for the third time i found that the hard drive had developed one or more bad sectors again so i decided to run the Destructive Write test again to try and erase all the data on the hard drive and repair any bad sectors on the hard drive again.

After running the Destructive Write Test for the second time i new that all the data was erased on the hard drive and all the bad sectors were repaired on the hard drive because no bad sectors were reported while running the Destructive Write Test.

I also confirmed that all the bad sectors were erased on the hard drive after running the Destructive Write Test by running the Read Test, Read Verify Test and the non-Destructive Write Test for the fourth time. I new that all the bad sectors on the hard drive had been repaired because no bad sectors were reported while running the Read Test, Read Verify Test and the non-Destructive Write Test for the fourth time.

After repairing the bad sectors on the hard drive for the second time i then tried to install windows xp for the second time.

After installing windows xp for the second time i then tried booting the computer into windows xp and was able to boot the computer without any problems into the windows xp desktop.

At this point i decided to try and boot windows xp again and see if the computer would boot into the windows xp desktop again. At some point the computer still would not boot into the windows desktop.

Sometimes the computer would boot into the windows xp desktop 2, 15 or 20 times without problems but at some point the computer would lockup while trying to boot into the windows xp desktop before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen. Once the computer locked up while trying to boot windows xp before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen it would lockup every single time you tried to boot the computer into windows xp either before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen until i ran PC-Check to repair all the bad sectors on the hard drive.

At this point i removed the side of the computer case to reseat the two DDR2 SDRAM memory modules in the computer and use compressed air from a can of compressed air to remove any dust from the motherboard that can cause a computer to lockup or reboot.

Sometimes reseating all the memory modules in the computer and using compressed air can fix lockups and reboots.

Sometimes a problem you have with your computer might be caused by a bad memory module in the computer when you do not think that the problem you are having could be caused by a bad memory module in the computer.

For example one time while i was using the MS-DOS Editor in windows from the windows command prompt to write a program i saw information being typed on the screen as if i was typing something on the keyboard but i was not touching the keyboard or typing anything on the keyboard at that time.

The information being typed on the screen when i was not touching the keyboard or typing anything on the keyboard at that time was not readable text and looked like what you would see in some parts of the text area of a hex editor or disk-editor if you were viewing or editing a file with a hex editor or viewing or editing a drive with a disk-editor to view or edit executable code or binary code.

The information being typed on the screen when i was not touching the keyboard or typing anything on the keyboard looked like what you would see if you opened a program executable file in a text editor.

At this point i decided to run the PC-Check diagnostic program to test all the hardware in my computer and the PC-Check diagnostic program detected that one of the memory modules in my computer was bad. Once i replaced the bad memory module in my computer i had no more problems with information being typed on the screen when i was not touching the keyboard or typing anything on the keyboard.

You should always use an Anti Static Wrist Strap to prevent any computer parts from being damaged by Electrostatic discharge (ESD) or Static electricity when working inside any computer and upgrading or repairing any computer.

I use a Wireless Anti Static Wrist Strap and an Antistatic Mat when working inside the computer and upgrading and repairing computers.

You can search amazon for Antistatic Mat to find Antistatic Mats

You can search amazon or Parts4Pc for Wireless Anti Static Wrist Strap and Cordless Anti-Static Wrist Strap to find Wireless Anti Static Wrist Straps.

Read information about Antistatic wrist strap from Wikipedia

Read information about A Computer Builder’s Guide to ESD from Dev Hardware

Read information about Avoid Static Damage to Your PC from PCWorld

Read information about Electrostatic discharge (ESD) from Wikipedia

Read information about Electrostatic discharge (ESD) from PC Computer Notes and online tutorials

Read Information about Electrostatic discharge (ESD) from Computer Hope

Read information about Electrostatic discharge (ESD) from Transtronics

Read information about Electrostatic discharge (ESD) from HEXUS

Read information about Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) from Utilize Windows

Read information about Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) from JohnKingWorld

Read information about Electrostatic Discharge Precautions from the informIT website

Read information about Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) and How To Prevent It from ComputerHelpUSA

Read information about Electrostatic Discharge: Understanding and Preventing ESD from Gamers Nexus

Read information about ESD Why it can be your worst enemy from PC Maintenance (PCM)

Read information about How to Protect a Computer From ESD from eHow tech

Read information about How to Protect a Computer From Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) from eHow tech

Read information about How to Ground Yourself to Avoid Destroying a Computer with Electrostatic Discharge wikiHow

Read information about Static electricity from Wikipedia

Read System Maintenance and Assembly of your Laptop by Scott Mueller starting on page 1 from the QUE website or the informIT website for information about protecting your computer from Electrostatic discharge (ESD) and static electricity.

Read System Maintenance and Assembly of your Laptop by Scott Mueller starting on page 1 from the QUE website.

Read System Maintenance and Assembly of your Laptop by Scott Mueller starting on page 1 from the informIT website.

