Damaged HD

[losl(removethis)]

Could virus(es) physically damage hdd(s) (not only format it but make it
inaccessible by the OS)?

Thank you !!

 

[kurt wismer]

Could virus(es) physically damage hdd(s) (not only format it but make it
inaccessible by the OS)?

theoretically it is possible to write a virus that causes physical
damage, however in the real world no known virus has ever done so... if
there is real physical damage involved (and so far what you describe
does not rule out non-physical damage) then the probability is high
that it's run-of-the-mill hardware failure and not actually virus
related (even if there was a virus present)...

 

[Conor Turton]

theoretically it is possible to write a virus that causes physical
damage, however in the real world no known virus has ever done so.

THere were viruses in the late 90's that re-wrote your system BIOS.

 

[null]

THere were viruses in the late 90's that re-wrote your system BIOS.

So? You think Kurt doesn't know that? Or are you trying to troll up
another endless thread on a very old topic? Why not just agree with
the consensus view of knowledgeable people that flashing a BIOS chip
does not constitute hardware damage?


Art
http://www.epix.net/~artnpeg

 

[kurt wismer]

THere were viruses in the late 90's that re-wrote your system BIOS.

which is not physical damage, and also doesn't match the symptoms
described...

 

[Pop Rivet]

Yes, but that's not pbysical hardware damage: it's simply
changing specifically located identifiers on the drive.
Formatting's a software operation. Accessiblity by the OS
is also software; it's an identifier on the hard drive.

If you mean literal hardware damage, as in scratching the
drive surface, wearing/burning out a motor, etc., no, not
really. If hardware could hurt itself physically, it'd
happen before a virus hit it. It's just not that simple,
thoughb it might be possible with someof the cheaper
designs.