When working with data storage systems, developers need to understand the physical limitations of different storage technologies. Traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) store data on magnetically charged platters, while solid state drives (SSDs) use flash memory chips with no moving parts.

HDDs are particularly vulnerable to magnetic interference because:

// Example of HDD sector structure (conceptual representation)
struct HDDSector {
    magnetic_domain polarization; // North/South orientation represents 0/1
    uint32_t sector_number;
    uint16_t track;
    uint8_t head;
};

Powerful magnets can:

• Flip magnetic domains randomly
• Corrupt servo control data
• Demagnetize entire platters

Industrial magnets (>100mT) can cause immediate damage, while weaker magnets might gradually degrade data.

SSDs aren't affected by typical magnets because:

// Flash memory cell operation
void program_cell(FlashCell* cell, bool state) {
    cell->floating_gate->charge = state ? HIGH_VOLTAGE : LOW_VOLTAGE;
    // This electrical charge isn't affected by magnetic fields
}

However, extreme electromagnetic pulses could potentially:

• Disrupt controller circuits
• Cause voltage fluctuations
• Trigger unexpected resets

When writing storage applications:

// Safe storage handling example in Python
def handle_storage_device(device):
    if device.type == 'HDD':
        env.check_magnetic_environment()
    elif device.type == 'SSD':
        env.check_electromagnetic_interference()
    
    # Always implement data validation
    if not validate_storage_integrity(device):
        raise StorageIntegrityError("Potential media corruption detected")

Key mitigation strategies:

• Implement checksums for critical data
• Use redundant storage for HDD-based systems
• Monitor SMART attributes for early warnings

For applications requiring magnetic resilience testing:

// Sample test case pseudocode
test_case "Magnetic Field Exposure" {
    setup = create_test_environment()
    hdd = setup.add_hdd()
    ssd = setup.add_ssd()
    
    apply_magnetic_field(50mT)  // Typical fridge magnet strength
    run_data_integrity_tests(hdd, ssd)
    
    assert hdd.error_count < threshold
    assert ssd.error_count == 0
}

Document your testing results to establish safety thresholds.

The interaction between magnets and storage media depends fundamentally on the underlying technology. Traditional HDDs use magnetic platters to store data, making them susceptible to strong magnetic fields. SSDs, however, rely on flash memory chips and are generally more resistant.

Here's a Python snippet to test HDD performance before/after magnetic exposure:

import os
import time

def test_hdd_performance(file_path):
    start = time.time()
    # Write 100MB test file
    with open(file_path, 'wb') as f:
        f.write(os.urandom(100 * 1024 * 1024))
    write_time = time.time() - start
    
    start = time.time()
    # Read back the file
    with open(file_path, 'rb') as f:
        data = f.read()
    read_time = time.time() - start
    
    return write_time, read_time

# Usage example
write_speed, read_speed = test_hdd_performance('/mnt/hdd/testfile.bin')

For SSDs, we might test write endurance instead:

#include 
#include 
#include 

#define TEST_SIZE (1UL << 30) // 1GB

int main() {
    char *buffer = malloc(TEST_SIZE);
    if (!buffer) return 1;
    
    FILE *fp = fopen("/mnt/ssd/testfile.bin", "wb");
    if (!fp) {
        free(buffer);
        return 1;
    }
    
    clock_t start = clock();
    fwrite(buffer, 1, TEST_SIZE, fp);
    clock_t end = clock();
    
    double duration = (double)(end - start) / CLOCKS_PER_SEC;
    printf("Write speed: %.2f MB/s\n", TEST_SIZE / (1024 * 1024 * duration));
    
    fclose(fp);
    free(buffer);
    return 0;
}

When dealing with magnetically damaged HDDs, consider these recovery approaches:

• Professional data recovery services using specialized equipment
• Low-level disk imaging tools (e.g., ddrescue)
• Magnetic field reversal techniques (requires clean room environment)

To protect storage devices in development environments:

// Example of secure erase for SSDs
#include 
#include 
#include 
#include 

int secure_erase_ssd(const char *device) {
    int fd = open(device, O_RDWR);
    if (fd < 0) return -1;
    
    if (ioctl(fd, BLKSECDISCARD, 0) < 0) {
        close(fd);
        return -1;
    }
    
    close(fd);
    return 0;
}