It was easy to remove the side of the case from this Compaq Presario desktop computer so i did not need to view the upgrading and service guide from the hp website to remove the side of the case.

After reseating the two DDR2 SDRAM memory modules in the computer and using compressed air from a can of compressed air to remove any dust from the motherboard that can cause a computer to lockup or reboot then i ran the PC-Check diagnostic tests again on the motherboard, cpu, memory and video memory and all the tests passed. i ran the Destructive Write Test in PC-Check for the third time to erase all the data on the hard drive and repair any bad sectors on the hard drive.

After running the Destructive Write Test for the third time i new that all the data was erased on the hard drive and all the bad sectors were repaired on the hard drive because no bad sectors were reported while running the Destructive Write Test.

I also confirmed that all the bad sectors were erased on the hard drive after running the Destructive Write Test by running the Read Test, Read Verify Test and the non-Destructive Write Test for the fifth time. I new that all the bad sectors on the hard drive had been repaired because no bad sectors were reported while running the Read Test, Read Verify Test and the non-Destructive Write Test for the fifth time.

After repairing the bad sectors on the hard drive for the third time i then tried to install windows xp for the third time.

After installing windows xp for the third time i then tried booting the computer into windows xp and was able to boot the computer without any problems into the windows xp desktop.

At this point i decided to try and boot windows xp again and see if the computer would boot into the windows xp desktop again. At some point the computer still would not boot into the windows desktop.

Sometimes the computer would boot into the windows xp desktop 2, 15 or 20 times without problems but at some point the computer would lockup while trying to boot into the windows xp desktop before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen. Once the computer locked up while trying to boot windows xp before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen it would lockup every single time you tried to boot the computer into windows xp either before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen until i ran PC-Check to repair all the bad sectors on the hard drive.

Reseating the two DDR2 SDRAM memory modules in the computer and using compressed air from a can of compressed air to remove any dust from the motherboard that can cause a computer to lockup or reboot did not fix the problem.

At this point i decided to use a new SATA Data Cable and a new 4-Pin Molex to Serial ATA (SATA) Power Adaptor plugged into a different 4-Pin Molex Connector from the power supply.

I made sure that the new 4-Pin Molex to Serial ATA (SATA) Power Adaptor was plugged into a different Molex Connector than the old 4-Pin Molex to Serial ATA (SATA) was plugged into from the power supply.

I made sure that the new SATA Data Cable was plugged into the SATA1 PORT on the motherboard because the old SATA Data Cable was plugged into the SATA1 PORT on the motherboard.

After replacing the old SATA Data Cable with a new SATA Data Cable and replacing the old 4-Pin Molex to Serial ATA (SATA) Power Adaptor with a new 4-Pin Molex to Serial ATA (SATA) Power Adaptor plugged into a different 4-Pin Molex Connector from the power supply then i ran the Destructive Write Test in PC-Check for the fourth time to erase all the data on the hard drive and repair any bad sectors on the hard drive.

After running the Destructive Write Test for the fourth time i new that all the data was erased on the hard drive and all the bad sectors were repaired on the hard drive because no bad sectors were reported while running the Destructive Write Test.

I also confirmed that all the bad sectors were erased on the hard drive after running the Destructive Write Test by running the Read Test, Read Verify Test and the non-Destructive Write Test for the sixth time. I new that all the bad sectors on the hard drive had been repaired because no bad sectors were reported while running the Read Test, Read Verify Test and the non-Destructive Write Test for the sixth time.

After repairing the bad sectors on the hard drive for the fourth time i then tried to install windows xp for the fourth time.

After installing windows xp for the fourth time i then tried booting the computer into windows xp and was able to boot the computer without any problems into the windows xp desktop.

At this point i decided to try and boot windows xp again and see if the computer would boot into the windows xp desktop again. At some point the computer still would not boot into the windows desktop.

Sometimes the computer would boot into the windows xp desktop 2, 15 or 20 times without problems but at some point the computer would lockup while trying to boot into the windows xp desktop before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen. Once the computer locked up while trying to boot windows xp before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen it would lockup every single time you tried to boot the computer into windows xp either before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen until i ran PC-Check to repair all the bad sectors on the hard drive.

Replacing the old SATA Data Cable with a new SATA Data Cable and replacing the old 4-Pin Molex to Serial ATA (SATA) Power Adaptor with a new 4-Pin Molex to Serial ATA (SATA) Power Adaptor plugged into a different 4-Pin Molex Connector from the power supply did not fix the problem.

Now i decided to remove the new SATA Data Cable from the hard drive and the motherboard and remove the new 4-Pin Molex to Serial ATA (SATA) Power Adaptor from the power supply 4-Pin Molex Connector and remove the SATA Power end of the 4-Pin Molex to Serial ATA (SATA) Power Adaptor from the hard drive.

