Data Hoarder

I did not say that. I said you will lose bits over years. When typical hdd’s are in the terabytes that means there are trillions of bits. A few bits here and there can be corrected. A plugged in drive will lose data differently than an unplugged drive. A plugged in drive won’t be as likely to lose data from the magnetic charge becoming too weak to read properly. Oh sorry the firmware controls the parts of the drive that interact with the magnetic charge. The firmware has the ability to look at the health of the drive and take action on it. Though it does depend on the drive and its capabilities. No magnet is truly permanent. But if the platter were using more “permanent magnetic material” then it would require a lot more energy to switch the state or flip the bit. It’s why they use a very small amount of magnetic material in the platter.