Does anyone else harvest the magnets and platters from old drives as a monument to selfhosting history?
Does anyone else harvest the magnets and platters from old drives as a monument to selfhosting history?
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Considering they're covered in toxic shit, nope.
I'm pretty sure that's not true. What do you think is on there?
They contain lead, as well as other harmful toxins. I did a bit of research and it seems unless you physically destroy the platters it shouldn't be an issue.
Still, I'd rather just not do something so useless and risk my health in the process.
A typical HDD design consists of a spindle that holds flat circular disks, called platters, which hold the recorded data. The platters are made from a non-magnetic material, usually aluminum alloy, glass, or ceramic. They are coated with a shallow layer of magnetic material typically 10–20 nm in depth, with an outer layer of carbon for protection.[46][47][48] For reference, a standard piece of copy paper is 0.07–0.18 mm (70,000–180,000 nm)[49] thick.
Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk_drive
This comment suggests it may contain leaded solder.
I use them as a coaster for coffee. They shouldn't contain any lead. I guess that would be illegal at least in the EU. You can't even put lead in solder anymore, so I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to put it in HDDs.