I then plugged the old SATA Data Cable back into the SATA1 PORT on the motherboard and plugged the other end of the old SATA Data Cable back into the hard drive.

I then plugged the old 4-Pin Molex to Serial ATA (SATA) Power Adaptor back into the 4-Pin Molex Connector that the old 4-Pin Molex to Serial ATA (SATA) Power Adaptor was plugged into before unplugging it from the power supply and plugged the SATA Power end of the 4-Pin Molex to Serial ATA (SATA) Power Adaptor back into the hard drive.

The motherboard in this Compaq Presairo Desktop Computer had 2 SATA PORTS labeled SATA1 and SATA2 on the motherboard.

At this point i decided to unplug the SATA Data Cable from the SATA1 PORT on the motherboard and plug the SATA Data Cable into the SATA2 PORT on the motherboard to see if the SATA1 PORT on the motherboard was causing the problem.

After plugging the SATA Data Cable into the SATA2 PORT on the motherboard then i ran the Destructive Write Test in PC-Check for the fifth time to erase all the data on the hard drive and repair any bad sectors on the hard drive.

After running the Destructive Write Test for the fifth time i new that all the data was erased on the hard drive and all the bad sectors were repaired on the hard drive because no bad sectors were reported while running the Destructive Write Test.

I also confirmed that all the bad sectors were erased on the hard drive after running the Destructive Write Test by running the Read Test, Read Verify Test and the non-Destructive Write Test for the seventh time. I new that all the bad sectors on the hard drive had been repaired because no bad sectors were reported while running the Read Test, Read Verify Test and the non-Destructive Write Test for the seventh time.

After repairing the bad sectors on the hard drive for the fifth time i then tried to install windows xp for the fifth time.

After installing windows xp for the fifth time i then tried booting the computer into windows xp and was able to boot the computer without any problems into the windows xp desktop.

At this point i decided to try and boot windows xp again and see if the computer would boot into the windows xp desktop again. At some point the computer still would not boot into the windows desktop.

Sometimes the computer would boot into the windows xp desktop 2, 15 or 20 times without problems but at some point the computer would lockup while trying to boot into the windows xp desktop before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen. Once the computer locked up while trying to boot windows xp before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen it would lockup every single time you tried to boot the computer into windows xp either before getting to the windows xp boot screen or while on the windows xp boot screen until i ran PC-Check to repair all the bad sectors on the hard drive.

Plugging the SATA Data Cable into the SATA2 PORT on the motherboard did not fix the problem.

Now i unplugged the SATA Data Cable from the SATA2 PORT on the motherboard and plugged the SATA Data Cable back into the SATA1 PORT on the motherboard.

At this point i thought the problem might be the power supply because the bad sectors would come back after trying to boot into windows xp so many times. The computer uses more power when it first boots up so i thought that maybe the power supply was not able to function properly under this load because this was not a higher quality power supply installed into this computer and my friend had this computer for at least 3 years.

The quality of the power supplies in some store bought computers as well as some computers you can buy online is not as good as the higher quality power supplies that you can purchase when building your own computer so the power supplies in some store bought computers and some computers you can buy online can start to cause problems and go out of spec anytime from 3 to 5 years.

When i talk about the power supply going out of spec i am talking about the power supply not delivering the proper voltage to your computer hardware all the time. The voltage that the power supply can deliver to your computer in this case can be higher or lower than what it is supposed to be. A power supply can fail in such a way that the computer can still function properly most of the time except sometimes the computer might lockup or reboot every so often.

You can sometimes find the DC output, regulation or DC Voltage tolerance range percentages of each of the DC voltages as well as the pinouts for each pin on the power supply connectors from the power supplies manufactures website.

For example PC Power & Cooling sells the Turbo Cool 860 power supply and you can find the pinouts for each pin on the power supply connectors of the Turbo Cool 860 by looking at the Turbo Cool 860 Specifications document or the Turbo Cool 860 manual.

Also for the PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 860 power supply by looking at the Turbo Cool 860 Specifications document or the TECH SPECS section of the Turbo Cool 860 Specifications page you can find the Regulation of the DC Voltage range in the DC Output section which tells you what percentage range each DC Voltage should be within.

The Turbo Cool 860 Specifications document shows me that the +3.3 DC Voltage, +5 DC Voltage, +12 DC Voltages must be within 1.5% percent range and that the -12 DC Voltage should be with 5% percent range.

The Turbo Cool 860 Specifications document and the TECH SPECS section of the Turbo Cool 860 Specifications page shows me that the +3.3 DC Voltage, +5 DC Voltage, +12 DC Voltages must be within 1.5% percent range and that the -12 DC Voltage should be with 5% percent range.

You can use the windows calculator to calculate the DC Voltage percentage ranges.

