Unused computer

I have a Dell 2400 or 3000 (I forget which one right now) that my non-profit
is going to use for a changeable message board in the spring. That will be
its only use.

It is presently in an unheated building. I am in central Pennsylvania so the
temperatures can get way below freezing at times and can fluctuate, maybe,
40 to 50 degrees F. daily.

Is it OK to leave it there or should I bring it home and give it a warmer,
and more consistent temperature range, place to live throughout the winter?

www.pamiracleleague.com

"joe_tide" wrote in message
...
I have a Dell 2400 or 3000 (I forget which one right now) that my
non-profit is going to use for a changeable message board in the spring.
That will be its only use.

It is presently in an unheated building. I am in central Pennsylvania so
the temperatures can get way below freezing at times and can fluctuate,
maybe, 40 to 50 degrees F. daily.

Is it OK to leave it there or should I bring it home and give it a warmer,
and more consistent temperature range, place to live throughout the
winter?

www.pamiracleleague.com

Joe -

1) what's a general range of real temps (ie- 40F ---90F)

2) do you plan to leave it on most all of the time?

Scroll down here to the "environmental" section:
http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...m_en/specs.htm

As long as it is running, the machine itself is going to dictate some of the
temps making external ambient temps a bit less dramatic.

I guess I'd be concerned about it being in very cold temps only if the room
were heated very quickly running a risk of condensation (if the machine were
off).


RTR

Stew

"S.Lewis" wrote in message
...

"joe_tide" wrote in message
...
I have a Dell 2400 or 3000 (I forget which one right now) that my
non-profit is going to use for a changeable message board in the spring.
That will be its only use.

It is presently in an unheated building. I am in central Pennsylvania so
the temperatures can get way below freezing at times and can fluctuate,
maybe, 40 to 50 degrees F. daily.

Is it OK to leave it there or should I bring it home and give it a
warmer, and more consistent temperature range, place to live throughout
the winter?

www.pamiracleleague.com

Joe -

1) what's a general range of real temps (ie- 40F ---90F)

2) do you plan to leave it on most all of the time?

Scroll down here to the "environmental" section:
http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...m_en/specs.htm

As long as it is running, the machine itself is going to dictate some of
the temps making external ambient temps a bit less dramatic.

I guess I'd be concerned about it being in very cold temps only if the
room were heated very quickly running a risk of condensation (if the
machine were off).


RTR

Stew


Stew,

1) Estimated range of temperatures could be anywhere from -10º to 50ºF. (The
Capt. said "How do you survive in that kind of weather". LOL)

2) I plan to leave it off all the time.

That would put me within the range cited on the Dell site (-40º to 149ºF)
for storage.

Any temperature gain would be whatever Mother Nature throws at us. There is
no heat in the building.

This is probably going to bother me if I don't pack it up and bring it home
for the winter.

Any rain in your forecast?

RTR
Joe

"joe_tide" wrote in message
...

"S.Lewis" wrote in message
...

"joe_tide" wrote in message
...
I have a Dell 2400 or 3000 (I forget which one right now) that my
non-profit is going to use for a changeable message board in the spring.
That will be its only use.

It is presently in an unheated building. I am in central Pennsylvania so
the temperatures can get way below freezing at times and can fluctuate,
maybe, 40 to 50 degrees F. daily.

Is it OK to leave it there or should I bring it home and give it a
warmer, and more consistent temperature range, place to live throughout
the winter?

www.pamiracleleague.com

Joe -

1) what's a general range of real temps (ie- 40F ---90F)

2) do you plan to leave it on most all of the time?

Scroll down here to the "environmental" section:
http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...m_en/specs.htm

As long as it is running, the machine itself is going to dictate some of
the temps making external ambient temps a bit less dramatic.

I guess I'd be concerned about it being in very cold temps only if the
room were heated very quickly running a risk of condensation (if the
machine were off).


RTR

Stew


Stew,

1) Estimated range of temperatures could be anywhere from -10º to 50ºF.
(The Capt. said "How do you survive in that kind of weather". LOL)

2) I plan to leave it off all the time.

That would put me within the range cited on the Dell site (-40º to 149ºF)
for storage.

Any temperature gain would be whatever Mother Nature throws at us. There
is no heat in the building.

This is probably going to bother me if I don't pack it up and bring it
home for the winter.

Any rain in your forecast?

RTR
Joe
your biggest problem would probably be moisture (condensation).

Pack it up, bring it home, and store it in a climate-controlled area. With
temps going up and down all the time, there is always the risk of condensation,
which can cause corrosion.

As another posting stated, keeping the system running 24/7 in a cold area
mitigates the effects of condensation because the computer itself generates heat
to keeps its internal temperature more consistent... Ben Myers

On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 07:30:27 -0500, "joe_tide" wrote:


"S.Lewis" wrote in message
...

"joe_tide" wrote in message
...
I have a Dell 2400 or 3000 (I forget which one right now) that my
non-profit is going to use for a changeable message board in the spring.
That will be its only use.

