# Stroring A Hard Drive In A Safe Deposit Box? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846 "2009-04-30T15:12:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/1 "2009-04-30T15:12:25Z")
Would you? Is it safe? I mean, because of all the magnetics and all? Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/2 "2009-04-30T15:26:42Z")
I do it. There’s nothing to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/3 "2009-04-30T16:56:42Z")
The real issue here is that hard drives that sit too long powered off might not spin up again. The bearings or head motor might stiffen up from sitting around. Hard drive manufacturers are more interested in keeping them working while they are running and arent so worried about using them as long term offline storage. What you should be doing is keeping one drive running live and another stored as an archive. The chances of losing both is much lower than losing one. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/4 "2009-04-30T17:38:45Z")
No problem. I do it all the time. In fact, I am considering having a _running_ USB or Ethernet drive permanently kept in a safe. All I need is to drill a hole on the side for the cable. I would have to check the power dissipation but I think it would be ok. That way I could keep all data on that drive, encrypted, and if a computer was stolen no data would be compromised or lost. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/5 "2009-04-30T17:49:58Z")
I’ve been rotating two external USB hard drives between home and my safe-deposit box for several years now. No problems. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/6 "2009-04-30T18:10:52Z")
If it’s long-term (more than a week or two), why not just keep backups burned to DVD in the box? No worries about moving parts freezing up, or stray magnetic fields, or even a random dousing with water. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/7 "2009-04-30T18:20:51Z")
DVDs only store about 4 gigs of data. 250 gig USB hard drives are really cheap about $60. Much faster and easier to use. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/8 "2009-04-30T18:54:30Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > The real issue here is that hard drives that sit too long powered off might not spin up again. The bearings or head motor might stiffen up from sitting around. I don’t think so. How much static load do you think is on a drive bearing? This is a non-issue. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/9 "2009-04-30T19:13:32Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > … I mean, because of all the magnetics and all? Could a safe deposit box be expected to have a strong magnetic field? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/10 "2009-04-30T19:26:51Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > I’ve been rotating two external USB hard drives between home and my safe-deposit box for several years now. No problems. I used to do this, and didn’t have any problems either. These days, I’m using a couple thumb drives instead. I used 2.5 inch laptop drives - note that a 3.5 drive in a USB enclosure may not fit in smaller safe deposit boxes. CDs don’t. The dimensions quoted by the bank are for the actual vault space. The tin box that goes inside is smaller. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/11 "2009-04-30T19:36:28Z")
The bearings themselves of course aren’t the issue, the lube on them is. It can shift around and the surface dry out. What I’d do is flip the drive over every once in a long while. (The motion and vibration of use reduces this problem.) Electrolytic caps can go bad when not used for a good long while, but I don’t think I’ve seen a HD that had an electrolytic in … probably never? The electronics are going to be stable for a good long time. (The plastic conductor-coated ribbon cables can dry out and crack but the time scale for that is too long to worry about.) What you really need to worry about is Boris Badenov leasing the box next to yours, installing a powerful degaussing system in it and wiping the drive clean in the middle of the night. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/12 "2009-04-30T19:38:59Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Could a safe deposit box be expected to have a strong magnetic field? Hey **Xema** , I was thinking of all the magnetics which hold the vault closed. Admittedly, I never even gave it a thought till I brought it up to my son… :rolleyes: Q ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/13 "2009-04-30T20:15:09Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > I was thinking of all the magnetics which hold the vault closed. Googling suggests that bank vault doors are largely mechanical devices. They often include a time lock which could involve some electronics, but there seems to be little indication that magnets strong enough to affect a hard disk (even one quite near) are typically employed. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/14 "2009-04-30T20:18:20Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > What you really need to worry about is Boris Badenov leasing the box next to yours, installing a powerful degaussing system in it and wiping the drive clean in the middle of the night. I hope I can expel these Cheez-It crackers out of my lungs after the lafter, **ftg**!!!:D:D:D In my teens, I used to have dreams about Natasha crawling into bed with me, saying “Borrris isss so leeetle and **YOU** are so beeeg! Tell me about your Stealth Bomber, my Darlink?” Thanks for the smile and the memory,\*\* ftg\*\*! Q ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/15 "2009-04-30T20:25:28Z")
Ask the bank. They probably offer some way to indemnify you against loss of stuff, if nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/16 "2009-04-30T20:38:59Z")
**RNATB** and **Xema** : “Occam’s Razor”, right? The simplest solution is usually the right one? 🙂 If I had given it a little more thought, there’s a 15% chance I may have come up with that “ask the bank” question myself!:smack: Then again, that’s why there’s **this** place! Thanks! Quasi ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/17 "2009-04-30T20:48:32Z")
About six months ago I remember hearing a Mac Geek Gab podcast where they discussed this, and they went into a deep discussion of concerns with the stopped platters allowing magnetic domains to be affected more by the earth’s magnetic field. But I can’t find a mention of this hypothesis in Google (though Google finds this thread quite well :)). They recommended spinning up the drive once every six months. That would hopefully address the problems that **HorseloverFat** raised. In the world of mechanical wristwatches, folks often by motorized watch winders, not only to keep from having to reset the date on the watch that is not in use, but so that the mechanisms keep moving and the lubricants are well distributed. Since hard drives are equally delicate, I imagine this principle holds true for them. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/18 "2009-04-30T20:52:08Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > Hey **Xema** , > > I was thinking of all the magnetics which hold the vault closed. A perfect example of why one shouldn’t assume that “Die Hard” is the way the world really is. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/19 "2009-04-30T21:01:22Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > … They probably offer some way to indemnify you against loss of stuff Though I’ve never seen such, a bank might possibly offer some guarantee that the items you leave in your SD box will be there when next you visit. But it’s hard to imagine they would give any sort of guarantee that data would be recoverable - there are far too many ways for this to go wrong (e.g. customer unwittingly failed to properly save his data on the removable device). ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846/20 "2009-04-30T21:11:34Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > … Since hard drives are equally delicate… No modern hard drive has anything like the mechanical complexity of a wind-up watch. Hard drives are actually quite simple devices (mechanically) with just a few moving parts - they would not deliver their astonishing reliability otherwise. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stroring-a-hard-drive-in-a-safe-deposit-box/494846.md?page=2)