the magnets inside a hard drive are dangerously strong

[skace]

Originally posted by: 40Hands
"A small child recently lost his hand when his father left two # 31 supermagnets unattended. The child picked one up and when he approached the other magnet on a nearby table, it became airborne and obliterated his small hand."

:Q

Woa... wooaa.. what? woa. Obliterated is a strong word.

 

[Rubycon]

Folks that say there is little danger about the handling of neodymium magnets have obviously never handled them. A blood blister is a good reminder of what NOT to do. :laugh:

Some cell phone cases with a flap type cover use a pair to keep it closed. Putting a wallet full of credit cards on this usually results in no more swiping of the card. We're finding this is one of the biggest culprits to embarkation cards (sea passes) that just stop working.

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Any know how to uncrew the scews on a HDD. None of my tools are small enough/right type to get at them.

Use one of these.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Any know how to uncrew the scews on a HDD. None of my tools are small enough/right type to get at them.

why bother with the screws? not like you are going to put it back together and boot off it.

You mean pry it open then?

yeap, I punctured it with a screw driver, then just pried it open.

Or you can use one of those bits that bite into stripped screws.

 

[Beev]

I have a dead one sitting at home! Time to take it apart.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: 40Hands
"A small child recently lost his hand when his father left two # 31 supermagnets unattended. The child picked one up and when he approached the other magnet on a nearby table, it became airborne and obliterated his small hand."

:Q

Ow that would hurt I think.

I wonder how close a HD would have to be to that 800 lb pull force magnet to trash the data.

 

[randay]

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: 40Hands
"A small child recently lost his hand when his father left two # 31 supermagnets unattended. The child picked one up and when he approached the other magnet on a nearby table, it became airborne and obliterated his small hand."

:Q

Ow that would hurt I think.

I wonder how close a HD would have to be to that 800 lb pull force magnet to trash the data.

not sure how much gauss is required but it might not do anything to the HD unless you wave the magnet back and forth over it.

 

[seemingly random]

Originally posted by: Howard
Curiously strong, you mean.

Alleviating more suffering, eh?

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: Canai

Originally posted by: eaj0010

Originally posted by: Canai

Originally posted by: pnad
How could somebody on anandtech not already know this?

Sorry I'm not a NERD!!

The fact that you are at Anandtech in the first place negates this...

Uh, sorry, but I'm a geek!

*pushes up glasses defiantly*

some good lulz in this thread.
:beer:

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: Eeezee

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: Superself
can you elaborate on the "dangerously strong" remark?

given its small size, you would never expect it to have such a strong magnetic pull.
put it near any metal objects and it will pull it towards the magnet at a high rate of speed.
put the 2 magnets together (comes in 2s) and it would be a struggle to pull them apart, possibly injuring yourself in the process.

If you're dumb enough to pull at something until you HURT YOURSELF then you are a moron.

There's nothing dangerous about the magnet inside a hard drive. Yes, it's strong. Hurting yourself by pulling apart two strong magnets is equivalent to hurting yourself while trying to pull apart a Victorian era dining table without tools.

so i guess you're calling quite a few ppl in this thread dumb. typical online elitist attitude. :roll:

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Any know how to uncrew the scews on a HDD. None of my tools are small enough/right type to get at them.

why bother with the screws? not like you are going to put it back together and boot off it.

You mean pry it open then?

yeap, I punctured it with a screw driver, then just pried it open.

Or you can use one of those bits that bite into stripped screws.

I had to destroy a government hard drive once, so I used a hammer. Torx screwdrivers are better.

 

[natto fire]

Anyone know what grade these magnets typically are?

I have some N52 ones and I would venture to say they are stronger than the ones in HDDs, but they are significantly smaller so it is hard to say for sure. Also, if you think the magnets are cool, try playing with them and chunks of bismuth, now that is cool.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Folks that say there is little danger about the handling of neodymium magnets have obviously never handled them. A blood blister is a good reminder of what NOT to do. :laugh:

Some cell phone cases with a flap type cover use a pair to keep it closed. Putting a wallet full of credit cards on this usually results in no more swiping of the card. We're finding this is one of the biggest culprits to embarkation cards (sea passes) that just stop working.

