Intel RST: HDD Removed, Hung Shutdown then Hung Boot

PC Specification: OS : Windows 7 Pro (64-bit) MB : ASRock Z77 Extreme6 CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3570K CPU @ 3.4GHz Mem: 16GB DDR3 RAM GPU: nVidia GeForce GTX 660 HDD: 4xSATA HDD

HDD Setup: HHD1: Two partitions 200GB for Windows and remaining for storing my files and data for applications on the Windows partition. HDD2: 4TB Games Drive with Steam, Origin and Uplay. HDD3 & 4: Both 3TB for Video Processing and RAW footage plus storage and backups.

Background to issue: The problem first showed back in December - weeks after a series of power cuts (while PC was on). The Intel Rapid Storage Tecnhology application reported via system tray message that a SATA device was removed, however no device was missing upon checking. Everything appeared to be working just fine, until during gameplay of a Steam game the game slowed became unresponsive for a short period of time and when it retued normal the sound was distorted. I closed the game, checked error logs and found that reported a similar error to RST (can't recall the exact message). I then restarted to check bios and the computer hung at the 'Shutting down' message although HDD activity was still happening, after 10 minutes I gave up and pressed reset only to discover that on the Windows logo screen the system froze with no HDD activity. Tuing off the PC and leaving for 30 minutes had no change. Start-up repair had no effect. I resorted to wiping the Windows partition, disconnecting Game drive and reinstalling Windows. Upon getting my system back up with the bare essentials (applications) I encountered the frozen windows logo screen again. I thought it must be the Windows Hard drive so I replaced with an older hard drive (still functional) but again encountered the same issue this time much later on. I then replaced the SATA cable and it worked everything was running smoothly. I though problem solved.

The issue: I hadn't played on any games since the issue until recently but during gameplay I was taken to my desktop and windows error sound was played but no message. I though it was Rivatuner that did it as just before I enabled it to overlay GPU temp and it couldn't have been 10-15 minutes later that I was retued to desktop. The game was still running so I closed rivatuner, disabled the overlay and retued to the game which was running laggy. I exited the game and restarted but was still laggy. Restarted windows and yet again stuck on 'Shutting Down' message. I had to eventually use the reset button again and upon reboot frozen Windows Logo Screen and no Hard Drive activity. All devices appear in BIOS.

Any ideas on what the issue is? and how to solve?

Thanks

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