computers and cold temperatures[OT]

[Gilles Gravier]

And of course, if your environment is TOO DRY, then you have the risk of
generating static electricity with moving parts (fans). So your humidity
should be normal "house" type (70%). Not extra dry (20%). A datacenter
is set for humidity between 45% and 55%. This is way too dry for a house
with people in it. A desktop machine that isn't designed to be in a
datacenter in controled environment, is actually designed to work with
home type of environmental conditions.

That said, I've seen at Morrocan ministry of education, years ago, a
Data General Aviion server (runing UNIX), in a room, with holes in the
wall instead of windows, no doors, and sand on the floor. The room was
all but air conditionned. We were in Rabat, the political capital of
Morroco... and the machine was rock stable... so your mileage may vary.

Make sure, though, that whatever humidity level you have, you don't have
condensation (which will generate short circuits).

Gilles.

On 11/11/2011 20:40, Ernest Doub wrote:
> Your chief concern should not be the air temperature but the amount of
> moisture that the computer is exposed to. As long as it is in a "dry"
> environment there shouldn't be any problems. However, any direct
> exposure to liquid water is asking for catastrophic failure
> [naturally]. Even prolonged high humidity can cause problems through
> condensation and increased probability of corrosion.
> Your machine will probably be just fine running 24/7 as long as you
> take reasonable precautions for situating the equipment. It will be
> more likely to fail if subjected to regular heating and cooling cycles
> during colder weather.
>
> On Fri, Nov 11, 2011 at 5:01 AM, CJ Tres <ctres at grics.net
> <mailto:ctres at grics.net>> wrote:
>
>     IS it a bad thing to have a computer operating, say, in a garage
>     during the cold winters?
>     I realize there is some discussion on running 24/7 due to
>     heat/cold expansion/contractions but it this machine were running
>     24/7 during winter is there any reason to believe it would be
>     detrimental to the comp?
>
>     Also wondering if anyone has any practical experience with storing
>     CDs/DVDs under cold conditions.
>     One report I read was full of technical terms but ultimately
>     stated that there isn't enough data to say one way or the other.
>
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