R. S. Martin Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 How else do you explained what just happened? My vacuum sucked up my memory stick right out of the computer up the hose and into the bag. I did surgery on the bag and retrieved the device from the depths of dust and doghair, cleaned it up and stuck it back into the USB port and the data is still all there. Since delicate high technology could never have survived such a rough ride, that proves God exists, right? You guys know me well enough to realize how sarcastic I'm being, I trust. High tech must be more rugged that one would have thought. I am so glad that our technology, can withstand our mistakes and our frailty, that a retrieved little memory stick buried within the dust of a dirt bag still will remember data impressed after it's dusted and plugged back on track. Still it will work despite its abuse No God does it need for its use. Um, if you happen to know it, you can sing that to "I am so glad that our father in heaven." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 Good post R.S. I saw a 32GB flash drive for well under $20. That's more than my laptop hard drive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted October 4, 2013 Author Share Posted October 4, 2013 Yeah, I figured I could easily get a new one but it would not have the data I backed up on it. I anticipate my computer crashing one of these days so I backed up some stuff on the memory stick. Now it goes! But I think I got it all back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue elephant Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 So ... You actually need a back up memory stick at another site. I'm sure there's a new business idea in here as well! Special vacuum cleaner to get the dust out of computers ... And printers. and while they're at it, the computer vacuum cleaner could have a crevice tool that REALLY gets the breadcrumbs out of the keyboard! I am always using those little tooth flossy things to get grunge out of the keyboard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marty Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 I have accidentally had memory sticks go through the wash and have worked perfectly fine with no data loss! They are very robust. However, you should be very careful about pushing and pulling a vacuum around anything that stores info magnetically, like your computer's internal hard drive. The action of moving the motor back and forth near magnetic storage can act like a demagnetizer and erase the entire drive. Unless HDDs are shielded to prevent this, someone else may know better. I do know this is true as far as audio and video tapes and credit card mag strips go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted October 4, 2013 Author Share Posted October 4, 2013 I have accidentally had memory sticks go through the wash and have worked perfectly fine with no data loss! They are very robust. Whew! They must be. Robust, I mean. However, you should be very careful about pushing and pulling a vacuum around anything that stores info magnetically, like your computer's internal hard drive. The action of moving the motor back and forth near magnetic storage can act like a demagnetizer and erase the entire drive. Unless HDDs are shielded to prevent this, someone else may know better. I do know this is true as far as audio and video tapes and credit card mag strips go... If erasing hard drives were as easy as pushing and pulling a vacuum cleaner motor around them, why do we have so many people trying in vain to erase unwanted material from old hard drives? Some people want to get rid of incriminating material when the police are on their tail. Others want to get rid of financial info and personal letters when they're giving away an old computer. Etc. For people (such as the police) with the technology to restore deleted documents it's almost impossible to permanently erase information. You'd think if it were as easy as running a vacuum motor around it, surely it would be common knowledge, right? Maybe all computers have shields to protect them. Anyway, my hard drive is wedged between my desk and the wall--no chance of accidentally running the vacuum by it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marty Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 Well, when I was in trade school back in the last days of analog (and digital) tape recording of audio and video, we were told this. I don't know how susceptible HDDs are because I was not educated on the finer points of how they work; all I do know about them is they store their information magnetically. Now, when you reformat or erase a HDD via software, my understanding is that it only over-writes the "header" information so the computer no longer sees the file as existing, yet the content of the file will exist for sometime and there is software that can recover things this way. The thing about a motor is it has a magnetic field surrounding it when it is on, and pushing and pulling it around mag storage devices like VCR tapes or cassettes is it will rearrange the particles to the same orientation, iow, demagnetizing it, or erasing it. Perhaps the motor's field is not strong enough to wipe a HDD drive clean, someone else around here Im sure knows more than I about it. But for valuable things you may have stored on tape, I would put it on a top shelf out of reach of vacuums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaissanceWoman Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 And while they're at it, the computer vacuum cleaner could have a crevice tool that REALLY gets the breadcrumbs out of the keyboard! Yeah, my main work station keyboard is a virtual compost bin. I just try not to look to hard at it. If certain keys start to stick, I'll know there's one too many chocolate bits down in there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExCBooster Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 Well, when I was in trade school back in the last days of analog (and digital) tape recording of audio and video, we were told this. I don't know how susceptible HDDs are because I was not educated on the finer points of how they work; all I do know about them is they store their information magnetically. Now, when