Physical Hard-Disk Data Arrangements and Drive Failures? 46
Tadau asks: "Knowing not much of the low-level and molecular aspects of a hard drive platter, I'm wondering if it is possible to cause a weight change/imbalance on a hard drive platter by say writing solid 1's to approximately 1/2 of a side of the platter? If there is a weight change, then could that attribute to drive vibrations by an ever-so-slightly unbalanced platter, which may result in an eventual drive failure?"
April Fools! (Score:1)
Re:April Fools! (Score:2)
Re:April Fools! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:April Fools! (Score:2)
Re:April Fools! (Score:1)
Re:April Fools! (Score:2)
m_e = 9.1095e-31 kg = 0.55100 MeV/c^2
Re:April Fools! (Score:2)
yet more fodder for the 4/1 trolls. (Score:1, Flamebait)
Re:yet more fodder for the 4/1 trolls. (Score:1)
read it [slashdot.org]
I worked in the HDA industry (Score:5, Informative)
Re:I worked in the HDA industry (Score:3, Funny)
Oh, wait, I see the problem: You have monkeys in your pants.
Re:I worked in the HDA industry (Score:2)
Re:I worked in the HDA industry (Score:3, Funny)
And a third kind ... (Score:2)
Re:And a third kind ... (Score:2)
Re:I worked in the HDA industry (Score:2)
Re:I worked in the HDA industry (Score:1)
Re:I worked in the HDA industry (Score:1)
Simple answer (Score:5, Interesting)
If you could however write all 1's to all the harddrives in the Southern Hemisphere it would likely cause a polarity shift on the earth however. (AF)
Re:Simple answer (Score:2)
Holy Zeros, Batman!!! (Score:2)
Thank you (Score:1)
Seriously here is a link (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Seriously here is a link (Score:2)
I hope you enjoyed the grins, and if you were fooled into wanting to buy these, don't feel bad. You are in very good company . Save this site for the next April Fools day and see if you can find a victim or just a friend/co-worker with a good sense of humor.
Ahhhhh, April 1st... (Score:1)
Come on, guys, most of these "joke" stories aren't even mildly amusing or convincing. They're just plain dumb. Put a little effort into it, will ya?
Re:Ahhhhh, April 1st... (Score:2)
Re:Ahhhhh, April 1st... (Score:1)
1's more then 0's? (Score:2, Insightful)
That' not the real danger (Score:2)
Re:That' not the real danger (Score:1)
Can't happen on modern equipment (Score:1)
Back in the old FM days (where there was a direct relationship between flux and data) you might have had a problem such as you describe, but remember that the disks rotated at much lower RPMs then.
These days you don't have anything to worry about.
Air (Score:2)
Who's to say 1s are heavier? (Score:2)
It's not the bit state, it's the content (Score:2)
If you are really concerned, you will have to make sure
Reminds me of a Dilbert... (Score:4, Funny)
Wally: Why don't you just delete files to lower the weight on that one?
PHB (curiously studying laptop): That's a thought.
Wally: Technically, I only asked why not.
Re:Reminds me of a Dilbert... (Score:2)
Historically you're 100% right (Score:5, Funny)
Once a year, (traditionally, the first day in April) all disk and tape drives were rebalanced by redistibruting ones and zeroes. The "bit buckets" were also emptied on this hallowed day.
This isn't a problem anymore because all modern recording media use "MFM", "RLL", or "GCR" encoding methods, where ones and zeroes are automatically balanced.
One minor technical nit: "ones" actually weigh less than "zeroes". This led to the conclusion that the more data you put on your punched cards, the less they cost to mail :-)
Depends (Score:1)
1's weigh less than 0's (Score:1)
Bipolar Symmetry (Score:1)
Yes, it is a joke. (Score:2)
But it goes something like this:
In an early NASA launch project the engineers needed to know the exact weight of every component in the craft. The programmers swore that the software didn't weigh anything. The engineer in question finally slams down a bunch of punch cards in frustration and demands to know how much the software weighs.
The programmer replies, "We only use the holes."
Re:Yes, it is a joke. (Score:1)
Location (Score:1)
Here is the answer (Score:1)