Laptop outside -> may cause condensation on hdd when going inside ?

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 02:08:48AM -0500, Zbigniew Koziol wrote:
> Hard drive has vacuum inside. The outside air does not go inside.
> 
> The problem still potentially exists since water may cause short-circuit 
> on the surface where electronics is placed but I do not thing this is a 
> serious problem. Make rather an experiment, take an old unused HD and 
> see what happens.
> 
> I guess that wrapping HD in a sort of plastic bag would protect it well 
> enough. However, have in mind that wrapping it would also case poorer 
> cooling by air, and there is a substantial amount of heat released on HD.
> 
> Or you can spray it over the entire external electronics (except of 
> connectors) by some sort of non-electricity conducting substance. Though 
> I suspect this may be done already at factory.
> 
> My friend put once a HD into his luggage when going by plain. They are 
> stored in unheated compartment of airplaine and vacuum seeling got 
> broken because of cold. He lost HD.

The cargo area is heated and cooled the same as the rest of the plane.
They are all part of the same preasurized part.  The majority of the
cargo they carry would be damaged if the temperature wasn't controlled
(-50C or -60C is bad for most things).  They also carry animals in parts
of the cargo area in many cases.

Now the pressure drop the drive experiences might kill it.  Apparently
observatories at high altitude have had tons of problems with regular
harddisks failing on them.

-- 
Len Sorensen
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