![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
The problem shows itself as the hard disc access light locks on and the PC crashes (more recently sometimes with a "Delayed write failed" message) requiring a hard power down. After a hard power down, the system will sometimes reboot and work for a short time before the crash occurs once again but usually, it will not reboot at all as the PC powers on with the HD access light permanently on but with no disc access apparently occurring.
Now, the solution to get the system to reboot is pretty simple, if rather awkward. If I disconnect the PC, open up the case, unlug the SATA and power cables to the disc, plug them back in again and power on, voila, the system reboots OK and works without problems for a few weeks until the next identical crash occurs! This is particularly awkward, however, as my system is connected to my TV and I need to just about put my back out to be able to disconnect the keyboard/power/monitor etc cables from the back of the case!
When this problem first started showing itself (probably not until a few months after I had originally built the system), I presumed it was due to a problem with the hard disc. However, after replacing this, the PC continued with its intermittent crashes so I surmised the problem must be either the motherboard or the PSU. In due course, I replaced the motherboard (and upgraded the CPU and memory) only to find that the crashing problem continued unabated which led me to believe that the culprit must be the PSU.
However, I recently changed the PSU to use a PicoPSU and all was fine for a few weeks until last night when, you guessed it, the PC crashed in exactly the same manner as before.
As you might imagine, I'm now pulling my hair out as I've exhausted every possible avenue I can think of. Can anybody think of any possible reason for this problem and why it could continue occurring despite the fact that the hard disc, motherboard and PSU have now all been replaced!?! Every meaningful bit of hardware has changed since the problem first reared its ugly head and the only thing my ever-changing system has in common is casing itself and the Windows XP MCE 2005 installation which is fully up-to-date as are all the other system drivers. The problem has occurred using two separate TVs (a Toshiba and a Samsung) as monitors. I'm hardly an amateur, incidentally, as I've built probably 15 or so PCs over the years so I do usually know what I'm doing.
What puzzles me most is the fact that unplugging then reconnecting the hard disc will allow the system to reboot and function correctly again for a few weeks, when simply unplugging the power cable will not usually allow the system to reboot. I can't imagine that this would indicate any kind of a software problem but I also can't imagine what the hardware problem might be!
Here's the basics of my system, (not that I can see this should make any difference!) :
Low-profile Silverstone LC-19 case. Originally with an inbuilt 19V DC-DC 120W converter, now using a 12V PicoPSU (150W).
Originally, an ASRock motherboard (using an NVidia chipset) with an AMD Sempron, subsequently upgraded to an ASUS 780G motherboard with an Athlon 64 X2. Corsair XMS memory upgraded from 1GB to 2GB and running at stock speed.
The system connects to the PC input of my Samsung TV.
Originally a 120GB 2.5" Fujitsu disc (suspended), now a 500GB WD GreenPower 3.5", hard-mounted (incidentally, yes, I've tried out different SATA cables on both hard discs which have been used over the years).
Any ideas about the reasons for this problem and possible solutions would be gratefully received!