magnet vs hard disk.

[luciusad2004]

I know this is an old question, but how much damage can a magnet do to a hard disk.

I inadvertently set a magnet on my laptop in a spot that i believe is right about were my hard drive is. Normally i wouldn't worry to much, but the next moment my hard drive started making funny noises whenever it spins. Should i be worried? I know that i read that it supposedly doesn't really hurt them but it IS makeing noises it never made before.

Sorry for the dumb question lol. I feel like an idiot even asking.

[AJ@PR]

Well... IMO, of course a magnet will affect a hard disk.

HDD store data in small magnetic fields...
I don't know why it's "making noises" because I don't think that the magnet would screw up part of the "mechanism" of the HDD.

As to the "amount" of damage... well, I guess it goes from
- nothing
- unknown
- full screw-up

If it's working, well... back up your data... I suggest.

QUESTION:::
Are the noises "clicking" noises from reading?
Maybe it's struggling with wierd 0s and 1s patterns.
But again, I don't see why/how a magnet would screw up the mechanism.

[xmastree]

It shouldn't screw up the mechanism. Have you seen the magnet inside a hard disk? Very strong.
Maybe it is struggling to read. If the magnet has affected the data. I would back it up, then run some diagnostics on it.
As for the actual tests, grab a copy of this (http://ultimatebootcd.com/) (or buy one on ebay...), and find a suitable one. If it fails, you might be able to do a low-level format from that CD.

[luciusad2004]

Well... IMO, of course a magnet will affect a hard disk.
QUESTION:::
Are the noises "clicking" noises from reading?
Maybe it's struggling with wierd 0s and 1s patterns.
But again, I don't see why/how a magnet would screw up the mechanism.

I guess i would describe it as a sort of clicking or scratching type noise while it reads. I'm not really sure how to describe it. It could possibly be a very big coincidence. My laptop is from like 2001 and i have read that hard drives have a life of something like 5 or 6 years. It could finally be dieing.

I don't really have any important files that need backing up. I have a bunch of pictures which are important to me but they are already stored on my flash drive. I don't really have anything to back files up to anyway.



As for the actual tests, grab a copy of this (http://ultimatebootcd.com/) (or buy one on ebay...), and find a suitable one. If it fails, you might be able to do a low-level format from that CD.

I don't imagine that the ultimate boot cd is available for power pc? I forgot to mention its an old mac so my options are ... limited :dead:

Thanks for all of the advice guys. Ill let you know if it gets any better.

[AJ@PR]

I don't imagine that the ultimate boot cd is available for power pc? I forgot to mention its an old mac so my options are ... limited :dead:
(joke)

You didn't say anything about you having a Mac.


Awwww man.... and we already helped you... :(
Ctrl + Z

Ctrl + Z
Ctrl + Z
Ctrl + Z :p

[luciusad2004]

(joke)

You didn't say anything about you having a Mac.


Awwww man.... and we already helped you... :(
Ctrl + Z

Ctrl + Z
Ctrl + Z
Ctrl + Z :p

Lol i should have mentioned earlier that i was using a mac. sorry.
and dont you mean command + z : P

On the plus side, I haven't had any problems. Its still making noise but nothing has gone wrong. I could be imagining things, or just hearing unnoticed noises that were always there.

Thanks for the help guys.

[Airbozo]

Do a disk check (not sure what it is called in MAC-OS). It is possible that the magnet corrupted data on your HD and the noise you hear are the heads moving back and forth to try and read the corrupted data. If some sectors or individual bits of the data get whacked the drive will keep trying to re-read the data until it either times out or gets a good read. Most drives have some sort of error checking that makes this happen.

side note: one reason linux works well for data recovery is that you can specify the timeout value for data reads independent of the HD settings. I once left a HD running all night long just to get a couple of MB's worth of data for a customer. Took almost 12 hours to read 10 sectors (which were damaged and where the data was), but in the end the system eventually was able to read that data. Made tons of money on that one _and_ sold them a backup solution (which they promptly stopped using until I charged them for data recovery again), now they are one of my best custy's and _never_ forget the backups.

[luciusad2004]

Ok, Ill see what i can do through the disk utilities. If i cant I cant fix it through any sort of utilities is it possible that a format might repair the problem? Sort of as a last option.

Thanks : )

[progbuddy]

lol.

Apple is evil.

[F_A_F]

Apple = cool first, computing second.

PC = computing first, Counter-Strike second. B)

[luciusad2004]

Apple = cool first, computing second.

PC = computing first, Counter-Strike second. B)

Lol thats great. Ive been finding myself more and more aggravated with the apple hype lately. Not that i think they are bad, i just despise when people think they are magical wonder machines that will make them "cool."

However, lets please not turn this in to an apple bashing thread.

[AJ@PR]

However, lets please not turn this in to an apple bashing thread.

Never. (http://www.community-media.com/wordpress/?cat=12)

[nil8]

It shouldn't screw up the mechanism. Have you seen the magnet inside a hard disk? Very strong.


I use some I've removed as refrigerator magnets. They are surprisingly strong.
If you get access to one, use it as a hide-a-key on your car. It has much less chance of losing the key than those stupid little boxes.

All you need to remove the magnets from the hard drive is a torx set and some willpower.