To calculate 1.5% percent range of +3.3 DC Voltage for the Turbo Cool 860 use the calculation below

3.3 * 1.5% = 0.0495

3.3 + 0.0495 = 3.3495

3.3 – 0.0495 = 3.2505

The Maximum and Minimum +3.3 DC Voltage range for the Turbo Cool 860 would be

Maximum +3.3 DC Voltage is 3.3495
Minimum +3.3 DC Voltage is 3.2505

To calculate 1.5% percent range of +5 DC Voltage for the Turbo Cool 860 use the calculation below

5 * 1.5% = 0.075

5 + 0.075 = 5.075

5 – 0.075 = 4.925

The Maximum and Minimum +5 DC Voltage range for the Turbo Cool 860 would be

Maximum +5 DC Voltage is 5.075
Minimum +5 DC Voltage is 4.925

To calculate 1.5% percent range of +12 DC Voltage for the Turbo Cool 860 use the calculation below

12 * 1.5% = 0.18

12 + 0.18 = 12.18

12 – 0.18 = 11.82

The Maximum and Minimum +12 DC Voltage range for the Turbo Cool 860 would be

Maximum +12 DC Voltage is 12.18
Minimum +12 DC Voltage is 11.82

To Calculate 5% percent range of -12 DC Voltage use the calculation below

12 * 5% = 0.6

12 + 0.6 = 12.60

12 – 0.6 = 11.40

The Maximum and Minimum -12 DC Voltage range for the Turbo Cool 860 would be

Maximum -12 DC Voltage is -12.60
Minimum -12 DC Voltage is -11.40

I only use the Turbo Cool 860 power supply as an example because the +3.3, +5 and +12 1.5% DC Voltage tolerance range percentages for the Turbo Cool 860 power supply are different than the +3.3, +5 and +12 DC Voltage tolerance range percentages you find in the Power Supply Design Guide For Desktop Platform Form Factors Revision 1.2 February 2008, Power Supply Design Guide For Desktop Platform Form Factors Revision 1.1 March 2007, ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.2 March 2005, ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.01, ATX / ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 1.1 August 2000, ATX Specification version 2.1 June 2002, ATX Specification version 2.2 2003-2004, EPS12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.91 and the EPS12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.92.

If possible you should check the manufactures website of the power supply for the pinouts for each pin on the power supply connectors because some of the pinouts for some power supplies might be different than what you can find in the Power Supply Design Guide For Desktop Platform Form Factors Revision 1.2 February 2008, Power Supply Design Guide For Desktop Platform Form Factors Revision 1.1 March 2007, ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.2 March 2005, ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.01, ATX / ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 1.1 August 2000, ATX Specification version 2.1 June 2002, ATX Specification version 2.2 2003-2004, EPS12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.91 and EPS12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.92 to look up power supply information.

If possible you should always check the power supplies manufacture website for the DC output, Regulation or DC Voltage tolerance range percentages of each of the DC Voltages as well as the pinouts for each pin on the power supply connectors first before using the Power Supply Design Guide For Desktop Platform Form Factors Revision 1.2 February 2008, Power Supply Design Guide For Desktop Platform Form Factors Revision 1.1 March 2007, ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.2 March 2005, ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.01, ATX / ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 1.1 August 2000, ATX Specification version 2.1 June 2002, ATX Specification version 2.2 2002-2003, EPS12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.91 and EPS12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.92 to look up power supply information.

The Power Supply Design Guide For Desktop Platform Form Factors Revision 1.2 February 2008, Power Supply Design Guide For Desktop Platform Form Factors Revision 1.1 March 2007, ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.2 March 2005, ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.01, ATX / ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 1.1 August 2000, ATX Specification version 2.1 June 2002, ATX Specification version 2.2 2003-2004, EPS12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.91 and the EPS12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.92 documents have information on what each pin is on the power supply connectors as well as what DC Voltage each pin is supposed to deliver to a computer and what ranges each DC Voltage should be within.

Some power supplies have a sticker on the case of the power supply that lets you know if the power supply is an ATX power supply or an EPS12V power supply.

Power Supply Design Guide For Desktop Platform Form Factors Revision 1.2 February 2008

Power Supply Design Guide For Desktop Platform Form Factors Revision 1.1 March 2007

ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.2 March 2005

ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.01

ATX / ATX12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 1.1 August 2000

ATX Specification version 2.1 June 2002

ATX Specification version 2.2 2003-2004

Visit the formfactors.org website for more Specifications and Guides

EPS12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.91

EPS12V Power Supply Design Guide Version 2.92

ATX Power Supply connector pinouts

Computer Power Supply Information from Wikipedia

ATX information and more computer Power Supply information from Wikipedia

Before i could try to test and confirm that the power supply might not be working properly i needed to erase any bad sectors from the hard drive that i did not erase after previously reseating the two DDR2 SDRAM memory modules in the computer and using compressed air from a can of compressed air to remove any dust from the motherboard that can cause a computer to lockup or reboot.

