Can this stand thing damage my laptop?

[miss direct]

I bought this from a charity shop: FlexDesk 630 | Document holder | BakkerElkhuizen | BakkerElkhuizen

I thought it was a laptop stand, but it seems it's a "document holder". It also has a sticker on it saying it contains a strong magnet and to avoid using magnetic data cards. I can't find any information anywhere as to whether I can put my laptop on this and use it as a laptop stand. Can anyone help? I'll take it back if it's going to damage my laptop.

 

[Sasaferrato]

If it has a magnet, I wouldn't have my laptop anywhere near it.

 

[miss direct]

Can't find any clear information about magnets harming or not harming laptops - google seems to say both yes and no. Would apppreciate some facts Maybe I can remove the magnetic part.

 

[Cid]

Short answer: No.

Long answer: In theory, if it's an HDD (as opposed to SSD), a magnet could damage it. But we're talking STRONG magnets on the HD itself. Like strong enough that they'd be dangerous on a consumer product anyway.

 

[prunus]

Can't find any clear information about magnets harming or not harming laptops - google seems to say both yes and no. Would apppreciate some facts Maybe I can remove the magnetic part.

Strong magnets will potentially do very very very bad things to old non-SSD (traditional old-school spinning disk type) hard drives, so if your laptop has one of those keep it well away.

Other than that no magnet that you’re going to be able to buy will do any damage to the electronics in a laptop.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

i think it's fairly well known that magnets and computer discs is not a good combination - i don't know how much of this is urban myth though

i once had quite a big fridge magnet sort of thing which ended up on my filing cabinet at work.

i did move it to my computer (after the magnet bit had fallen off, so i stuck it with blue-tack)

i will not repeat what the department IT bloke said when he saw it or what he called me when he realised...

 

[Gromit]

Still a classic.

 

[WouldBe]

System erase disk do not restore.

 

[Cid]

View attachment 367350
Still a classic.

A classic indeed, but floppies were much more vulnerable... Computers contain various magnets; HDDs themselves use them as part of the mechanism (separate from the electromagnet used in read/write), fans will have them, some types of speaker, optical drives, etc.

This article is quite a good summary (scroll down to the bit about hard drives).

Will a Magnet Destroy a Smartphone or Hard Drive? | Digital Trends

Do we have to keep magnets away from out smartphones and computers? Can they really damage phones and hard drives? We find out the truth.

www.digitaltrends.com

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Floppy disks would be corrupted if you stared at them hard enough.

I remember in the days where stuff was coming out on cd and floppy having some game that came on something like 24 disks.

After a year or so install it would be floppy disk Russian roulette.

 

[danny la rouge]

Other than that no magnet that you’re going to be able to buy will do any damage to the electronics in a laptop.

In the well-known documentary, Breaking Bad, criminals wipe evidence off a laptop that’s inside a building they are outside of by using a magnet so strong it tips their lorry over. It was quite a revelation.

 

[Gromit]

In the well-known documentary, Breaking Bad, criminals wipe evidence off a laptop that’s inside a building they are outside of by using a magnet so strong it tips their lorry over. It was quite a revelation.

Breaking Bad Magnet Scene: Can You Really Destroy A Hard Drive Using Magnets?

Yes, you can destroy the contents of a hard drive using magnets. Hard drives store data by magnetizing tiny magnetic domains in a specific direction. The introduction of an external magnet of appropriate magnitude within a close range of the hard drive permanently changes the alignment of these...

www.scienceabc.com

 

[spudulike]

View attachment 367350
Still a classic.

IT Support, long time ago, I received an 8 inch floppy disk with an explanatory note stapled to it

 

[miss direct]

So I still don't know the answer to my question, but the good news is, I worked out how to remove the magnet. Stuck it a metre or so away. Is that enough distance to not do any potential harm?

 

[prunus]

So I still don't know the answer to my question, but the good news is, I worked out how to remove the magnet. Stuck it a metre or so away. Is that enough distance to not do any potential harm?

Plenty plenty far

 

[Sasaferrato]

IT Support, long time ago, I received an 8 inch floppy disk with an explanatory note stapled to it

As late as 1986 the army personnel records were on a machine that used 8" floppies.