The data is stored as magnetic charges on the physical disk. They are not permanent magnets. They lose their charge and thus the data, slowly over time, while not being plugged in. A plugged in drive gets electricity to maintain the charge on the disk. How it does it specifically is based on the firmware of the drive. Idk why you can’t just google it yourself and probably find a better and more specific explanation.
They are not permanent magnets. They lose their charge and thus the data, slowly over time, while not being plugged in. A plugged in drive gets electricity to maintain the charge on the disk.
I mostly figured that’s what you thought, and it’s completely wrong. They are permanent magnets. As permanent as any ultra-tiny magnet can be.
Hard drive platters are made of glass or aluminum, and have a thin layer of a metal alloy in which to store a magnetic charge. There is no electricity flowing through the platters of a hard drive, ever. They are 100% passive.
I didn’t google it because I can’t google, “tell me what false belief this person has.”
I never said the platters were electrically charged. The electricity powers the drive which has firmware. That firmware controls the magnetic charges and can correct errors, depending on firmware, hardware, and such. Also you are incorrect. The platters are not permanent magnets. The permanent magnets are a part of the spindle motor. I guess it also depends on how you define permanent magnets. The magnetic material most commonly used, for platters, is cobalt. Where as the “permanent magnets” (for the motor and typically when referring to permanent magnets) are neodymium. Maybe try a search that will actually result you in answers. I had no problems doing so when you challenged my knowledge.
You’re the one making extraordinary claims. You need to back them up. You said the data in HDDs only lasts 2-3 years unless they are plugged in. That is patently false in both ways. No, they don’t, and no, keeping them plugged in doesn’t help what data loss does occur. Error correction occurs when reading the data. And data is only read when asked for.
The firmware doesn’t “control” the charges. They just sit there. When the drive is powered but not in use, it sits there. Nothing is being done to “maintain” the charges.
If you don’t consider a static magnetic charge on a platter to be “permanent”, then no magnet is permanent. The only impermanent magnet is an electromagnet.
I did not say that. I said you will lose bits over years. When typical hdd’s are in the terabytes that means there are trillions of bits. A few bits here and there can be corrected. A plugged in drive will lose data differently than an unplugged drive. A plugged in drive won’t be as likely to lose data from the magnetic charge becoming too weak to read properly.
Oh sorry the firmware controls the parts of the drive that interact with the magnetic charge. The firmware has the ability to look at the health of the drive and take action on it. Though it does depend on the drive and its capabilities.
No magnet is truly permanent. But if the platter were using more “permanent magnetic material” then it would require a lot more energy to switch the state or flip the bit. It’s why they use a very small amount of magnetic material in the platter.
You are glossing over details that make you seem uninformed or lazy.
Also, this is not a feature in hard drive firmware. A scrub like you are describing is a feature in filesystems or raid solutions. A disk on it’s own will not rewrite data over itself. Show me a product page from a disk manufacturer that says it does. If you can find it, it will not have been a popular drive because of the increased power usage and reduced life of the drive.
Explain how a hard disk loses data from being unplugged. More importantly, explain how it retains data specifically while being plugged in.
The data is stored as magnetic charges on the physical disk. They are not permanent magnets. They lose their charge and thus the data, slowly over time, while not being plugged in. A plugged in drive gets electricity to maintain the charge on the disk. How it does it specifically is based on the firmware of the drive. Idk why you can’t just google it yourself and probably find a better and more specific explanation.
I mostly figured that’s what you thought, and it’s completely wrong. They are permanent magnets. As permanent as any ultra-tiny magnet can be.
Hard drive platters are made of glass or aluminum, and have a thin layer of a metal alloy in which to store a magnetic charge. There is no electricity flowing through the platters of a hard drive, ever. They are 100% passive.
I didn’t google it because I can’t google, “tell me what false belief this person has.”
I never said the platters were electrically charged. The electricity powers the drive which has firmware. That firmware controls the magnetic charges and can correct errors, depending on firmware, hardware, and such. Also you are incorrect. The platters are not permanent magnets. The permanent magnets are a part of the spindle motor. I guess it also depends on how you define permanent magnets. The magnetic material most commonly used, for platters, is cobalt. Where as the “permanent magnets” (for the motor and typically when referring to permanent magnets) are neodymium. Maybe try a search that will actually result you in answers. I had no problems doing so when you challenged my knowledge.
You’re the one making extraordinary claims. You need to back them up. You said the data in HDDs only lasts 2-3 years unless they are plugged in. That is patently false in both ways. No, they don’t, and no, keeping them plugged in doesn’t help what data loss does occur. Error correction occurs when reading the data. And data is only read when asked for.
The firmware doesn’t “control” the charges. They just sit there. When the drive is powered but not in use, it sits there. Nothing is being done to “maintain” the charges.
If you don’t consider a static magnetic charge on a platter to be “permanent”, then no magnet is permanent. The only impermanent magnet is an electromagnet.
I did not say that. I said you will lose bits over years. When typical hdd’s are in the terabytes that means there are trillions of bits. A few bits here and there can be corrected. A plugged in drive will lose data differently than an unplugged drive. A plugged in drive won’t be as likely to lose data from the magnetic charge becoming too weak to read properly. Oh sorry the firmware controls the parts of the drive that interact with the magnetic charge. The firmware has the ability to look at the health of the drive and take action on it. Though it does depend on the drive and its capabilities. No magnet is truly permanent. But if the platter were using more “permanent magnetic material” then it would require a lot more energy to switch the state or flip the bit. It’s why they use a very small amount of magnetic material in the platter.
You are glossing over details that make you seem uninformed or lazy.
Also, this is not a feature in hard drive firmware. A scrub like you are describing is a feature in filesystems or raid solutions. A disk on it’s own will not rewrite data over itself. Show me a product page from a disk manufacturer that says it does. If you can find it, it will not have been a popular drive because of the increased power usage and reduced life of the drive.