G73JH HDD or SATA Board Failures

Hello All,

EDIT 01/02/2013 - later in the evening - After More Research - I found one posting, somewhere that talked about the ribbon that connects to the HDD SATA Assembly board. The ribbon did have some discoloration. So I push some cushion (tape) where the ribbon was bent - put the notebook back together and the problem seems to have gone away.. I will post if the problem persists.

I know this is an old machine and I really did try to search the forum for previous discussions on this topic, but got nowhere.

The issue -
Here a high pitch "whirl" sound and then BSOD (system dump)
Forced to run chkdsk to fix/find bad sectors -
Reboot - everything will work for some time, and then the "whirl" sound.
At one point I did have the Intel Storage Management software installed. It kept saying New drive found on Port 1 or Port 4 - Then I'd hear the "whirl" sound and the system would crash.
This has occurred on 3 different Hard Drive installations - Each Hard Drive was installed blank, and the ASUS System Restore CD's where used to load factory image. Issue started last month and is intermittent - I have tried several different sizes and brands of hard drives. All having the same issue - I am thinking the issue is NOT the hard drives but either the controller chip or the sata board that is in the HDD bay.
I hope that I've described the issue appropriately

Any input would be highly appreciated.
Anyone know if the SATA board is replaceable on the G73JH and where I could purchase the board?

Thanks in Advance for your help and input.

Trav...

 

The SATA board is replaceable, but I don't know where you could find one, try eBay. It's basically a small board with two SATA connectors and the connector for the ribbon cable.

 

Omg.. I was shocked to read your post. I have this exact problem for ~half a year or so with my G73JH. I have searched everywhere and couldn't find a thing about this problem. I had tried everything to try and fix it..

- Scanned HDD's with WD's software & Windows chkdsk
- Scanned memory for problems
- Bought a new HDD to replace the (seemingly unfaulty) drive
- Switched the HDD's around (located the problem to the C: drive bay)
- Re-installed Windows

But the problem kept persisting every now and then, corrupting registry files, installed programs, and more..
After some trial and error, I found a (temporary and to be honest, very bold) solution.
When it "whirls", I shut down the laptop, give the area around the right palm rest some pressured knocks with the palm of my hand.
Now everything works as it should, until I move or travel with my laptop, then the problem can occur again.

This is ofcourse a very stupid (and temporary) solution, but at this time I don't have the money to replace or repair the laptop (and I have no warranty left). I wondered if I could fix it myself with a solder iron, but I am no technician and I am afraid I would destroy my laptop. If replacing the SATA board helps you, please let me now how you did it, so I can try to fix my G73JH too!

 

I'm having the same issues, I'm going to try plugging the second drive into the bluray drive's port and see if there is a reasonable way to secure it there permanently. If any of you figure anything else out I'd love to hear about it

 

How did you manage to get access to the cable, Travelor?

 

Sorry I missed a chance to respond to this sooner.

The only way to get to the cable is to do a full teardown of the G73JH -
I followed this Vid = BTOtech.com | G73Jh & G73Jw & G73Sw Disassembly Take Apart G73 g73jw service manual - YouTube
Once you get the keyboard off, and the top cover off, the cable is visible.
When I looked at the cable connecting the HDD SATA Port board there was definite evidence of kinking in the cable. Don't know why they manufacture the connector for the cables with a flip in the cable. Just asking for a short. I put some folded paper/tape 1/8-1/4 inch thick between the fold in the cable. I then put the notebook back together and she's been running great ever since.

I can vouch now that since I made this repair I have had NO problems with the HDD system. I even added a second 1TB drive and the system rocks like it always used too.

Please feel free to PM me if you have other questions.

 

I have had the same issue, I finally tore mine apart. My second hard drive would disappear every once in a while. Like the other post said, I would hear a squeak noise and then the hard drive would be gone. Sometimes the computer would blue screen. I delayed taking apart my machine for months as I felt if I took it apart I may not be able to get it back together again. My fears were unfounded, it was actually fairly easy. I had the video setup on my tablet and followed it exactly, pausing and restarting as I went. I placed all of the screws in groups as I removed them, kind of in sync with each section of the video.

I was pleased when I got it apart far enough to see the secondary hard drive cable that it was not perfectly seated into the plug, it was slightly crooked. I removed it and pushed it all the way in, and could see that is was now seated square into it. I reassembled and it all seems to be working fine. It has only been a couple of days though, time will tell if that was the issue.

As someone else mentioned the cable is folded over on itself, in my case the cable was not folded at the right angle so it was not naturally square with where it plugs in. I think I should have maybe added a bit of tape to the top of the cable and the plug to help hold it in.