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-1 I disagree on hard drives. Server hard drives run constantly and do not wear out within a week. static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/…
– Byron Whitlock
Commented Jul 22, 2011 at 20:35
6

Though on the CPU issue, any modern board will have thermal cutoffs that should kill the power long before the CPU is in danger of physical harm.
– Phoshi
Commented Jul 22, 2011 at 20:45
5

@Bryon Whitlock I would argue that it depends on the usage pattern. Most servers cache the information they retrieve and perform write-backs sequentially. You could create a virus to write information at the very edge and very inner edges of a platter back and fourth very rapidly, causing excessive wear a lot faster. Finally, if you could continually write to a selected group of sectors, you may be able to cause a few bad ones much quicker then usual.
– Breakthrough
Commented Jul 23, 2011 at 13:47
1

@Breakthrough: Uhm... no. Continually writing to the same sectors will do absolutely nothing to those sectors. Magnetic platters don't "wear out from excessive bending". I'm a bit confused as to why you think this would cause a problem. If your drive has issues seeking between platter edges, you have a bad drive... once again that interface is electro-magnetic, not mechanical. To have a problem there you would have to literally wear out the sealed bearing that holds the arm assembly in place.
– user11934
Commented Jul 24, 2011 at 8:58
5

Hard drives CAN be damaged by viruses, but not from any arm&platter related silliness. The most vulnerable point is the main spindle motor. Start the drive up, shut it down, start it up, shut it down, etc etc etc. This is (relatively) hard on the componants. This is the major reason (aside from physical shock) that laptop drives don't last as long as desktop drives, power requirements keep the things spun down as much as possible. So a virus could theoretically shorten a desktop drives lifespan to look more like that of a laptop drive.
– user11934
Commented Jul 24, 2011 at 9:01

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