you reformat or erase a HDD via software, my understanding is that it only over-writes the "header" information so the computer no longer sees the file as existing, yet the content of the file will exist for sometime and there is software that can recover things this way. The thing about a motor is it has a magnetic field surrounding it when it is on, and pushing and pulling it around mag storage devices like VCR tapes or cassettes is it will rearrange the particles to the same orientation, iow, demagnetizing it, or erasing it. Perhaps the motor's field is not strong enough to wipe a HDD drive clean, someone else around here Im sure knows more than I about it. But for valuable things you may have stored on tape, I would put it on a top shelf out of reach of vacuums. This is why, right here, as Marty said, is why people don't manage to erase data. When you trash bin a file, or even regular format your machine, you only erase the headers of blocks of data, so that the computer knows it can copy over the data if it wants to. So, if the FBI comes calling later, they can just stick the hard drive in a cradle, and get the information back out, if it hasn't been written over yet. If you well and truly completely reformat your drive, it turns all the bits to 0. Magnetic tape data, like on audio tapes, or swipe cards, is unshielded, so a powerful magnet (like those magnetic purse clasps - not a good idea) moved over the surface can rearrange the data into nonsense. Your hard drive is shielded, in a metal case. Hard drive in the case. Hard drive... not in the case, and killed with water.This acts like a Faraday cage, protecting the data from damage. This effect is also why WiFi in your house is better in some rooms than others, especially worse in rooms with a lot of wiring or pipes in the walls between your computer and the WiFi terminal. Also why cell phone reception is terrible in old buildings with copper roofing. So, your hard drive, as it sits snugly in your computer is mostly safe from your vacuum. Now, when you're working with computer parts, you have to keep them safe from stray electric charges and magnetic fields. So they have anti-static grounding bracelets, for hard ware work. And it's not such a good idea to have an electric motor, with its beastly magnetic fields anywhere near an open computer, so, how to get that cat hair out of your case? (Cats love computers, and will sleep on them whenever possible. I think because it's a little bit warm, and/or because you don't want the cat to. That's just how they are.) Canned air. It's a wonderful thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted October 6, 2013 Author Share Posted October 6, 2013 I never realized that the way to get God to give me free computer lessons was to mock his name. Thanks for the tips, everyone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endemoniada Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 They do make cleaning kits for dirty keyboards, and if the stuff is stuck under the keys, it should be possible to remove them before cleaning. I don't know if a vacuum would be a good idea, but compressed air should do the trick. And if you're always needing to clean your keyboards, you can get ones with wide spacing between the keys, so they don't get stuff under them or stick together when you try to type. Another thing to keep in mind is that HDD are not nearly as robust as flash drives, as I've heard simply moving a laptop in the wrong way can bork your drive such that it can't read the disk, even if the information is still there. Just a heads up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 Magnets are of the devil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted October 8, 2013 Author Share Posted October 8, 2013 About sticky key-boards. When I got my computer I was told right away to be careful about not holding food or drink over the key-board. I have little problem with stickiness or crumbs. A couple times a year I turn it upside down to empty out the crumbs and I do vacuum it sometimes for the dust. I've had it ten years this month. Seems to work. par4dcourse said: I saw a 32GB flash drive for well under $20. That's more than my laptop hard drive! Blue Elephant said: So ... You actually need a back up memory stick at another site. This afternoon I had The Talk with a professional computer guy. He gave me the name of a 32GB flash drive that is big enough to store all My Documents, including pictures and books that I scanned for my graduate studies. All of that is stuff I thought I'd have to give up when/if my old computer crashed. We also discussed backing up memory sticks. I feel like someone is pulling me out of the dark ages. It was the bright new age when I got the technology ten years ago but so MUCH has changed. Anyway, as always, things cost more here than they do in the States so I'll have to shell out $25 (plus tax, I assume) but that's nowhere near what I paid for my measly little memory stick that I got all those years ago. He said what I've got now is given away these days as door prizes. IIRC, I paid $50. He's also going to find out more about what kind of computer I might want to get to replace what I've got. He's with a nonprofit organization that helps people with disabilities get set up with the technology they need so I know he's not making money off me. He's not selling the stuff. I asked for help in knowing what I need and he is doing just that. So yeah, there really is a god. Or at least good people who are willing to help each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burt_Lemur Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 What version of Windows does Jesus use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaissanceWoman Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 What version of Windows does Jesus use? He's still using scrolls to send us messages, which are burning up in the atmosphere before they get here. That's why we haven't heard from him in 2000 years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burt_Lemur Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Thanks for explaining that, RennaisanceWoman! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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