Walter, Thanks for your reply. As you know, rumors abound on the I'net. Some are true, some not. Your last post did bring out one point: not all memory cards are alike. When I think of a memory card, I think of a CompactFlash card. You are thinking of microdrives. They are two different animals. And the other memory storage devices are different than either of those two. None, however, have the potential to be harmed by X-rays. The microdrive, a magnetic storage device, certainly has the potential to be harmed by the metal detectors. The probability may be low, but I suspect it does exist. The only way to find out is to test. Luckily, our local airport is a low-volume place and I know many of the people that work there, in security and otherwise. They may let me do some testing, as you suggested. They may want to know as much as the rest of us. Perhaps someone can suggest a good test that will show up a couple of changed bits here or there. A small change would not necessarily show up on a photograph. A good test would probably involve writing a lot of numbers to a card and then seeing if they change after say 10 passes through the machine. As far as the non-microdrive CF cards, I may try to run one through an MRI machine. If they still work after that experience, passing through a wimpy airport metal detector probably will not change them. Has anyone tried to erase or even change the data on a CF card with a bulk tape eraser? Has anyone tried a bulk tape eraser with a microdrive? [And can you do a low-level reformat of a microdrive, just in case the bulk eraser causes the drive to go belly-up?] You would think someone would have done this by now. Surely those fine professors at RIT have conducted these tests--or rather had heir undergrads do them. We simply can't find the results. And although I don't get out much, I have found many friendly security guards. Not all are that way, but many are friendly if you are friendly towards them. peace rand