It is presently in an unheated building. I am in central Pennsylvania so
the temperatures can get way below freezing at times and can fluctuate,
maybe, 40 to 50 degrees F. daily.

Is it OK to leave it there or should I bring it home and give it a
warmer, and more consistent temperature range, place to live throughout
the winter?

www.pamiracleleague.com

Joe -

1) what's a general range of real temps (ie- 40F ---90F)

2) do you plan to leave it on most all of the time?

Scroll down here to the "environmental" section:
http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...m_en/specs.htm

As long as it is running, the machine itself is going to dictate some of
the temps making external ambient temps a bit less dramatic.

I guess I'd be concerned about it being in very cold temps only if the
room were heated very quickly running a risk of condensation (if the
machine were off).


RTR

Stew


Stew,

1) Estimated range of temperatures could be anywhere from -10º to 50ºF. (The
Capt. said "How do you survive in that kind of weather". LOL)

2) I plan to leave it off all the time.

That would put me within the range cited on the Dell site (-40º to 149ºF)
for storage.

Any temperature gain would be whatever Mother Nature throws at us. There is
no heat in the building.

This is probably going to bother me if I don't pack it up and bring it home
for the winter.

Any rain in your forecast?

RTR
Joe

"joe_tide" wrote in message
...

"S.Lewis" wrote in message
...

"joe_tide" wrote in message
...
I have a Dell 2400 or 3000 (I forget which one right now) that my
non-profit is going to use for a changeable message board in the spring.
That will be its only use.

It is presently in an unheated building. I am in central Pennsylvania so
the temperatures can get way below freezing at times and can fluctuate,
maybe, 40 to 50 degrees F. daily.

Is it OK to leave it there or should I bring it home and give it a
warmer, and more consistent temperature range, place to live throughout
the winter?

www.pamiracleleague.com

Joe -

1) what's a general range of real temps (ie- 40F ---90F)

2) do you plan to leave it on most all of the time?

Scroll down here to the "environmental" section:
http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...m_en/specs.htm

As long as it is running, the machine itself is going to dictate some of
the temps making external ambient temps a bit less dramatic.

I guess I'd be concerned about it being in very cold temps only if the
room were heated very quickly running a risk of condensation (if the
machine were off).


RTR

Stew


Stew,

1) Estimated range of temperatures could be anywhere from -10º to 50ºF.
(The Capt. said "How do you survive in that kind of weather". LOL)

2) I plan to leave it off all the time.

That would put me within the range cited on the Dell site (-40º to 149ºF)
for storage.

Any temperature gain would be whatever Mother Nature throws at us. There
is no heat in the building.

This is probably going to bother me if I don't pack it up and bring it
home for the winter.

Any rain in your forecast?

RTR
Joe


Not today. Just tears from football games. ;-)

Looks like Ben has some good advice as well. Store it in a more friendly
environment if you have a choice.

I do know that I held my breath when storing a couple of desktops several
years ago when we were building and had to move/store stuff temporarily. I
didn't have much choice.

6 months from November until early July in a non-climate controlled
rent-a-storage.

No ill effects that I could tell, but it was only six months (and not in
Pennsylvania). heh

Preferred method would be to tuck it away in a closet or some other place
indoors.


Hope your family and the Miracle League are doing well. Shoot me an e-mail
sometime.

RTR

-Stew


(PS- beat the boogs and let's call it a season.)

snippage


Not today. Just tears from football games. ;-)

Looks like Ben has some good advice as well. Store it in a more friendly
environment if you have a choice.

I do know that I held my breath when storing a couple of desktops several
years ago when we were building and had to move/store stuff temporarily. I
didn't have much choice.

6 months from November until early July in a non-climate controlled
rent-a-storage.

No ill effects that I could tell, but it was only six months (and not in
Pennsylvania). heh

Preferred method would be to tuck it away in a closet or some other place
indoors.


Hope your family and the Miracle League are doing well. Shoot me an
e-mail sometime.

RTR

-Stew


(PS- beat the boogs and let's call it a season.)


Cripes! It's an E520, heh heh.

I went and got it. It's now sitting beside me here in my computer area in
the house. (Used to be an extra bedroom but I took it over). When I walked
in the kitchen from the garage carrying it, the wife just looked at me and
said, "Another one".

Everyone is doing fine. Jr. is at Lockheed Martin, near Philly, as a systems
analyst somethingorother. The girl had my new grandbaby girl a few months
ago.

We started playing baseball on July 21 with 25 kids. We ended in September
with 40 players and over 100 volunteers. I can hardly wait for May 3, 2008
when we start the second season.

RTR
Joe

"joe_tide" wrote in message
...

snippage


Not today. Just tears from football games. ;-)

Looks like Ben has some good advice as well. Store it in a more friendly
environment if you have a choice.

I do know that I held my breath when storing a couple of desktops several
years ago when we were building and had to move/store stuff temporarily.
I didn't have much choice.

6 months from November until early July in a non-climate controlled
rent-a-storage.

