hard drive in trunk

[easysurfer]

What are the temperature requirements of storing an external hard drive? Mainly, if I put a hard drive in my car trunk would it survive in extreme temperature (below zero in winter, 90's in summer)?

 

[Aiming_4_55]

Can't point you to asny articles, but know that neglect of hard drives can cause premature failure. Neglect = cold/hot weather, humid weather etc.

I've lost a laptop booting it up too soon after having it in the car trunk on a winter day. I was told to let the laptop get to indoor room temperature before booting it up, about 10 - 15 minutes.

Hot/ humid = moisture issues.

Avoid any extremes when possible.

 

[MichaelB]

Go to the manufacturers' website. There should be a spec sheet that has a temperature range.

 

[easysurfer]

Doesn't sound promising about the external hard drive....

So how about a flashdrive? Would they be temperature proof (of course, I won't cook it on the dashboard, just leave it in the trunk in a box or case)?

 

[Rustward]

Manufacturer info, as MichaelB pointed out.

Also, when a drive has been stored at extreme temperatures, it should be given time to acclimate to the environment in which it will be used. So, for example, if you ordered a replacement drive, and it sat in your mailbox for 7 hours in the Texas sun (inverse for Wisconsin winters), you would want to allow it to cool or warm to room temperature for at least several hours before trying to use it.

 

[arebelspy]

I'd bet you could find discussion on this at mp3car.com

 

[Rustward]

Flash drives are a little more durable.

But keep in mind, if you have only one copy of a piece of data (the media does not matter), you are exposed to a single point of failure.

 

[easysurfer]

Here's one that would work, but pricey for the protection:

LaCie - LaCie XtremKey

Looks like I'll have to dig around some more, or think of some contraption to build to protect it

 

[easysurfer]

Ah..another one..at a better price..

Corsair Flash Survivor GTR High Performance USB 2.0 Flash Drive - 64GB, Durable Aluminum Housing (Refurbished) at TigerDirect.com

 

[MichaelB]

Also, when a drive has been stored at extreme temperatures, it should be given time to acclimate to the environment in which it will be used. So, for example, if you ordered a replacement drive, and it sat in your mailbox for 7 hours in the Texas sun (inverse for Wisconsin winters), you would want to allow it to cool or warm to room temperature for at least several hours before trying to use it.

Right. Which begs the question - what is the hard drive doing in the trunk? Is this transportation (to and from work, for example), is it an auto based application where it needs to function, or is it the secure backup location for the home computer?

Also, is this a half or full size hard drive? In the computer or standalone?

 

[easysurfer]

Just read Amazon reviews of both the flash drives I posted links too. The reviews aren't that positive. I bet if I made my own insulation in a little box to hold a flashdrive, that'll work fine. Plus the data isn't totally critical but more a nice to have anyhow.

 

[jwkde]

My car has a "music box" system which is essentially a hard drive - no mention in the manual or problems during summer or winter. And the car has sat at in freezing and extreme conditions.

Many navigation systems are hard disk based and never seen any warnings about those either.

But in any case -backup backup and backup your data

 

[meierlde]

I just checked a spec sheet for Seagate barracuda drives: http://www.seagate.com/docs/pdf/datasheet/disc/ds_barracuda_7200_10.pdf, and it says 0 to 60 c operating and -40 to 70c non operating.
Note that there is a a special line of disks for automobiles that goes operating from -30 to 85c, so auto hard disks are essentially hardened.

 

[Brett_Cameron]

When I read the post title, I immediately had visions of someone riding in the trunk of a car on a rough road.