I ran the PC-Check diagnostic Destructive Write test for the sixth time on the hard drive to erase any bad sectors on the hard drive that i had not erased before replacing the power supply.

After running the Destructive Write Test for the sixth time i new that all the data was erased on the hard drive and all the bad sectors were repaired on the hard drive because no bad sectors were reported while running the Destructive Write Test.

I also confirmed that all the bad sectors were erased on the hard drive after running the Destructive Write Test by running the Read Test, Read Verify Test and the non-Destructive Write Test for the eighth time. I new that all the bad sectors on the hard drive had been repaired because no bad sectors were reported while running the Read Test, Read Verify Test and the non-Destructive Write Test for the eighth time.

After repairing the bad sectors on the hard drive for the sixth time i then tried to install windows xp for the sixth time.

After installing windows xp for the sixth time i then tried booting the computer into windows xp and was able to boot the computer successfully without any problems into the windows xp desktop so i could test the power supply.

Sometimes the way i try and confirm that a power supply is not working properly is to put the computer under load by running certain programs while measuring the DC Voltages from the back of the power supply motherboard connectors.

Some computer hardware parts in some notebook, laptop and desktop computers can be damaged by putting the notebook, laptop or desktop computer under to much load or by putting the notebook, laptop or desktop computer under to much load for to long.

The reason some computer hardware parts in some notebook, laptop and desktop computers can be damaged by putting the notebook, laptop or desktop computer under to much load or by putting the notebook, laptop or desktop computer under to much load for to long is because some notebook, laptop and desktop computers have computer hardware parts in them that are not the highest quality.

These computer hardware parts in some notebook, laptop and desktop computers that are not the highest quality parts are not meant to be put under to much load or to be put under to much load for to long like some benchmark programs and stress tester programs put on a computer.

Not all benchmark and stress tester programs put a notebook, laptop or desktop computer under really heavy loads that can damage lower quality computer hardware parts that are installed in some notebook, laptop and desktop computers.

Also sometimes running a combination of some benchmark and stress tester programs at the same time or more than one benchmark or stress tester program at the same time can put to much load or put to much load for to long on some computers and can damage lower quality computer hardware parts that are installed in some notebook, laptop and desktop computers.

Some notebook, laptop and desktop computers have thermal protection built in that will shutdown the notebook, laptop or desktop computer when the processor temperature or motherboard temperature reaches a certain temperature.

For example i had an ASUS motherboard in my desktop computer that shutdown to protect itself when the motherboard temperature reached 70c.

I also worked on and repaired a notebook computer one time that just kept shutting itself down after booting into windows. Sometimes the notebook computer would stay on just a few minutes after booting into windows before shutting itself down and at other times the notebook computer would stay on longer than a few minutes after booting into windows before shutting itself down.

I checked to make sure that there were not any programs installed on this notebook computer that could cause this notebook computer to shut itself down. I also check the power management settings in windows to make sure all power management settings were disabled and not causing the notebook computer to shut itself down. I also made sure that all power management settings in the BIOS options were disabled and not causing the notebook computer to shut itself down.

I also tried booting the notebook computer into safe mode to see if the notebook computer would shut itself down in safe mode or if the problem would not happen in safe mode. Booting into safe mode help me to figure out if any programs on the computer were causing the notebook computer to shut down while booted into normal mode because these programs are not started automatically in safe mode. The notebook computer still shut itself down in safe mode.

The reason this notebook computer was shutting itself down was because the processor fan was not working at all. The notebook was shutting itself down to protect the processor, motherboard and other hardware parts in the notebook computer from being damaged by to much heat.

Once i replaced the processor fan then the system stopped shutting down because the processor was not getting hot enough to shut the system down.

GPUs on some graphic cards will shutdown the system to protect the graphic card if the GPU gets to hot and the video graphics card cannot cool the GPU down enough to get the GPU operating under the maximum temperature the GPU should be operating at.

Different graphic cards have different maximum temperatures they can operate reliably up to.

Graphics cards have protection built in that will shutdown the system if the graphics card reaches the maximum temperature that the graphics card can operate reliably up to and the graphics card driver can’t get the temperature back down below the maximum temperature for the graphics card. This is to protect the graphics card from damage.

For more information see the NVIDIA GPU maximum operating temperature and overheating page.

Also some computer power supplies have protection built in where if any of the DC Voltages being delivered from the power supply to the motherboard are out of range or are not stable then the power supply will remove power from the computer to protect the motherboard and all the other computer hardware parts in the computer which causes the computer to shut off.

If the computer power supply detects that any voltages are out of range or are not stable when you first try to turn the computer on then the computer would not even turn on.

Also some computer power supplies have protection built in where if any of the currents, amperes or amps being delivered from the power supply to the motherboard are out of range or are not stable then the power supply will remove power from the computer to protect the motherboard and all the other computer hardware parts in the computer which causes the computer to shut off.

