are magnets bad for computers?

[Korepavore]

i have a magnetic flashlight that sticks to the case of my computer tower but im not sure if magnets are bad for computers. can i leave it there or will it create issues?

[Levent]

Magnets are bad for HDDs. I am not sure about rest of the components.

[dgsddfgdfhgs]

4 minutes ago, Levent said:

Magnets are bad for HDDs. I am not sure about rest of the components.

the platters are not influenced by magnets, there are 1-2 tiny very strong magnets inside HDD too

[Windows7ge]

Today hardware that is susceptible to magnetism is shielded to protect against it. A magnetic flashlight won't (shouldn't) hurt it.

[NotSoEpicMods]

I think you'd be pretty safe. Just try not to stick it directly onto a hard drive especially while it is in operation. Interestingly this reminds me of a video I once saw and the same person made an updated one with more modern hardware.

 

 

[SpikeSpiegel]

I got a Gigabyte WiFi Card + antenna that uses a magnet base.  It warns me not to place it near any HDD's.  Also my NZXT Internal USB 2.0 Hub is also has a magnet base.  So it's best to place them far away from the HDD's.

[GoodBytes]

1 hour ago, Korepavore said:

i have a magnetic flashlight that sticks to the case of my computer tower but im not sure if magnets are bad for computers. can i leave it there or will it create issues?

We don't know how strong the magnet is. A weak magnet won't do anything to anything. But a strong one may chase issue to a HDD, depending on its placement to the HDD, and the HDD compositions.

[Curious Pineapple]

You'll be fine. Remember the days when computers had an internal speaker lashed under the hard drives?

[greenhorn]

Don't worry, if the magnetic holder sticks to the case, the magnetic field lines will mostly go through the case because it is ferromagnetic. It has a much higher permeability than the surrounding air.

If you were to stick a magnet to the outside of an HDD, I wouldn't be worried too much (unless you have a crazy strong magnet), because the HDD's hull should be designed to shield the inside to some degree.

The only way a conventional magnet could do some harm is if movement is involved (either by the magnet itself or an electrically conductive material nearby) because of eddy currents. You could probably mess up some fans with strong and correctly placed magnets (not likely to happen by accident).

[Mira Yurizaki]

Strong magnets like neodymium magnets may affect hard drives, but even then, the magnetic field in hard drives are extraordinarily strong to begin with.

 

The only other way for a magnet to cause issues in a computer (or any electronics) is if you are moving the magnet around such that it creates current flow somewhere.

[SPARTAN VI]

On 1/2/2020 at 7:54 PM, Korepavore said:

i have a magnetic flashlight that sticks to the case of my computer tower but im not sure if magnets are bad for computers. can i leave it there or will it create issues?

It wont create issues. No way that flashlight's magnet is anywhere near powerful enough to disrupt a platter harddrive you have, if you have any. Been using a magnetic antennae mount for my wireless AC NIC for years:

 

[Killing-time-itself]

On 1/2/2020 at 11:05 PM, dgsddfgdfhgs said:

the platters are not influenced by magnets, there are 1-2 tiny very strong magnets inside HDD too

The platters definitely can and I've seen it happen before. The reason the magnets inside dont affect the platters is because they aren't directly on top of them since they're off to the side it's much harder for them to affect the spinning platters.

[mr moose]

5 hours ago, Killing-time-itself said:

The platters definitely can and I've seen it happen before. The reason the magnets inside dont affect the platters is because they aren't directly on top of them since they're off to the side it's much harder for them to affect the spinning platters.

And because they are not moving relative to the platters (they are fixed).  howerver moving a magnet passed a hdd will cause a magnetic field fluctuation that will cause the platters an issue.  How strong that has to be might better be answered by one of our HDD affiliate reps.

 

Just having a magnet stuck to the side of a case is not a problem.  Moving it around close the hdd might (definitely is in some cases) be and I would urge everyone not to try it.

[beavo451]

Hard disks work by using magnetism to record bits of data on the platters. Moving a magnetic field across a platter will corrupt whatever data is on the platter.

[Crunchy Dragon]

It probably varies by magnet and internal parts.