HDD LED Constant ??

iNNOS4iNT

iNNOS4iNT

As Fatal As Cyanide
Can anyone help me with this?
My HDD LED won't stop shinning, even if there's no activity, it constantly shines.
It shines a dim red, and flickers normally when there's activity, but continues to shine even when my PC is just idling.
I discovered this last night while playing Mass Effect 2, power to my mouse and keyboard gets cut off for some reason, and returns a few seconds later.

I had the problem where the LED didn't shine at all, so I turned the LED cable around on the mainboard, and it worked fine, now this?

I never know when there's really any activity, unless I start Task Manager.

Can anyone please assist?:(
 
Did you connect the plugs correctly n the Motherboard?
Also, is it really important to know exactly when your HDD is reading/writing data?
 
That sounds like its designed that way. I wouldn't worry about it. Open resource manage & check actual hdd activity. If that is going on non stop *then* you can worry. Usually its just the defragger though. Switch USB ports & try disabling legacy usb in bios.
 
Sure sounds a little strange. Have you maybe checked your motherboard user manual to ensure that the HDD LED connector is connected to the correct connector? I know that on my old PC the HDD LED would sometimes dim when there was no activity, perhaps that was static or some kind of intereference?

Perhaps install a HDD activity monitor?

Sorry, not really clued up here
 
Hmmm just thought of something. Xero might be onto something here. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. Diodes can only be connected in one direction. They don't work the other way round. Since the activity on the light correlates with hdd activity at least on of the two pin is correct. Its unlikely that both are right since the observed behavior isn't correct (assumption). Plus it can't be simply the wrong way around (no light would show).

The logical conclusion is the negative side of the LED is connected to the positive hdd pin & the positive side of the LED is connected to some other pin providing constant voltage. Then:

No activity: No voltage on positive hdd pin. --> Potential difference between the pins & light is ON

Activity: Voltage on positive hdd pin --> No potential difference between the pins , so no electricity flows & light goes off

Or maybe the above is totally wrong...its been a long time since Matric physics.
 
HavocXphere said:
Hmmm just thought of something. Xero might be onto something here. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. Diodes can only be connected in one direction. They don't work the other way round. Since the activity on the light correlates with hdd activity at least on of the two pin is correct. Its unlikely that both are right since the observed behavior isn't correct (assumption). Plus it can't be simply the wrong way around (no light would show).

The logical conclusion is the negative side of the LED is connected to the positive hdd pin & the positive side of the LED is connected to some other pin providing constant voltage. Then:

No activity: No voltage on positive hdd pin. --> Potential difference between the pins & light is ON

Activity: Voltage on positive hdd pin --> No potential difference between the pins , so no electricity flows & light goes off

Or maybe the above is totally wrong...its been a long time since Matric physics.
Click to expand...

Sounds spot on - So all in all, when HDD activity is minimal the positive connector activates the LED and vice versa. The LED is on when it is meant to be off. Must be sometime up with the motherboard header or the connector?
 
It was at a point where the lettering (on the end of the cable, the black plastic piece) would all be pointing upward. The HDD LED is the only one facing downward. And yes, it's in the right connection slot, if you will. Usually there'd be no light shining on the LED unless there was some HDD activity taking place, last night for example, it was working as it normally should, 'dead' until there's HDD activity taking place, which is when I discovered the constant dim red, which then brightens with every flicker (HDD activity). I've made very sure that the cable is plugged into the right connector. And the indications on the mainboard are clear enough to understand what goes where.

Thanks for all your input. Will keep it in mind.
 
Tell me, you had any weird power surges ? or Brown Outs Lately ?
If your PC is all of a sudden dropping USB connections and acting stragely, it may be the result of a slightly damaged PSU
(I've had this once before where a Power Surge at 320 Volts Crippled my PSU
Do you have another PSU to test with?

@ Havok your summary is correct in the fact that they work one way, which is what I was getting at, possibly a short onto one of the + pins causing a constant Electrical Stream to the LED
 
A PSU of mine broke recently, and I was bought a new one, which is working perfectly fine. This USB thing has been coming on for a good long while. It gave up on me sometime last year already, but only the 4 slots on the back panel. As a result I had to buy a USB hub for all of my other connections, so I'm running my keyboard, mouse and other accesories through the hub, but always try to keep a spare slot or 2 open. Oh, and! Earlier, while fiddling with the case, long story short, I encountered a lot of vibration (not relevant), but that appeared to fix the LED problem I mentioned. The light now only shines when there's activity (which is how it's supposed to be anyway..). I've also tried only connecting 1 device (USB), into the back panel, it's just dead. Tried all four slots. I can only suspect it's blown. So I've kind of given up on that. Maybe I just need a new mainboard.
 
To work at all when the HDD is used it would have to be connected to the HDD pin and one of the ground ones. Could just be current still leaking into the circuit when it isn't used. Sometimes though when the HDD is used intermittently it can look as if it is on constantly and not flickering. If it is a solid state drive you may not even know it is being used.

Another possibility with some boards the light goes on if there is some sort of fault with the HDD. Check all your cables to make sure they are not damaged and fits nicely. Unplug and reconnect them.

EDIT: Oh it's fixed. Yeah vibration possibly causing a loose connector to disconnect.
 
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