ComputerForum.com ComputerForum.com  
TigerDirect
 
Go Back   Computer Forum > Computer Hardware > Computer Memory and Hard Drives

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-27-2006, 10:28 AM   #1 (permalink)
Platinum Member
 
chrisalviola's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 864
Default can you erase a HD with a magnet?

A magnet gives off magnetic field which can change the polarity of magnetic particles in floppies, but in hard drives is it same? what about those metal detectors?

my questions is can you erase the files on the harddrives if you place a magnet?
chrisalviola is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 10-27-2006, 10:31 AM   #2 (permalink)
Diamond Member
 
kof2000's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Oahu
Age: 26
Posts: 6,273
Default

if the head is metallic you probably would lose more than data and have an extra paperweight.
__________________
QX9650@4.2 swiftech |9600@3.0 9700 nt
780i | 790fx
8gb ddr1200 | 8gb ddr1200
2x150gb 3x1tb |2x250gb
3x8800gtx |3x2900xt 1gb
2x20xdvdrw |2x20xdvdrw
15in1 card reader |15in1 card reader
ng15/g9 |ng15/g9
1200w psu |1200w psu
2x28" LCD |2x28" LCD
kof2000 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-27-2006, 10:33 AM   #3 (permalink)
Diamond Member
 
PC eye's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Inside a pc
Posts: 19,226
Default

Hard drives like floppy disk use magnetism in order to store information. The effect on a hard drive to see it completely wiped clean would depend on the actual strength of the magnetic field created by a nearby magnet. With a very small and weak magnet you may see some effect. But distance, strength, and the drive's metal casing are factors to weigh in.
PC eye is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-27-2006, 10:38 AM   #4 (permalink)
Platinum Member
 
chrisalviola's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 864
Default

i have my Computer near a huge speaker a sub woofer. this thing have huge magnets right?
i tought optical disks like hard drives use lasers to burn data into the disk unlike floppies which use magnetic particles to store data same with cds and dvds
chrisalviola is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-27-2006, 11:15 AM   #5 (permalink)
Administrator
 
apj101's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: London
Age: 26
Posts: 9,143
Default

yep it will ruin it, but you could do this
http://www.oz.net/~coilgun/levitation/harddrive.htm
__________________
What did one snow man say to the other?
can you smell carrot?

The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.

How you do anything, is how you do everything!
apj101 is offline   Reply With Quote


Old 10-27-2006, 12:20 PM   #6 (permalink)
Diamond Member
 
PC eye's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Inside a pc
Posts: 19,226
Default

Anyone planning an anti-gravity machine? ...wwwwwwwwwwwwwhing!
PC eye is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2006, 12:07 PM   #7 (permalink)
Bronze Member
 
HaGa11aZ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 54
Default

all i know is... placing two HD magnets next to each other equals nearly impossible to seperate...


::hic::

__________________
ECS KN1 Lite nForce 4 Ultra s 939
Athlon 64 3400+ @ 2.2 gHz
XFX GeForce 7900 GT
1 GB Corsair XMS RAM
120 GB SATA 1.5 Gb/s Barracuda
M-Audio Audiophile 192 DAC
HaGa11aZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2006, 12:14 PM   #8 (permalink)
banned
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 4,711
Default

Yup, you sure can. But if the speaker is shielded, which it could very well be, then you have nothing to worry about.
SirKenin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2006, 12:58 PM   #9 (permalink)
Diamond Member
 
Rambo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 3,829
Default

You can also get anti-magnetic speakers too.

I have one question though: Are Magnetic Screwdrivers (which have just enough magnetic strength to hold a screw) safe to use? I would imagine so, but just checking...
__________________
"75% of all statistics are made up, including this one. 62.481% of people who read that believe it is true.
And if you're one of the 37.519% who don't, copy and paste this into your signature." - tlarkin, Cromewell, and Rambo.
Intel E6300 Conroe @ 2.8 Ghz
GigaByte GA 965P DS3 LGA 775
Sapphire Radeon X1800XT 256MB
GeIL 2 x GX22 DDR2 Kit = 4GB RAM
Antec TruePower 2.0 TP-II 550 Watt

Last edited by Rambo; 10-28-2006 at 01:05 PM.
Rambo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2006, 01:47 PM   #10 (permalink)
banned
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 4,711
Default

They aren't safe to use on HDDs, no. A lot of shoddy, so-called "technicians" use them, but they shouldn't.
SirKenin is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Need to completely erase a HD and install xp PcFreak14 Computer Memory and Hard Drives 5 10-05-2006 01:18 PM
BATTLE: Monitor vrs. My kids magnet troc99 Video Cards and Monitors 6 04-10-2006 11:24 PM
HOw to erase erase everything...To boot up windows Xp..??? CraigMB Computer Networking and Servers 4 02-05-2006 07:35 AM
erase hard drive mikey4865 Computer Memory and Hard Drives 9 12-15-2005 11:42 AM
can't erase my registry key "LEGACY_Blela~Blela" tatatatata General Software 17 04-29-2005 05:28 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 02:14 PM.


Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.7.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
SEO by vBSEO 3.1.0 ©2007, Crawlability, Inc.
Copyright © 2002-2007 Computer Forum and Web Design Forum