External Drives
 

Greetings All,
I just got a Maxtor 5000DV external harddrive to backup all the stuff on my computer. Right now it is on my desk sandwiched between my monitor and my printer. Do I needed to worry about magnetic fields from these devices corrupting or damaging the data on the drive? Or am I just being paranoid? Thanks for any info.

I wouldn't be very worried, if it was going to fuck up it probably already would. But why leave it to chance, got a better spot for it?

i wouldnt worry unless it's directly in front, where the rays can directly hit.

The stongest EM fields from a CRT are at the back (from the electromagnets around the electron gun which direct the beam). There is lead in the glass at the front to protect the user from getting sunburn. Since you don't need to access a HD once it's working, suggest paranoia is a good thing in this case.