If the computer power supply detects that any currents, amperes or amps are out of range or are not stable when you first try to turn the computer on then the computer would not even turn on.

You should view the DC Voltages and processor temperature and other temperatures in your computer while running benchmark or stress tester programs to make sure you are not putting the computer under to much load or putting the computer under to much load for to long.

I use to use a hardware monitor program called ASUS PC Probe II which monitors temperatures, DC Voltages and fan speeds in the computer.

ASUS PC Probe II is a hardware monitor program that only works with ASUS motherboards.

One time while ASUS PC Probe II was monitoring the temperatures, DC Voltages and the speed of some of the fans in my computer i installed another hardware monitor program that monitors temperatures, DC Voltages and fan speeds in the computer.

After installing this other hardware monitor program and rebooting the computer this other hardware monitoring program showed me that the temperatures, DC Voltages and fan speeds in my computer were correct but ASUS PC Probe II falsely set off some temperature and DC Voltages alarms showing that some of the temperatures and DC Voltages were higher than what they should be when there was nothing wrong with any of the temperatures and DC Voltages in my computer.

After i uninstalled this other hardware monitoring program and rebooted the computer then ASUS PC Probe II started working properly again and stopped falsely setting off temperature and DC Voltage alarms.

ASUS PC Probe II had a problem with the other hardware monitoring program installed for some reason.

I tell you this just in case you decide to run 2 hardware monitor programs on a computer at the same time and one hardware monitor program falsely reports that some temperatures and DC Voltages are higher than they should be and the other hardware monitor program reports them as being correct.

I have run other hardware monitor programs together at the same time on the same computer that monitor temperatures, DC Voltages and fan speeds and never had the problem with these other hardware monitor programs that i had with ASUS PC Probe II falsely setting off temperature and DC Voltage alarms when the other hardware monitor program was installed.

When i am able to boot to the desktop i use one of the programs below to check the temperatures of processors, chips, chipsets and motherboards.

The programs below are some of the better programs i have found to use for hardware monitoring and to check the temperatures of different parts in the computer.

Some of the programs below can also check other things like what the DC Voltages are in the computer and at what speed some of the fans in the computer are operating at.

AIDA64 Extreme Edition is not a free program that allows you to monitor temperatures such as motherboard, CPUs cores, GPUs, hard drive and Solid-state drive (SSD) temperatures. AIDA64 Extreme Edition can also monitor DC Voltages and fan speeds. AIDA64 Extreme Edition can also monitor CPU usage or utilization. AIDA64 Extreme Edition is able to provide information about all the hardware and software you have in your computer. AIDA64 Extreme Edition supports SMART drive monitoring to show you the temperatures of your hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD). AIDA64 comes in a Business Edition that does not have the ability to monitor any temperatures, DC Voltages and fan speeds.

Argus Monitor is not a free program that allows you to monitor temperatures such as motherboard, CPU cores, GPUs, hard drive and Solid-state drive (SSD) temperatures. Argus Monitor can also show you integrated GPU temperature. Argus Monitor can also monitor fan speeds. Argus Monitor supports SMART drive monitoring to show you the temperature and health or S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) status of your hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD) by monitoring critical S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) attributes. Argus Monitor will even show you if your hard drives and Solid state drives (SSD) have S.M.A.R.T. temperature sensors built in.

Core Temp is a free program that shows you information about your CPUs and allows you to monitor the temperatures of your CPUs cores.

The 3 links below give you more information about Core Temp.

Measuring CPU Dual Core Temps article Posted by Arthur Liberman that wrote the program Core Temp.

Free Utility Core Temp Tells You If Your CPU Is Overheating from PCWorld

Core Temp FAQ

CPU Thermometer is a free program that monitors the temperatures of your CPUs cores.

EVGA Precision X can monitor the temperature of your GPU and let you overclock and fine tune your graphics card. EVGA Precision X can also show you the speed at which your GPU clock is operating at, the speed at which your memory clock is operating at and the DC Voltage your graphic card is using and shows you information about the speed of your graphics card fan.

GPU-Z is a free program that shows you all types of information about your NVIDIA and ATI GPUs and video cards. GPU-Z also allows you to monitor the GPU load, GPU power of some GPUs, GPU core clock speeds and GPU memory clock speeds, memory usage, GPU core temperatures, GPU fan speeds and GPU VDDC DC voltage of your NVIDIA and ATI GPUs and video cards. There is also a special build of GPU-Z that uses an ASUS ROG Skin that makes GPU-Z look different. Download the special build of GPU-Z

GPU Shark is a free program that shows you all types of information about your NVIDIA and ATI GPUs and video cards. GPU Shark also allows you to monitor the GPU usage, GPU core clock speeds and GPU memory clock speeds, GPU core temperatures, GPU fan speeds and GPU VDDC DC voltage of your NVIDIA and ATI GPUs and video cards. Visit oZone3D.Net or Geeks3D to read information about GPU Shark and download it.

