Pc builders, i need your help?

i recently began to build my own computer, but two of the pieces i used were previously in another computer (the mainboard and the HDD,) for a while, the computer ran fine, but then it began to give me the blue screen of death upon windows loading. sometimes i was able to repair using windows recovery console in command prompt, or batch using a .txt file i made on another computer, but i generally ended up re immaging at least 3 times a month. finally, once i turned on the machine, the system hangs while auto detecting the pri master (the HDD) and about an hour after sitting on that screen, the system says 'unable to detect primaster.' (NOTE. this is before i have the option to enter BIOS, so i cannot disable primaster,and when i try to abort auto detection, nothing happens)i have replaced the cable connecting the HDD to the mainboard,and still unable to detect.please dont answer with simply "your hard drive is fried"i want to know if i can do anything before spending 100$ on a new HDD