Does x-ray scanner hurt external hard drives?

[Arschloch]

Will my external hard drive be hurt if I pass it through the airport's x-ray scanner?

I suspect I'm being overly worrisome here, but I'd rather be safe than sorry, with all the important documents (mp3's) I have on there...

Thanks!

 

[Matthias99]

X-Ray scanners in airports will not damage external (or internal) hard drives. They are VERY well-shielded, and x-rays shouldn't mess with magnetic media anyway.

 

[Arschloch]

Thanks, Matthias. Really appreciate it!

 

[mercanucaribe]

Wrap them in aluminum foil.

 

[Skeeedunt]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
Wrap them in aluminum foil.

Salt and pepper as needed.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: Matthias99
X-Ray scanners in airports will not damage external (or internal) hard drives. They are VERY well-shielded, and x-rays shouldn't mess with magnetic media anyway.

:thumbsup:

And to dispel another common worry; they don't ruin 35mm camera film either.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Roguestar
And to dispel another common worry; they don't ruin 35mm camera film either.

Ahhh...you are going a bit too far here. X-ray scanners CAN ruin 35mm film. Especially already-exposed film, high speed film, and multiple passes (common on international trips). A typical round-trip across the US with only two passes and with common consumer-grade film seems to be safe.

 

[Roguestar]

:/ All I can recall is that some guy who worked airport security posted a thread on the SA forums asking what people wanted to know about his job; this question came up and he said only special types of film (like high-speed stuff you mentioned) would be affected, and that standard 35mm, exposed or not, they never had any complaints about.

 

[corkyg]

The operative word is "standard 35mm film - and what is that? The susceptibility of X-Ray damage is cumulative and increases with the film's ISO speed. One time through will probably have no visible effect for ISO 400 and below. But - X-Ray effects are cumulative. If the same film has to pass through several X-Ray checks, as on an overseas flight, damage can occur. That's why we have lead film bags.

BTW - aluminum foil won't do diddly with X-Rays.

 

[pradeep1]

Originally posted by: Roguestar

Originally posted by: Matthias99
X-Ray scanners in airports will not damage external (or internal) hard drives. They are VERY well-shielded, and x-rays shouldn't mess with magnetic media anyway.

:thumbsup:

And to dispel another common worry; they don't ruin 35mm camera film either.

X-Ray scanners will not harm Hard drives, but they can harm 35 mm film. Scanners in countries such as India, Hong Kong, Singapore, and even parts of Europe are juiced up and can harm sensitive (>ISO 800) films. Even slower speed film can be harmed with multiple passes. If you are going to carry film with valuable exposures on them, have them hand scanned and don't ever put them in your luggage. The luggage scanners are even more high powered than your regular scanners and can fog film fast.

If you hand carry, your film will be x-ray at least four times if you go to a far location such as India. If you check it to luggage, expect it to be scanned about 6-8 times with higher powered scanners, since it scanned each time it boards and departs a plane.

Of course, if you go digital, you won't have this problem.

 

[StrangerGuy]

If it kills hard drives, most likely it will kill you too.