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Any know how to uncrew the scews on a HDD. None of my tools are small enough/right type to get at them.

Use one of these.

I put the danger to handling hard-drive size neodynium magnets as about the same as handling a screwdriver. Sure, you can stab yourself pretty good, thwack yourself in the eye if you use it to pry something, or have it land in your knee if you fall off a ladder with it, but if you know what you're doing and use common sense there is no real risk. A screwdriver might be even more dangerous; even if you do everything wrong with the neodynium magnet you're not going to lose an eye or hit an artery.

Of course, hospitals see screwdriver injuries all that time, so maybe this isn't such a good example.

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: Eeezee

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: Superself
can you elaborate on the "dangerously strong" remark?

given its small size, you would never expect it to have such a strong magnetic pull.
put it near any metal objects and it will pull it towards the magnet at a high rate of speed.
put the 2 magnets together (comes in 2s) and it would be a struggle to pull them apart, possibly injuring yourself in the process.

If you're dumb enough to pull at something until you HURT YOURSELF then you are a moron.

There's nothing dangerous about the magnet inside a hard drive. Yes, it's strong. Hurting yourself by pulling apart two strong magnets is equivalent to hurting yourself while trying to pull apart a Victorian era dining table without tools.

so i guess you're calling quite a few ppl in this thread dumb. typical online elitist attitude. :roll:

He's not talking about accidentally pinching a finger with two separate magnets that come together faster than you realize...he's talking about injuring yourself while trying to PULL APART two magnets, which you claim as a possibility. If that can cause injury, then brick walls are extremely dangerous, because there's no way you'll pull those apart without straining a muscle or two!

 

[Chiropteran]

Originally posted by: pnad
How could somebody on anandtech not already know this?

The screws they use to keep hard drives together are hard to unscrew

 

[tasmanian]

Took me a day and a half to get it open. One of the screws stripped so i had to break it off. So worth it however, the magnets are awesome.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Any know how to uncrew the scews on a HDD. None of my tools are small enough/right type to get at them.

why bother with the screws? not like you are going to put it back together and boot off it.

You mean pry it open then?

yeap, I punctured it with a screw driver, then just pried it open.

Or you can use one of those bits that bite into stripped screws.

I had to destroy a government hard drive once, so I used a hammer. Torx screwdrivers are better.

you should do what some dude did, take the lot out to the range and shoot them

 

[Hyperlite]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Modelworks
yep, they are very strong.
Not as strong as ones you can buy, like the 35lb variety. meaning it takes 35lbs of force to pull them apart.

If the magnet was oriented towards the platter it would wreck havoc on the data.
Instead it makes the actuator function, that moves the arm back and forth, and also serves as an auto head parking mechanism.


Fun thing to do with these I did last week.
Take a eraser, the big ones that are kind of flat.
Hollow it out enough to pllace the magnet in the bottom.
Glue it in place.

Two things you can do now.
Attach it to metal objects and watch as peopled try to pick it up.

Or my favorite.
Amaze the kids.
Place the eraser on a table top and place the other magnet below the table surface.
Use your 'mind power' to make the eraser move


Oh, and make sure you keep it far away from your wallet.
It can corrupt credit cards in a single pass.

35 pounds? pffft

http://www.unitednuclear.com/magnetfull7.jpg (800 pounds)
http://www.unitednuclear.com/magnets.htm

sweet, that site sells Ferrofluid. must get some.

 

[swaytech]

Sweet, I will have to pull out one of the hard drives I have around.

 

[Kelemvor]

Most use small Torx screws for those that need to know.

 

[Mr Pickles]

Originally posted by: Howard
Curiously strong, you mean.

I think surprisingly strong would be best here.

 

[MaxDepth]

Yes, but are they StrongBad strong?

 

[rockyct]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Modelworks
yep, they are very strong.
Not as strong as ones you can buy, like the 35lb variety. meaning it takes 35lbs of force to pull them apart.

