Well tested with internal hard drive, with 3 different drives. Well tested with a usb stick. The internal hard drive constantly disappears from mount manager. Box is terrible with an internal hard drive connected.

Runs perfect with usb stick.

Does this definitely mean its a sata cable issue or could it maybe be something in the mainboard. Technomate want £15 for the sata cable but don't want to buy unless i know for sure it will fix it..