No ill effects that I could tell, but it was only six months (and not in
Pennsylvania). heh

Preferred method would be to tuck it away in a closet or some other place
indoors.


Hope your family and the Miracle League are doing well. Shoot me an
e-mail sometime.

RTR

-Stew


(PS- beat the boogs and let's call it a season.)


Cripes! It's an E520, heh heh.

I went and got it. It's now sitting beside me here in my computer area in
the house. (Used to be an extra bedroom but I took it over). When I walked
in the kitchen from the garage carrying it, the wife just looked at me and
said, "Another one".

Everyone is doing fine. Jr. is at Lockheed Martin, near Philly, as a
systems analyst somethingorother. The girl had my new grandbaby girl a few
months ago.

We started playing baseball on July 21 with 25 kids. We ended in September
with 40 players and over 100 volunteers. I can hardly wait for May 3, 2008
when we start the second season.

RTR
Joe


An E520 is hardly a 2400, and.........

Congratulations, congratulations,...........and more congratulations.

You're one of the good guys, Joe. Next time you're down my way, I'll buy
you a steak.

You must be proud and you should be.


Y'all come see us.

Stew

Hi!

Looks like Ben has some good advice as well. Store it in a more friendly
environment if you have a choice.

Absolutely agreed.

6 months from November until early July in a non-climate controlled
rent-a-storage.

I kept some computer stuff in an unheated/uncooled rented storage unit for
over three years. Most of it was old equipment that wasn't particularly
valuable paired with an old car and some more valuable "misc" stuff. Most
everything I've tested (about 60% of it) has come right up less a few
warnings about depleted CMOS batteries. Those should really be pulled before
storage at temperature extremes or for long periods of time. Of things that
were dead I found a few causes:

1. Shorted or shorting power supplies.
2. Power supplies that were missing one or more output voltages.
3. Batteries that had gone dead and leaked on the motherboard. (Not that I
think anyone will miss the 386SX-16 boards this happened to...)
4. One mouse nest (that was probably in the computer before I got it--there
was heavy rust and corrosion from mouse pee). Tried this one, and it did
power up only to have the motherboard catch fire in my driveway! (I made a
"small form factor" computer out of this with my truck after pulling the
undamaged and un-moused stuff.) Never saw any sign of mice in the place, and
nothing else (including things with open holes, which this didn't have) got
moused.

If you run the computer, I don't know that climate will phase it too much. I
had a 286 clone in my garage for ages that ran 24/7 with an ST-251 hard
drive. It never gave me any trouble. I finally put it in my closet because I
didn't need it, but I'll bet it would still power up after being
reconfigured.

So there you go, for whatever it might be worth. I think the computer will
be fine, but if you have a choice, store it inside and maybe give some
thought to powering it up every now and then. It'll be a lot less stressful
for the internals to stay at a relatively constant temperature. This report
comes from eastern central Illinos, where the summers are plenty hot and the
winters still fairly cold...

William

"William R. Walsh" m
wrote in message news:035_i.197725$Fc.34321@attbi_s21...
Hi!

Looks like Ben has some good advice as well. Store it in a more friendly
environment if you have a choice.

Absolutely agreed.

6 months from November until early July in a non-climate controlled
rent-a-storage.

I kept some computer stuff in an unheated/uncooled rented storage unit for
over three years. Most of it was old equipment that wasn't particularly
valuable paired with an old car and some more valuable "misc" stuff. Most
everything I've tested (about 60% of it) has come right up less a few
warnings about depleted CMOS batteries. Those should really be pulled
before
storage at temperature extremes or for long periods of time. Of things
that
were dead I found a few causes:

1. Shorted or shorting power supplies.
2. Power supplies that were missing one or more output voltages.
3. Batteries that had gone dead and leaked on the motherboard. (Not that I
think anyone will miss the 386SX-16 boards this happened to...)
4. One mouse nest (that was probably in the computer before I got
it--there
was heavy rust and corrosion from mouse pee). Tried this one, and it did
power up only to have the motherboard catch fire in my driveway! (I made a
"small form factor" computer out of this with my truck after pulling the
undamaged and un-moused stuff.) Never saw any sign of mice in the place,
and
nothing else (including things with open holes, which this didn't have)
got
moused.

If you run the computer, I don't know that climate will phase it too much.
I
had a 286 clone in my garage for ages that ran 24/7 with an ST-251 hard
drive. It never gave me any trouble. I finally put it in my closet because
I
didn't need it, but I'll bet it would still power up after being
reconfigured.

So there you go, for whatever it might be worth. I think the computer will
be fine, but if you have a choice, store it inside and maybe give some
thought to powering it up every now and then. It'll be a lot less
stressful
for the internals to stay at a relatively constant temperature. This
report
comes from eastern central Illinos, where the summers are plenty hot and
the
winters still fairly cold...

William



Great googally moogally William!

I brought it home for safe keeping. If I hadn't, I sure would have after
reading that horror story.

Thanks.