If the magnet was oriented towards the platter it would wreck havoc on the data.
Instead it makes the actuator function, that moves the arm back and forth, and also serves as an auto head parking mechanism.


Fun thing to do with these I did last week.
Take a eraser, the big ones that are kind of flat.
Hollow it out enough to pllace the magnet in the bottom.
Glue it in place.

Two things you can do now.
Attach it to metal objects and watch as peopled try to pick it up.

Or my favorite.
Amaze the kids.
Place the eraser on a table top and place the other magnet below the table surface.
Use your 'mind power' to make the eraser move


Oh, and make sure you keep it far away from your wallet.
It can corrupt credit cards in a single pass.

35 pounds? pffft

http://www.unitednuclear.com/magnetfull7.jpg (800 pounds)
http://www.unitednuclear.com/magnets.htm

Wow, those magnets are intense. I wonder how UPS even lets them ship them.

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: rockyct

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Modelworks
yep, they are very strong.
Not as strong as ones you can buy, like the 35lb variety. meaning it takes 35lbs of force to pull them apart.

If the magnet was oriented towards the platter it would wreck havoc on the data.
Instead it makes the actuator function, that moves the arm back and forth, and also serves as an auto head parking mechanism.


Fun thing to do with these I did last week.
Take a eraser, the big ones that are kind of flat.
Hollow it out enough to pllace the magnet in the bottom.
Glue it in place.

Two things you can do now.
Attach it to metal objects and watch as peopled try to pick it up.

Or my favorite.
Amaze the kids.
Place the eraser on a table top and place the other magnet below the table surface.
Use your 'mind power' to make the eraser move


Oh, and make sure you keep it far away from your wallet.
It can corrupt credit cards in a single pass.

35 pounds? pffft

http://www.unitednuclear.com/magnetfull7.jpg (800 pounds)
http://www.unitednuclear.com/magnets.htm

Wow, those magnets are intense. I wonder how UPS even lets them ship them.

Seriously... what the hell could you even do with a magnet like that. It's bound to get stuck on something, and when it does, it's never coming off. Or else you'll get impaled by all the objects flying toward you...

 

[0roo0roo]

yea drive magnets are pretty sweet. its what dead drives are good for
pics and stuff
http://www.dansdata.com/magnets.htm

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: bignateyk

Originally posted by: rockyct

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Modelworks
yep, they are very strong.
Not as strong as ones you can buy, like the 35lb variety. meaning it takes 35lbs of force to pull them apart.

If the magnet was oriented towards the platter it would wreck havoc on the data.
Instead it makes the actuator function, that moves the arm back and forth, and also serves as an auto head parking mechanism.


Fun thing to do with these I did last week.
Take a eraser, the big ones that are kind of flat.
Hollow it out enough to pllace the magnet in the bottom.
Glue it in place.

Two things you can do now.
Attach it to metal objects and watch as peopled try to pick it up.

Or my favorite.
Amaze the kids.
Place the eraser on a table top and place the other magnet below the table surface.
Use your 'mind power' to make the eraser move


Oh, and make sure you keep it far away from your wallet.
It can corrupt credit cards in a single pass.

35 pounds? pffft

http://www.unitednuclear.com/magnetfull7.jpg (800 pounds)
http://www.unitednuclear.com/magnets.htm

Wow, those magnets are intense. I wonder how UPS even lets them ship them.

Seriously... what the hell could you even do with a magnet like that. It's bound to get stuck on something, and when it does, it's never coming off. Or else you'll get impaled by all the objects flying toward you...

Stuck to the UPS truck?

Destroying other customers' ferrous deliveries?


Hmmmm... if only AOL still shipped floppies, you could wreak havoc by shipping those magnets with USPS

 

[Rubycon]

If they are placed inside a crate with at least six inches around them they would be safe to ship. The flux would still affect instruments like compasses for a considerable distance. So if you happen to have a fluxgate compass on your vehicle and it goes crazy near a UPS truck there's probably a big neo heading somewhere.