I did not say that. I said you will lose bits over years. When typical hdd’s are in the terabytes that means there are trillions of bits. A few bits here and there can be corrected. A plugged in drive will lose data differently than an unplugged drive. A plugged in drive won’t be as likely to lose data from the magnetic charge becoming too weak to read properly. Oh sorry the firmware controls the parts of the drive that interact with the magnetic charge. The firmware has the ability to look at the health of the drive and take action on it. Though it does depend on the drive and its capabilities. No magnet is truly permanent. But if the platter were using more “permanent magnetic material” then it would require a lot more energy to switch the state or flip the bit. It’s why they use a very small amount of magnetic material in the platter.

You are correct I never went to school to learn about computers (including hardware). I’ve never done data recovery as part of my job. I’ve never once used Google to help me understand what’s going on with hardware, hard drives, solid states, or raid and raid like systems. I’ve never taken apart a hard drive, nor have I destroyed them in accordance to government mandated procedures for a government contractor. I guess I have some Google to do.

/s because I fear some can’t tell the difference

I never said the platters were electrically charged. The electricity powers the drive which has firmware. That firmware controls the magnetic charges and can correct errors, depending on firmware, hardware, and such. Also you are incorrect. The platters are not permanent magnets. The permanent magnets are a part of the spindle motor. I guess it also depends on how you define permanent magnets. The magnetic material most commonly used, for platters, is cobalt. Where as the “permanent magnets” (for the motor and typically when referring to permanent magnets) are neodymium. Maybe try a search that will actually result you in answers. I had no problems doing so when you challenged my knowledge.

Op is not saying that 100% of the data is lost after that time frame. That’s enough time that you could lose critical areas of sectors in such a way that data becomes unreadable. Yes hdd’s can sit for years without losing much data. However the firmware and os’s are able to handle some lost bits so it doesn’t seem like you lost data.

lol sure. They are magnetic charges on a disk. The disk is not a permanent magnet. This means that the charge will eventually dissipate. Also platters cannot be just placed in a new drive and work perfectly. The firmware and disk hardware has to match. Plus most hdd’s have multiple platters with the data spread out over them. To do what you suggested will most likely cost you a pretty penny to a data recovery company.

This has been known since hard drives have been around. Just because ssd’s work differently, doesn’t mean that they have the same drawbacks as hdd’s when it comes to data retention while sitting unplugged.

The data is stored as magnetic charges on the physical disk. They are not permanent magnets. They lose their charge and thus the data, slowly over time, while not being plugged in. A plugged in drive gets electricity to maintain the charge on the disk. How it does it specifically is based on the firmware of the drive. Idk why you can’t just google it yourself and probably find a better and more specific explanation.

I’ve worked it for over a decade at this point, I know exactly what I’m talking about. Sure the drive works now, but it is mechanical and mechanical things WILL fail. Obviously adapters will allow it to interface with modern hardware.

I don’t know if you understand how magnetic drives work. They are not permanent magnets, that means that they will lose their charge unless you maintain the drive. It’s not a matter of if but when. And maintaining the drive means it’s plugged in and spinning, which wears the drive down.

I bet if you ran a smart report on that drive, it will have plenty of “old age” and “pre-failure” on many different attributes. If there is data important to you, then it should not be on that drive.

I was trying to explain that the volatility of a 20+ year old hdd and hardware is very high. If there is important data to you, you may want to get it to a device that is not so volatile. Also it’s not like I made any of this up, I have a decade of it work including plenty of data recovery. It’s how I know that the “no storage lasts beyond 2-3 years” statement is blatantly false.

Not for long. And there is no way that it doesn’t have issues. Also that old of hardware will have connections that modern pc don’t have support for. So basically either the drive will die or the hardware running the drive will. But op is specifically talking about drives that are unplugged, just sitting around. All drives will lose data from being unplugged, and it has been known for a very long time. However they are incorrect on the “no storage drive” can last long. Tape drives are the go to for long term storage. Something like 15-30 year lifespans and 50+ on other types of tape drives.