VanguardLH wrote:
Computer Nerd Kev wrote:

Now what I don't understand is why there's no consideration given to
preventing the damage that can be caused by humidity in the first
place.

After having opened several failed HDDs, I've found a recess with a
plastic bubble containing what look to be very small carbon pellets; see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb0NW-Vx5vM. I've done no analysis on
what they are made, but I can't see any purpose for them other than to
absorb water when humidity is high and effuse water when humidity is
low. I suppose consumer-grade HDDs could be sealed provided they could
withstand a pressure change of 2 atmospheres which doesn't sound like
that much pressure.

Well I'm going blindly on the original report, as it's what informed
me that humidity is a significant problem in the first place. It says
that all the damage is done to the control electronics, not the
mechanical components. Perhaps that means that the mysterious pellets
are doing their job, but in any case the protection of the controller
circuit board (in fact, the lack of any) isn't sufficient.

Maybe after extending the life of the electronics in a humid
environment, corrosion of the mechanical parts will become the next
cause of failure, or maybe not. At worst you've extended the life in
a humid environment by some significant degree, at best humidity is
no longer a problem and it's back to only worrying about temperature
as the main factor contributing to early failures.

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