HWM BlackBox is a free program to view information about the Processor, Memory and Serial presence detect Memory SPD information, Graphics, System and Motherboard in a computer. HWM BlackBox also allows you to monitor temperatures such as CPU cores, GPUs, System and Motherboard and hard drive and Solid-state drive (SSD) temperatures. HWM BlackBox can also monitor DC Voltages and fan speeds. HWM BlackBox can also Benchmark parts of your system.

HWMonitor is a free program that allows you to monitor temperatures such as motherboard, CPUs cores, graphic card and GPUs, hard drive and Solid-state drive (SSD) temperatures. HWMonitor can also monitor DC Voltages and fan speeds.

HWMonitor PRO is not a free program that allows you to monitor temperatures such as motherboard, CPUs cores, graphic card and GPUs, hard drive and Solid-state drives (SSD) temperatures. HWMonitor PRO can also monitor DC Voltages and fan speeds. HWMonitor PRO also has some features that HWMonitor does not. The HWMonitor PRO website tells you what other features HWMonitor PRO has.

Hardware sensors monitor is not a free program that allows you to monitor temperatures such as motherboard, CPUs, GPU and hard drive temperatures. Hardware sensors monitor can also monitor DC Voltages and fan speeds. Hardware sensors monitor also supports S.M.A.R.T monitoring for hard drives to display information about your hard drives as well as show you the hard drive temperatures.

HWiNFO comes in three versions which are HWiNFO, HWiNFO32 and HWiNFO64 and all three versions are free programs. HWiNFO allows you to monitor temperatures such as motherboard, CPUs cores, GPUs, hard drive and Solid-state drive (SSD) temperatures. HWiNFO can also monitor DC Voltages and fan speeds. HWiNFO is also able to provide information about all the hardware and software you have in your computer. HWiNFO supports SMART drive monitoring to show you the temperatures of your hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD).

Open Hardware Monitor is a free open source program that allows you to monitor temperatures such as motherboard, CPUs cores, GPUs, hard drive and Solid-state drive (SSD) temperatures. Open Hardware Monitor can also monitor DC Voltages and fan speeds. Open Hardware Monitor supports SMART drive monitoring to show you the temperatures of your hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD).

PC-WIZARD is a free system information program that shows you information about the hardware in your computer, the software installed in your computer as well as other information about your computer and allows you to monitor temperatures such as CPU cores, GPU, hard drive and Solid-state drive (SSD) temperatures. PC-WIZARD supports S.M.A.R.T. drive monitoring to show you the temperature of your hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD). PC-WIZARD also allows you to monitor DC Voltages and fan speeds and benchmark your Processor, Cache, Memory, Hard Disk, CD and DVD-ROM drive, Removable Media, FLASH Media, Video, DirectX 3D and MP3 compression performance.

Real Temp is a free program that allows you to monitor CPU cores and GPU temperatures.

SpeedFan is a free program that allows you to monitor temperatures such as motherboard, CPU cores, GPU, hard drive and Solid-state drive (SSD) temperatures. SpeedFan can also monitor DC Voltages and fan speeds. SpeedFan supports S.M.A.R.T. drive monitoring to show you the temperature of your hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD). SpeedFan allows you to run a S.M.A.R.T short Disk Self-Test (DST) and a S.M.A.R.T. extended Disk Self-Test (DST) on your hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD) to check the hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD) for problems.

SiSoftWare Sandra is a program for computer analysis, diagnostics and benchmarking. SiSoftware Sandra can also monitor temperatures, DC Voltages and fan speeds. The Lite version of SiSoftWare Sandra is a free program. The Personal, Business, Tech Support (Engineer) and Enterprise versions of SiSoftware Sandra are not free programs.

SensorsView is not a free program that allows you to monitor temperatures, DC Voltages and fan speeds in the computer.

Speccy is a system information program that shows you all types of information about your computer and the hardware installed in your computer. Speccy also shows you CPUs cores, motherboard, hard drive and Solid-state drive (SSD) temperatures. Speccy also shows you DC Voltages and CPU fan speed. Speccy comes in a free edition and in Professional and Business Editions that are not free programs.

TThrottle is a free program that allows you to monitor CPUs cores temperatures and GPUs temperatures. TThrottle also allows you to make sure the CPUs core temperatures and or the GPUs temperatures don’t go above certain temperatures.

Below are some links to more programs that monitor the S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) built into some drives.

Acronis Drive Monitor is a free program that uses S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) to monitor the temperatures of your hard drives and Solid-state drive (SSD) drives.

