[Sunkist]

I replaced my psu of 250 Watts to 350 Watts now the hard drive is getting hot. I am running win98, FIC mobo, AMD 500, 1 HD, 1 CD rom, ATI video card and a burner.
can a psu have too much watts for the hard drive and that is why it is getting too hot? It is getting so hot I can not handle it

[Akito]

In theory, it shouldn't cause your drive to overheat. If there is a defect in the power supply, it is possible. Did you check the heat off of the drive before installing the PSU?

[Sunkist]

The old psu went out, so no I did not check the heat off the drive before installing the new psu.

[mobo]

You can use Speedfan to keep an eye on those temps ifyour motherboard has the proper sensors. It monitors Hard drive, motherboard and cpu temps.

P.S. my hard drive operates around 40 degrees

[Sunkist]

Is there any other reasons why the drives are getting HOT

[mobo]

Improper ventilation could be a major cause. Do you have any case fans and is your pc in an area of good ventilation of cool air ?

[slipe]

If you have never checked the HD before I think it likely you are in the normal range. Is the drive too hot to keep your finger on? If not it is probably normal – HDs feel hot when you touch them.

[compilerxp]

Hot HDs can depend on various factors...

As I have posted recently on this board, when upgrading - look at a new case.... why?

Older cases (3+ years ago, especially) or cheap cases were designed for CPUs and drives from back then. Where the HD would be up against a soild wall of metal. This wasn't so bad in the days of 5400RPM and slower drives such as 3GB and smaller.

But with todays HiPerformacne drives, they generate HEAT.

I've replaced cases because of these older desgins...

A good case will allow air flow over the drive itself... If not, no amount of fans will keep it cool.

So make sure the case has AIR vents in the front on the bezel and on the inside as well. It makes a HUGE differnce.

[Sunkist]

I have another pc Pentium ll 400, 80 HD, no case fan, 250Watt psu, it runs great. The HD only gets warm.
The pc that I am have problems with, has AMD 500, 2 HD's 10gb & 40gb, no case fan. It runs great except the HD's get very HOT. I can put my finger on the HD's but I would not want to keep them there for long.

[compilerxp]

"Runs great" doesn't mean you have heat issues. Prolonged heat will reduce the life of your hardware.

Not having a case fan is NOT helping your problem. Look at several sites, there are reasons why people have 1-8 fans in their systems. Like I said, OLDER designed cases didn't have fans. Your two HDs are most likely side by side - which means they are making each other hotter (most likely the 40gb).

I just touched my 120gb drive thats been quite busy for the past 8 mins - its a little warm.

Lets try this trick to explain AIR FLOW.

Place 1 hand about 6-7 inches from your mouth, position it so you can see it the flat bottom. Blow hard on it. Feel it?

Pretend that is MY hard drive.

Now place your other hand almost to your lips, same position (Dont move your other hand) And blow...

Does the first hand feel anything?

This is what YOUR hard drive is feeling. Nothing. No air, no way to move the HEAT away, other than your power supply. And that is why it is HOT.

Take a picture of your PCs insides, load it up on a site and we'll tell ya where the problems are. Yahoo/Geocities are free.

[Sunkist]

Compilerxp
I moved the 10GB HD away from the other HD, now it does not get hot. I guess if my daughter wants 2 HD's she will have to buy a new case. There is only room for 3 drivers in the 3.5 bay and that makes them too close.
I want to thank you for helping me out.

[crjdriver]

If you have an unused 5.25 bay, you can install the drive with rails.

[compilerxp]

Yeah... having drives that close can do it... so it seems like it worked out then

There is a science to making a GOOD CASE... A bigger size of the case doesn't mean it'll be better. I remember a guy BOASTING how his 15fan system was "RAD" and had pics of it... It was a huge case... but it was designed (originally) in 1994 - but the company "updated" it to hold modern motherboards.

A modern case, a lot smaller would have done a better job with only a few fans (I have 2 in my case).