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Computer Help and Support

ChromeFoundry

(3,270 posts)

3. There is only one thing you need to worry about...

Reply to IrishAyes (Original post)

Fri Aug 23, 2013, 09:57 PM

Aug 2013

If you leave a laptop out in the cold, powered off, and then bring it into the warm indoors... wait until it warms up a bit before you power it up due to condensation. This is only a real problem when your indoor air humidity reaches dew point inside the laptop. If your glasses fog up upon entering the house, the entire motherboard is doing the same. This is not really a problem with your hard drive since it is completely sealed, but if the internal aluminum platters are not at a consistent temperature around the entire area circumference, this has the potential for causing the heads to crash. The heads of your hard drive float on a cushion of air, about 3 nanometers over the spinning platter, between 5400-7200 RPM. For perspective, the width of a DNA Helix is 2 nanometers...

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Joy unconfined! [View all] IrishAyes Aug 2013 OP

The computer is more likely to be ohheckyeah Aug 2013 #1

Thanks a million - bookmarked! IrishAyes Aug 2013 #4

You're welcome. Good luck! n/t ohheckyeah Aug 2013 #5

Cold is usually not a problem, especially since the computer generates heat on its own... PoliticAverse Aug 2013 #2

Thanks. IrishAyes Aug 2013 #7

There is only one thing you need to worry about... ChromeFoundry Aug 2013 #3

Thanks - I'm also wondering about IrishAyes Aug 2013 #6