Problems with second hard drive

Question

I bought my PowerMac G5 new in 2005 and about two years after I got it, I installed a second internal hard drive. I didn't have any problems with the drive until about six months ago (which was when I moved, but I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it). Around that point, I started hearing a single, loud click followed by a slight winding down noise. Then, my computer would almost completely freeze. After a few moments, I would hear a bunch of soft clicks and my computer would go back to normal. I figured that it was a problem with one of the hard drives, but I wasn't sure what to do.
Later on, the problem got more severe, lasting more like 30 seconds. When my second drive unmounted during one of these episodes, I shut my computer down, opened the case, took both plugs out of the second hard drive, put them back in, and started up my computer again. After that, my computer was running great again. But, a few weeks later, the symptoms started up again.
So, I've gone through the same cable un-plug and re-plug process whenever the drive unmounts. Sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't seem to help at all. Altogether, I think that the second drive has unmounted about five or six times. I haven't had this problem at all with the original hard drive and I haven't noticed any other problems with my computer. (Well, okay, there's the rare occasion when, instead of going to sleep, it turns the screen black and puts the fans on full blast.)
Could the drive itself be going bad and it has nothing to do with the cables? I have a utility installed that always monitors the SMART status and it hasn't reported any problems. Are there any other troubleshooting steps I should take? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

Before I bought DiskWarrior, I thought I'd try some troubleshooting with the software I have on hand. But while I was doing that, the problem got worse. Now, I'm having major problems just getting the computer to boot. I'll give you the rundown on what's happened. It goes through a few boneheaded twists and turns and goes on at great length, but I thought I'd relate it all in the hopes that someone can see a likely pattern.
My first thought was the Apple hardware test, which I had thought was on the Mac OS 10.5 install DVD. So naturally, I didn't see the hardware test listed under Utilities. But while I had it up, I used Disk Utility to do repairs on both hard drives (checking both the disk and permissions). It found no problems on the 2nd hard drive, but found a few errors with "leaves" on the booting drive. It also found a bunch of issues with the permissions, but I don't think it was anything out of the ordinary.
Just for the heck of it, I asked it to run the repairs again. Not long into that, I got what I think is a kernel panic (overlaid message saying I needed to restart my computer in a few languages). It also sped up the fans.
I pushed the power button to shut it down, then started it up again. I heard the startup chime, then nothing but a black screen and the ol' hyperactive fans. I went through that several times before I was finally able to boot from the DVD again. Then, I changed the startup disk back to my usual boot volume and restarted. I had to go through the black screen and insane fans several more times before I could boot normally.
Next, I thought I'd try OnyX to see what it could do. Which might not be much, but I had it repair the disks again and also had it run the daily, weekly, and monthly maintenance scripts.
I checked into the black screen & hyperactive fans booting problem elsewhere in the forums, and saw that it was recommended to run the Apple hardware test and also found the correct procedure for doing so, which was to insert the PowerMac G5 install disc (not the Mac OS X upgrade DVD) and press Option when booting. I loaded the disc, restarted, and held down the Option key, but before I could get anything to actually load, I had several more sessions with the black screen of fans.
Regarding that boot problem, I've sometimes seen the red light inside the case turn on almost immediately after I turn on the computer. Other times, it will not light up by itself. But, when I hold the power button in to shut it down, the red light briefly turns on before the unit shuts down. I've also noticed that the light on the Caps Lock button is coming on and staying on when I'm trying to start the computer.
So, after several tries, I checked my G5 User's Guide and it said to disconnect any external devices before trying the hardware test. I had a USB thumb drive plugged in and a FireWire drive hooked up for Time Machine backups, so I took both of them out. Once again, I tried starting up with Option held down and this time, it worked. The fans started running at full blast after I selected the hardware test, which I hoped was normal. So, I asked it to run the extended test and it found no problems. I restarted my computer without reconnecting anything and, at least for now, it's working normally.
Any new thoughts?