What causes PCB failure on a HDD? - Page 2

Chai · 12th Jun 2009, 03:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zy

3. the fan and hard disk is not directly connected, separated by hard disk cage though. but in that case, having another hard disk nearby would have greater effect. hard disk itself tends to vibrate more than the fan.

5. hard disk might be failing or there was a power interruption. had this one before.. hmm.

I think he's refering to those cases where fans are directly attached to the HDDs. Some fans tend to vibrate more than the HDD too! But you are right, HDD usually vibrates more.

mikegas · 12th Jun 2009, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chai

I think he's refering to those cases where fans are directly attached to the HDDs. Some fans tend to vibrate more than the HDD too! But you are right, HDD usually vibrates more.

Correcto. Chai is correct. I have cases that fan rotate at 16k rpm, totally destroy the drives!

Yes, placing lots of drives together and active at the same time does has the same disaster, that's why is only recommended for single or at most dual drive in a PC. Else go for enterprise class HDD where they have build-in firmware and sensors to take care of this as enterprise grade usually used in RAID environment.. lots of rotational noise there!

Adrian Wong · 13th Jun 2009, 03:39 AM

My PC is "naked" so my fan's actually hanging 1-2 cm away from my drives and not connected at all.

Hmm.. In that case, it would be better NOT to use a drive cage? I'm using one right now to hold my three HDDs. Would layers of foam be better?

Chai · 13th Jun 2009, 12:42 PM

Layer of foam can be a problem since there will be less airflow.

PsYkHoTiK · 13th Jun 2009, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikegas

Correcto. Chai is correct. I have cases that fan rotate at 16k rpm, totally destroy the drives!

Yes, placing lots of drives together and active at the same time does has the same disaster, that's why is only recommended for single or at most dual drive in a PC. Else go for enterprise class HDD where they have build-in firmware and sensors to take care of this as enterprise grade usually used in RAID environment.. lots of rotational noise there!

WD RE's!

Sorry just really <3 my RE3s...

Chai · 13th Jun 2009, 03:33 PM

Velocifaptor FTW!!!

Adrian Wong · 14th Jun 2009, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chai

Layer of foam can be a problem since there will be less airflow.

Hmm.. What's the ideal solution then?

Switch to SSD????

Adrian Wong · 14th Jun 2009, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chai

Velocifaptor FTW!!!

Yes! VelociFaptor FTW!!!

empire23 · 14th Jun 2009, 10:31 AM

PCB failures these days generally are due to environmentalists.

True story bro!

Lead free is not better, as a non eutectic solder blend has lower reliablity and has the perpensity to form long term tin whiskers and is prone to stretch stress. So generally as the stress reforms the solder joints and they get thinner, the Ohmhic heating becomes higher and higher, eventually burning the damned joint out, or it just breaks due to stress, all the while the joint gets weaker. Or the resistance becomes high enough where it messes with the signalling of the soldered component.

The use of more environmentally friendly expoxies and bakelites to package and mount the chips is also an issue. So that is a contributory factor as well. Generally for the same reasons as lead free solders, it has far less temp and stress handling capabilities of earlier materials.

There's also the issue of chip failure, but i won't go there this time.

Adrian Wong · 15th Jun 2009, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by empire23

PCB failures these days generally are due to environmentalists.

True story bro!

Lead free is not better, as a non eutectic solder blend has lower reliablity and has the perpensity to form long term tin whiskers and is prone to stretch stress. So generally as the stress reforms the solder joints and they get thinner, the Ohmhic heating becomes higher and higher, eventually burning the damned joint out, or it just breaks due to stress, all the while the joint gets weaker. Or the resistance becomes high enough where it messes with the signalling of the soldered component.

The use of more environmentally friendly expoxies and bakelites to package and mount the chips is also an issue. So that is a contributory factor as well. Generally for the same reasons as lead free solders, it has far less temp and stress handling capabilities of earlier materials.

There's also the issue of chip failure, but i won't go there this time.

Wow, I didn't know that! So all those ROHS-certified parts won't last as long?

13th Jun 2009, 03:39 AM	#13 (permalink)
Adrian Wong Da Boss Join Date: 10 Oct 2002 Location: In front of my ASUS F8V notebook! Posts: 33,150 Reputation: 3730 Rep Power: 78	My PC is "naked" so my fan's actually hanging 1-2 cm away from my drives and not connected at all. Hmm.. In that case, it would be better NOT to use a drive cage? I'm using one right now to hold my three HDDs. Would layers of foam be better? __________________ Dr. Adrian Wong Tech ARP \| Blog @ Tech ARP \| The Free Trade Zone DYKT : The only offshore account I have is at the sand bank? We need PROGRAMMERS and TECHNICAL WRITERS! Contact us if you are a hot shot programmer or technical writer! My items for sale : 50x SD Card \| Memory Stick PRO \| Cyclone Energy Saver \| Seiko SS watch \| Tiger/Carlsberg beer jugs \| Travel Speakers \| Motorola V600 \| Nokia N90 SOLD! \| New Lowepro Mini Trekker AW Other items for sale @ the FTZ : Zalman CNPS9500 LED @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7700 Cu @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7000 Cu @ $20 \| Swarovski bracelet watches \| Dell 17" LCD \| Hi-Fi speakers \| English DIVX movies \| HP LaserJet toners! \| Office chairs

13th Jun 2009, 12:42 PM	#14 (permalink)
Chai Administrator Join Date: 6 Oct 2002 Location: Maranello Posts: 28,128 Reputation: 4649 Rep Power: 82	Layer of foam can be a problem since there will be less airflow. __________________ Chai (Contributor & Forum Admin) http://www.techarp.com/

13th Jun 2009, 03:33 PM	#16 (permalink)
Chai Administrator Join Date: 6 Oct 2002 Location: Maranello Posts: 28,128 Reputation: 4649 Rep Power: 82	Velocifaptor FTW!!! __________________ Chai (Contributor & Forum Admin) http://www.techarp.com/

14th Jun 2009, 10:31 AM	#19 (permalink)
empire23 BRB. Attacking Russia Join Date: 4 Feb 2006 Location: Ze Fatherland Posts: 307 Reputation: 506 Rep Power: 10	PCB failures these days generally are due to environmentalists. True story bro! Lead free is not better, as a non eutectic solder blend has lower reliablity and has the perpensity to form long term tin whiskers and is prone to stretch stress. So generally as the stress reforms the solder joints and they get thinner, the Ohmhic heating becomes higher and higher, eventually burning the damned joint out, or it just breaks due to stress, all the while the joint gets weaker. Or the resistance becomes high enough where it messes with the signalling of the soldered component. The use of more environmentally friendly expoxies and bakelites to package and mount the chips is also an issue. So that is a contributory factor as well. Generally for the same reasons as lead free solders, it has far less temp and stress handling capabilities of earlier materials. There's also the issue of chip failure, but i won't go there this time. __________________ I'm in Ur Forums, Spamming Ur Boards.

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