In a curious intersection of technology and music, a phenomenon has resurfaced regarding the 1989 hit “Rhythm Nation” by Janet Jackson. It appears that playing this iconic track near certain laptops manufactured from 2005 onward could lead to unexpected malfunctions, particularly affecting their hard drives. This intriguing detail was recently highlighted by Microsoft employee Raymond Chen in a blog post, which caught the attention of tech enthusiasts and industry watchers alike.
For those who may not be familiar, this peculiar issue was first brought to light in 2022 when Chen shared insights about a major computer manufacturer that had to develop a custom audio filter. The filter was necessary to mitigate the effects of specific sound frequencies that resonated with the hard drives of their laptops. When unfiltered, these frequencies could disrupt the hard drive’s operation, potentially leading to system crashes.
The situation was serious enough to warrant an entry in the NIST National Vulnerability Database, which noted that the problem primarily affected 5,400 RPM hard drives in select machines from around 2005 and later. Chen’s recent exploration into the longevity of the audio filter revealed that it remained in place until at least the Windows 7 era. He recounted how a hardware vendor sought an exception to a new rule requiring users to have the ability to disable all audio processing on their computers.
The vendor applied for an exception to this rule on the grounds that disabling their APO could result in physical damage to the computer. If it were possible to disable their APO, word would get out that “You can get heavier bass if you go through these steps,” and of course you want more bass, right? I mean, who doesn’t want more bass? So people would uncheck the box and enjoy richer bass for a while, and then at some point in the future, the computer would crash mysteriously or (worse) produce incorrect results.
As for whether this rule still exists today, Chen indicated uncertainty, stating, “All I know is that it was there in the Windows 7 era. I don’t know if it’s still there.” Regardless, the technological landscape has evolved significantly since the days of spinning disk hard drives. Modern computers are likely to be more resilient, allowing users to enjoy the rhythmic beats of “Rhythm Nation” without fear of crashing their systems.
