# Will x-rays hurt hard drives? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-x-rays-hurt-hard-drives/547512 "2010-07-21T21:33:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-x-rays-hurt-hard-drives/547512/1 "2010-07-21T21:33:24Z")
I’m taking my computer with me in checked luggage, but I don’t want to subject my hard drives to harsh treatment, so I’m putting them in some anti-static bags and taking them with me on my carry on. I have to run them through the x-ray machine they use to scan carry-on luggage. Will this cause any damage? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-x-rays-hurt-hard-drives/547512/2 "2010-07-21T21:36:54Z")
No. Google it. I’ve put laptops through x-ray machines for years with no problem at all. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-x-rays-hurt-hard-drives/547512/3 "2010-07-21T22:25:05Z")
The magnets in the motors used to drive the conveyor belts are more apt to hurt your hard drive than the X-rays. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-x-rays-hurt-hard-drives/547512/4 "2010-07-22T00:04:46Z")
X-rays can easily damage a hard drive, but not at the level you get from an airport scanner. The airport’s x-ray machine puts out such a low level of x-rays that it won’t even bother photographic film. Don’t worry about it. It won’t hurt your hard drives. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-x-rays-hurt-hard-drives/547512/5 "2010-07-22T00:08:56Z")
Surely the actual magnetic parts are encased in metal. That ought to shield them from the X-rays. ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-x-rays-hurt-hard-drives/547512/6 "2010-07-22T00:20:49Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > X-rays can easily damage a hard drive, but not at the level you get from an airport scanner. The airport’s x-ray machine puts out such a low level of x-rays that it won’t even bother photographic film. Don’t worry about it. It won’t hurt your hard drives. Uh, what intensity/kV of X-rays are you referring to? Celestial/stellar? Or more diagnostic/medical/security scan? I have CT-scanned/X-rayed plenty (!) of laptops/towers/etc (for fun/bets) and such, and never had any issues afterwards. Maybe we were plain lucky/ I have also had film fogged (eventually) when it was on other side of X-ray room (using kV of around 90-120, ie ‘scatter’ getting it). Hence the need for the film bins 😉 I am not sure what the security machines use/output, but I’d bet they activate that sensitivity speck somewhat 😕 Or do the machines not use ‘ionizing radiation’, per se? Now taking a hard drive into an MRI’s field would be ill-advised, imho, but not the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-x-rays-hurt-hard-drives/547512/7 "2010-07-22T00:21:59Z")
> [@](#): > > The airport’s x-ray machine puts out such a low level of x-rays that it won’t even bother photographic film. It will bother photographic film, just at a level most amateur photographers consider tolerable. Serious photographers, though, will notice the difference, and thus make sure their film is never X-rayed (you can request hand-inspection, if you’re not in a hurry). ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-x-rays-hurt-hard-drives/547512/8 "2010-07-22T09:32:26Z")
I noticed they asked people with laptops to set them aside at security so I thought that might be related. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-x-rays-hurt-hard-drives/547512/9 "2010-07-22T10:17:28Z")
Seeing as a Doper had trouble explaining why his computer did not have a hard drive to airport security, I’m not surprised at this answer.