# should an HDMI (or other electrical/signal) cable be kept away from mechanical (magnetic) drives?



## kn00tcn (Aug 5, 2015)

could the constant stream of data or current affect a drive or magnetic tape to the point of flipping bits?


----------



## kn00tcn (Aug 5, 2015)

Blue-Knight said:


> Will it have a problem if I let a magnet on top of the drive enclosure?


probably.. the enclosure isnt an isolator

what kind of magnet? i actually wonder about those magnetized business cards & other flat fridge accessories


----------



## The Von Matrices (Aug 5, 2015)

I'd be much more concerned about the hard drive causing interference in the cable than the cable causing the hard drive to lose data.

Hard drives are very resilient to electrical interference.  They have to stand up to all the electrical interference present in a computer case.  Compared to that, a shielded HDMI cable is nothing.


----------



## kn00tcn (Aug 6, 2015)

Blue-Knight said:


> Neodymium magnet.


yu raff nau, but you know how headphones have neodymium inside, well i hung my HD439 for a period on my FP241VW monitor... there are artifacts in that area now, i am serious



The Von Matrices said:


> They have to stand up to all the electrical interference present in a computer case.


certainly something to consider... although how often are cables going across the top of the drive?


----------



## ZenZimZaliben (Aug 6, 2015)

only if you have a 500+ foot hdmi cable wrapped into tight coils around the harddrive and removed the shielding from the cable and then ran power through it.


----------



## FordGT90Concept (Aug 7, 2015)

The amount of power going through HDMI is so minimal, it is more receptive to interference than a source of interference.  Mixing data cables with power cables (120v-220v mains) though is a bad idea.

About the only thing that needs to be kept away from hard drives is powerful magnets...like non-magnetically shielded woofers.


----------



## Aquinus (Aug 7, 2015)

FordGT90Concept said:


> The amount of power going through HDMI is so minimal, it is more receptive to interference than a source of interference.  Mixing data cables with power cables (120v-220v mains) though is a bad idea.
> 
> About the only thing that needs to be kept away from hard drives is powerful magnets...like non-magnetically shielded woofers.


This. HDMI is more susceptible to being influenced by interference. As Ford stated, eletrical power (in particular, AC,) is notorious for causing capacitive issues in cabling due to the high voltage potential.

This is all really to say keep HDMI away from *changing magnetic fields* (AC power naturally does this due the flow of electrons going back and forth). A constant field is unlikely to cause issues but the changing field is what induces current in a conductor and will impact electrical signals.



Spoiler



I suggest keeping HDMI away from high tension power lines. If it can do this to a florescent bulb due to a powerful changing magnetic field, imagine what it's doing to more complex circuitry.


----------



## natr0n (Aug 7, 2015)

I forgot the reason for posting this , but it would cause all kinds of probs.


----------



## xvi (Aug 7, 2015)

I volunteered at an electronics recycler for a while. We tried using one of those bulk VHS tape erasers to wipe a hard drive (WD Caviar 80GB IDE?). We installed Win XP on it and hit it with the degausser for about 30-60 seconds. Stuck it back in the machine and it booted up with zero issues.

If it can withstand that, I'm sure running cables nearby shouldn't be any issue.


----------



## FordGT90Concept (Aug 7, 2015)

The metal shell of the hard drive acts as a magnetic shield against all but the strongest of magnets.  You'd have to pop the lid off (voiding the warranty) and apply that directly to the platters for it to have any effect.  Results would likely vary too because magnets have a predictable field and that field would have to cover the entire platter... not just here and there.

Remember, cassette tapes are predominantly made of plastics which make them ideal for erasing by that method.  HDDs, not so much.


----------