Active Hard Disk Monitor is not a free program that supports Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) and works with Solid-state drives (SSD) and hard drives to check and monitor the health status and temperatures of your drives. Active Hard Disk Monitor is able to also detect bad sectors on a drive using the Advanced Disk Scan. The Active Hard Disk Monitor User Guide has information on how to use Active Hard Disk Monitor and also has information on Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.)

CrystalDiskInfo is a free program that supports S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) to monitor the temperatures of your hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD).

DiskCheckup is free for personal use and allows you to monitor the SMART (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) information of hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD). DiskCheckup allows you to run a S.M.A.R.T short Disk Self-Test (DST) and a S.M.A.R.T extended Disk Self-Test (DST) on your hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD) to check the hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD) for problems. Company licenses of DiskCheckup can be purchased.

HDD Health is a free program that supports (S.M.A.R.T) Self Monitoring and Reporting Technology and allows you to monitor the temperatures and health of your hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD).

HD Tune is a program for testing, benchmarking, checking the health or S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) status of your drives and erasing all the data on the drives that you might find useful. HD TUNE comes in 2 versions and works with hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD) as well as other types of drives. HD Tune is free for personal use. HD TUNE PRO is not a free program. View all the types of drives HD Tune works with.

Hard Disk Sentinel is a program for testing, checking the health or S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) status of your drives and other things to do with your drives that you might find useful. Hard Disk Sentinel works with hard drives and Solid-state drives (SSD) as well as other types of drives. Hard Disk Sentinel is free for the DOS and Linux operating systems. Hard Disk Sentinel is not free for the windows operating system.View all the types of drives Hard Disk Sentinel works with

HDDLife Pro is not a free a program that supports S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) drive monitoring to show you the health or SMART status and temperatures of your hard drives and Solid-state drives(SSD).

You can also access the HDD Life website for HDD Life Pro from PalickSoft and BinarySense

HDDLife for Notebooks is not a free a program that supports S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) drive monitoring to show you the health or SMART status and temperatures of your hard drives and Solid-state drives(SSD).

SSDLife Pro is not a free a program that supports S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) drive monitoring to show you the health or SMART status of your Solid-state drives(SSD).

What SMART (S.M.A.R.T) is supposed to do is warn the user of drive failure before the drive stops working to give you time to backup your data.

Read more detailed information about S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) from the Active Hard Disk Monitor website

Read more detailed information about S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) from the Hard Disk Sentinel website

Read more information about S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) from Wikipedia

Read information about Hard Disks from Wikipedia

I found 2 pages on Wikipedia that have information about Solid-state drives (SSD).

Read information about Solid-state drive (SSD) from the first Solid-state drive page on Wikipedia

Read information about Solid-state drive (SSD) from the second Solid-state drive (SSD) page on Wikipedia

For the OCZ Vertex 3 Max Iops Sata 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) i looked up the temperature information for it at the OCZ Technology website.

Information on consumer OCZ Solid-state drives (SSD).

By looking on the OCZ website for the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) i was able to find the specifications for the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) which contains the temperatures for the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD).

I found the temperature information for the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) on the OCZ technology specifications page and the product brief.

The information on the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) specifications page and in the product brief is for both the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drives (SSD) below.

OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) 120GB Part Number VTX3MI-25SAT3-120G
OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) 240GB Part Number VTX3MI-25SAT3-240G

I found the operating temperature of the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) which is 0c to 70c (32F to 158F)

I also found the ambient temperature of the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) which is 0c to 55c (32F to 131F)

I also found the storage temperature of the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) which is -45c to 85c (-49F to 185F)

The operating temperature is the internal temperature at which the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) will operate in.

The ambient temperature is the temperature of the outside of the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD). If you were to measure the temperature at the top of the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) drive case with an external temperature probe then for the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) you would make sure that the probe temperature stayed within the ambient temperature range for the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) which is 0c to 55c (32F to 131F).

From this temperature information for this OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) drive i can just make sure the temperature of my OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) stays with the operating temperature range of Oc to 70c (32F to 140F) while using the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) and make sure that the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) case or the top of the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) stays within the ambient temperature range 0 to 55c (-40 to 158F).

You would have to use an external temperature probe to make sure that the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) case or the top of the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) case or the top of the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) stays within the ambient temperature range 0 to 55c (-40 to 158F).

The OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) does not have a smart temperature sensor built in and is not able to report the temperature of the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD).

If you did not have an external temperature probe and the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) had a smart temperature sensor built in and was able to report the temperature of the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) to software then you could just monitor the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) temperature to make sure that while the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) is operating that the temperature of the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) is within the operating temperature range 0c to 70c (32F to 158F) using software.

The temperature of the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) is always falsely reported as 128c to the computer BIOS and hardware monitoring programs.

Applying the Temperature Sensor patch causes the OCZ Vertex 3 MAX IOPS SATA 3 2.5″ Solid-state drive (SSD) to show a lower false temperature than 128c to prevent problems with the computer BIOS and hardware monitoring programs.

The Temperature Sensor pa