this is 911…I am concurrently searching the archives of Gen Ques but would appreciate also if someone can direct me faster to any pre-existing threads regarding similar topics in the archives. I read the article on eel skin which reminded me that I had stuck a small magnetic “2004” in my purse like an idiot so I know how it got demagnetized. Now I’d love to find a way to re-magnetize it.
Scenario is: My rent is due, my atm card is demagnetized and I still need to withdraw half of the rent balance. Yes, I can wait til Mon. to have the bank do it but want to avoid paying the friggin’ $50 late charge for paying rent 5 or 6 days late (every penny counts right now). I have no other accounts but the mentioned one.
It’s quite a bind so I need any tips, passing urban legends, myths, wives tales or anything helpful on re-magnetizing the card on my own. I don’t have a checking account and I do have people that will front me $ but I’d rather not put anyone out and figure investigating this on my own first might be beneficial.
Thanks in advance to those who comment.
:smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: < me
I’m afraid you’re SOL. Once the data on the stripe has been destroyed by magnetism, it’s gone. You can try different ATMs, since each different type might read from a slightly different place on the stripe, and it’s possible some readable data survived, but I warn you this is highly unlikely.
as Q.E.D said, your SOL. its not a matter of the strip being simply magnitized or not: there is data stored on it. when it get de-magnitizied it means the data was destroyed. there isen’t really anything you can do to put it back on there.
its kinda like writing something on paper in ink, dipping the paper in ink and asking if there is a way to get the ink off. its not really possible to undo.
thanks Burnt, point well taken–am now, in the process of building up guts to plea to the apt manager for extra time or borrow from a dear friend or family member…
Try another machine, mine won’t work in the local 7-11, but if I go in the back to the atm it works fine. Also I have seen the clerk put a piece of tape on the back and get them to work that way and at Wal-Mart they will wrap a plastik bag on the card to get it to work.
thanks-tried 4 machines, and actually did attempt the plastic bag thing early today before I made this post but it makes the card bulky and I got paranoid the security camera would be suspicious of me and send the law.
Maybe i’ll head out and try that again anyway. The tape thing sounds good and can’t hurt except maybe it will somehow distort the data on the strip more so I’d then have to wait longer for a brand new card…
As H&B says, try another machine. Try gently washing the strip with soap and water, there may be invisible goo on it. If those things fail, you could use a Magnetic card strip encoder to put back the missing information, but I’m betting that you don’t have one of those.
hmmm!: ) magnetic card strip encoder! now that sounds like a potential winner…who else would have one besides a place that opens on Monday? is that a service kinko’s might have? Or my local cel phone dealer?
Even with one of these you’d still need a back up copy of the data that was on the card. If the magnetic stripe has been corrupted there is absolutely no way of fixing it. The data is simply no longer there.
thanks folks…i’m resolved to defeat but appreciate the tips ahecka lot…given that I put a small magnet in my purse I’m 100% definite I demagnetized it and will have to wait for the bank to re-encode the dumb thing and in the meantime deal with the consequences at hand.
Moral of the Story: don’t put magnets near your valuables…
very awesome info straight dope…i’ll be sure and spread the word.
A long time ago, a local Safeway helped out a friend in a similar situation. A manager just typed the code into their terminal by hand and gave her the money.
…write a cheque to a friend, and they lend you the cash while the cheque clears