Summer is very much a double-edged sword.
Everyone enjoys the longer nights, the warmer weather but when it comes to your computer the summer season can cause havoc.
Boiling Point
One of the biggest enemies of computers is heat. During the warmer months in Sydney, with temperatures regularly hitting or exceeding the high thirties / or breaking the forty-degree barrier, we see a regular stream of computers presented that have overheated causing component failure. Sometimes those parts can be easily replaced, but often the age of the computer and the cost of repairs mean it may not be financially viable to repair and you're better off buying a new computer.
Generally speaking, ambient room temperatures exceeding 27°C /80°F put your computer components under additional strain and could lead to premature failure.
3 Ways to Beat the Heat
- Avoid using your computer when the ambient room temperature exceeds 27°C / 80°F.
- Be aware that laptops and all-in-one computers are particularly vulnerable to failure during excessive heat as their design inhibits airflow which can cause the system to overheat.
- Listen to your computer. If the computer is noisier than usual, the fan may be working overtime, which is a strong indicator that your computer is suffering heat-strain; and you should either turn on the air-con or switch off the computer to avoid damage.
TIP: One more tip for the road, if you're running an older laptop which runs hot even on cooler days then invest in a cool pad to help prolong its life.
When Lightning Strikes
One of the other big challenges of summer on the east coast is storms.
Unsurprisingly computers do not fare well in storms. Power surges, brown outs and sudden power drops can damage delicate circuitry and transform your computer from a processing power-house to a door stop in seconds; and if your home / business is a bit of a leaky boat then you also must think about the heavy downpours.
Anyone who has been through a storm in Sydney knows they can be spectacular to watch, are very loud, and invariably lead to (sometimes extended) brown-outs and power outages. Being sent back to the dark ages is no fun at the best of times, however during storm season in the Hornsby Shire thanks, in no small part, to the above ground power / telephone lines this can be a regular occurrence; and can be a costly event for families and small businesses.
It is always a good idea to have plug your computer in to a surge protected power-board, and a good UPS should help soften the blow of any brown-outs, however neither will protect your equipment from a direct lightning strike, so the best way to avoid damage during the wild weather is to disconnect at the socket.
The Way Back
If it's too late and your computer has already gone out in a blaze of glory, or with a whimper or a bang, where do you go from here?
If there is no possibility of repair, your best bet is to buy a new machine, re-install all your programs, and restore your data-files from backup. If that all sounds like too much hard work, give Excalibur IT Solutions a call, we can setup your new machine with the minimum of fuss and get you back up and running.
Gah! No Backup, now what?
It's time to call in the professionals at Excalibur IT Solutions. Even if your computer has failed, unless it suffered a catastrophic disk failure, there is a good chance we can recover some if not all your files.