Potential magnet damage to laptop HDD

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the potential risk of damage to laptop hard disk drives (HDDs) from the magnets in an Ashton BA15 40W bass amplifier. Participants explore the safety of placing laptops near or on speakers, considering both modern and older speaker systems and their magnetic shielding properties.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether the magnets in the bass amp could damage the HDD, expressing uncertainty about the safety of their Samsung and Acer laptops.
  • Another participant states that modern speakers are magnetically shielded and generally safe, while older systems may not be, but they often have weaker magnets.
  • A different participant suggests that placing a laptop on a speaker should be fine and proposes measuring the magnetic field with a piece of iron to assess safety.
  • It is noted that modern hard drives are resilient to magnetic fields and that a strong magnetic field would be required to cause data loss, with credit card strips being more sensitive than HDDs.
  • One participant expresses increased confidence in the safety of placing the laptop near the speakers but personally would still avoid doing so.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying levels of confidence regarding the safety of placing laptops near speakers. While some believe it is generally safe, others emphasize the uncertainty and potential risk involved, indicating that the discussion remains unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference the age and shielding of speakers, as well as the strength of magnets in hard drives, but do not reach a consensus on the safety of the specific situation discussed.

cobalt124
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My specific question is can the magnets in an Ashton BA15 40W bass amp damage the HDD in a laptop (we have a Samsung about a year and a quarter old and an Acer about a year old). I've read the following threads:

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=411895&highlight=magnet
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=112183&highlight=magnet

so I'm sure the only possible damage would be to the HDD, which I'm fairly certain would be safe, but not quite certain enough. Can anybody raise my certainty levels?
 
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Modern speakers intended for use with computers are magnetically sheilded so they are safe (provided you read and follow the instructions!)

With older speaker systems, it's a toss-up. On the one hand they were usually not sheilded, but on the other hand they tended to have weaker magnets.

cobalt124 said:
so I'm sure the only possible damage would be to the HDD, which I'm fairly certain would be safe, but not quite certain enough. Can anybody raise my certainty levels?

That's not a very sensible question IMO. Your "personal confidence level" has absolutely nothing to do with whether the laptop will be damaged or not!

The only possible answer is "well, it might be damaged"...
 
If you are just looking to sit a laptop on top of a speaker then I think you'll be fine. It might be worth just getting a piece of iron and seeing just how much of a magnetic field there is in the area you are going to put the laptop. It is also worth pointing out that hard drives have strong magnets in them. Modern hard drives are pretty resilient to magnetic fields and it would take a pretty strong field to cause data loss. The strip on a credit card is much more sensitive than a hard drive. Anywhere your wallet survives without wiping the credit cards is going to be safe for a laptop.
 
Thanks for the responses!

AlephZero said:
Modern speakers intended for use with computers are magnetically sheilded so they are safe (provided you read and follow the instructions!)

The speakers are about four years old, and we have lost the instructions.

AlephZero said:
That's not a very sensible question IMO. Your "personal confidence level" has absolutely nothing to do with whether the laptop will be damaged or not!

The only possible answer is "well, it might be damaged"...

...and so you don't put the laptop anywhere near the speakers! Yep, I see your point. And if it were my speaker and amp that is what I would be doing. Problem solved. However, this isn't an option which is why I'm asking.

DaleSwanson said:
If you are just looking to sit a laptop on top of a speaker then I think you'll be fine. It might be worth just getting a piece of iron and seeing just how much of a magnetic field there is in the area you are going to put the laptop. It is also worth pointing out that hard drives have strong magnets in them. Modern hard drives are pretty resilient to magnetic fields and it would take a pretty strong field to cause data loss. The strip on a credit card is much more sensitive than a hard drive. Anywhere your wallet survives without wiping the credit cards is going to be safe for a laptop.

I'm now more confident that it's OK, but personally I still wouldn't do it.
 

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