By Steve Ranger, 4 July 2006 09:00
NEWS
It's not just humans that are starting to suffer in the hot weather. Soaring temperatures are already creating an epidemic of frazzled hard drives and more PCs are likely to fall victim to lightning strikes and flooding in the storms expected later this week.
With the onset of the hot weather, data recovery company Ontrack said it is on its way to its busiest summer ever. The company's business development manager Phil Bridge told silicon.com: "We do get a definite peak in jobs over the summer every year."
Heat and humidity are a big factor in the rise in demand for data recovery but Bridge said that the increase in mobile working in the summer is another factor, as workers take their laptops out to enjoy the sunshine. "We see laptops that are filled with sand and seawater," he said.
On top of this, IT managers - like everyone else - are on their holidays and that means data is less likely to be backed up as conscientiously as it is when they are in the office.
When staff get back to the office the danger for PCs isn't over - Bridge warns that rebooting a machine after it has had a long rest could be just enough to send the hard drive over the edge. And the storms that follow hot weather hold dangers for hardware too - power surges, floods and lightning strikes can all send PCs to the big server room in the sky.
Ontrack has come up with 10 top tips to keep your systems running happily through the heat.
- Keep computers in a cool, dry area to prevent overheating
- Don't have too many computers running off one power supply, via an extension cable. If the power socket is affected by a power surge, then all the machines could suffer damage
- Install a surge protector between the power socket and the computer's power cable. Some brands offer guaranteed lightning protection
- Small businesses with networks should get surge protectors to stop power spikes normally transmitted through network cables
- At least once per year users should inspect power protection devices to make sure they are functioning properly
- Ensure IT equipment has its own power circuit, so it isn't sharing the power with air conditioners, fans and/or other ancillary devices.
- Turn off and disconnect the power cord during an electrical storm
- Turn off power during a blackout. When power is restored after a blackout, the signal can initially be inconsistent, which can cause damage
- High voltages can enter the computer through a phone line connected to the modem. To protect your computer during electrical storms, unplug the telephone line from the modem jack or use a telephone line surge suppressor
- Businesses with network servers should invest in some form of uninterruptible power supply
What are your tips for coping with the heatwave? We would love to hear from you - and publish the better suggestions - especially if you are a SME operating without air-conditioning.
Comments
There are 13 comments. Join the discussion
1. Infernoz
1. Make sure your computer has good cooling (don't skimp on case fans or quality heatsinks)
2. Regularly clean dust out of computer, especially out of heatsinks.
3. Make sure that air is free to move in and out of the computer.
4. If possible keep the computer away from direct sunlight and other strong heat sources.
2. anonymous
1. Make sure you keep that nice cold drink well away from the PC, monitor, printer etc.
3. anonymous
If like us you are a small company (10 or less) and you don't have a computer room but have your servers and all other IT equipment in a corner, buy more fans and keep the air flowing over the units.
4. anonymous
We are going back to a paper and card system. Getting some proper typists and mechanical typewriters. The lightening and hot weather won't affect them and we'll be using less electricity, less paper, have better version control, won't have staff distracted by online chat or porn sites. productivity rising.
5. anonymous
On hot days, turn off your PC. Slap on some factor 25 sun screen and enjoy the day with your significant other.
6. Andrew Missen
Make sure there is good air circulation. PCs locked in cupboards are especially prone to overheating and this applies to all IT equipment not just the PC. Check the temperatures in your wiring closets!
7. jon smith
1.place your lap top on an aluminium sheet approx 2 x the lap top foot print.It disperses the heat.
2.have regular cool breaks and switch off the PC
8. Simon
DON'T use those cheap surge protection devices that everyone and his dog sells unless you REALLY kow how to use them properly - unless they are used properly (harder than it seems) then they can actually make matters worse !
Especially DON'T get a surge protector JUST for the phone line or JUST for the network, or JUST for the mains. To be effective, every connection to the system must go through one device - but that can shift the problem to other devices !
9. Brian Catt
Buy a big fan and send the heat from PCs somewhere else - to your competition if possible.
Junk remaining energy gobbling cathode ray tunes - which can take 1kW for a 19 inch variety(4A). Get LCDs now, reduce power costs, heat load and make some space.
Reset energy saving settings to minimise idle time in full power mode.
Require pcs not in use to be turned off - or impose auto stnand by or hibernate after shorter time.
10. anonymous
I'm not sure how putting a laptop on a reflective surface will do anything but reflect the heat back to the machine?
I apologise in advance if I've got his wrong but logic tells me that the suggestion to put aluminium under your laptop is looking for trouble...............
11. anonymous
Aren't corporates without aircon allowed to comment?
12. Martin Lukes
Items 1,2,3,6,7,8,9,10 can be replaced with these words - Buy a UPS box.
Come on - this is £100 worth of kit to save your business. If you can't afford that you might as well shut down today.
Last year we were hit by a lightning strike that took out the office radio (external antenna, you see...) the fax (separate phone line, unprotected) and the wireless network antenna. And a UPS box.
None of the computers went out - in fact, nothing on a UPS box went out at all, even though one box died.
Total disruption time to the business overall: None. Two people had to use a cable-based network for three days. Installation time: 10 minutes, including finding the cable.
This isn't boasting and it's not particularly smart, it's just plain common sense.
I love the sound of UPS boxes after thunder.
13. George Formby
Aluminium under the laptop will conduct the heat away. Foil would reflect radiation, but I don't think that's a problem for the bottom of a laptop.
Oh yeah, convection - make sure the vents aren't blocked, but you knew that. A lot of heat comes out of there - I made myself very ill once by drinking milk that had been standing next to my laptop fan for too long.