
Adam? …is there a reason your laptop is in the fridge? - superberliner
http://www.kempa.com/2006/10/02/adam-is-there-a-reason-your-laptop-is-in-the-fridge/
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barrkel
I would recommend just chilling the drive, and using an external enclosure to
read the data. Less risk of killing a whole laptop's worth of electronics with
condensation, less warmup time wasted in booting, etc.

~~~
Qz
He mentioned that the reason he didn't do that was to avoid voiding the
warranty.

~~~
dustingetz
i'd be shocked if refrigerating it didn't

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ugh
If you manage to get the temperature in your fridge up to 10°C you are
good[1].

[1] <http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html>

~~~
mattmaroon
That's pretty easy really. It's usually around 35-40 F, 10C is 50F, so just
leaving your door cracked will probably accomplish that.

In fact I suspect the Macbook's own heat would keep it above that while
copying the files.

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pierrefar
My wife's iPod broke last year. The hard disk was clicking and the device just
wouldn't boot up. We took it to the genius bar and they helpfully suggested we
buy a new iPod. Tough break.

Then somehow we found out about this cool the hard disk technique. We put the
iPod in a ziplock bag and in the freezer overnight. The device was working
perfectly fine while backing it up, but as per the post, it would warm up and
start stalling. So we put it on an ice block and it lasted long enough to get
the backup done.

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ohashi
I used to have an old laptop that overheated like crazy, it rested on a 6 pack
of soda that had been in the fridge. I had 2 sets of 6 packs so I could rotate
them as they warmed up.

Take the six pack, fold it flat:

000

\-----

000

Laptop on top :)

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Heston
This is why you typically leave the hard drive (or in this case, the laptop)
in the freezer for atleast a few hours. Doing this allowed me to copy a 60 gig
which windows couldn't even mount to work no problem - which took well over a
couple hours, all in one shot.

Using this method, the electronics don't need to be kept in your refrigerator
or freezer.

~~~
Estragon
Sounds like you had removed the hard drive, which does provide an added
cooling advantage this guy felt unable to exploit.

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tjmc
Can anyone explain the theory behind why this works?

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Maro
My girlfriend is using my ~4 year old Macbook Pro, and it's getting warmer and
warmer. It's too hot for direct contact with skin. Also, it's starting to drop
the Wifi at high temps. The battery has been replaced once already.

As a result, we're looking at one of those unibody 13" Macbooks, those are
reported to be cooler. Temperature is the only reason we're getting rid of
this one.

~~~
aw3c2
Maybe you just have to clean the fans?

~~~
Maro
Thanks for the tip.

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agotterer
I had a drive that was clicking and was completely unreadable. I put it in the
freezer for 45 min and was able to read the drive for about 10 to recover a
few files. Then it died and the trick didn't work again. But when all else
fails, try the freezer or fridge!

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qeorge
We used to freeze NES cartridges when blowing stopped working. We always
chalked its working up to magic/luck, but perhaps there was more to it.

Is it just the heat or is there something else at play here?

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Elepsis
Does taking out your hard drive seriously void your warranty on a Macbook?
That sounds, uh... completely insane relative to the practices of every other
PC manufacturer.

~~~
mos1
No, it doesn't. Here's the relevant quote, indicating that the only thing they
won't cover is damage you cause while attempting a swap. Swapping itself is
fine.

 _WARNING: Apple recommends that you have an Apple-certified technician
install replacement drives and memory. Consult the service and support
information that came with your computer for information about how to contact
Apple for service. If you attempt to install a replacement drive or memory and
damage your equipment, such damage is not covered by the limited warranty on
your computer._

~~~
rlan
2nd this - I always remove hard disks before dropping off laptops for service.

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Luyt
It used to work with bad floppies too, a long time ago. Nowadays I'm using
SSDs in all my development and server machines.

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param
I often put my dell D620 in the fridge to cool it down if it overheats and
starts running slow.

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staunch
This is a Latitude defect (in my opinion). The fan gets clogged really easily
and really quickly. If you open your laptop and clean the vent it will run
correctly. Your CPU will go from 60C down to 35C instantly. I'm predicting a
class action lawsuit at some point.

[http://vidmar.net/weblog/archive/2008/06/29/my-dell-
laptop-i...](http://vidmar.net/weblog/archive/2008/06/29/my-dell-laptop-is-
running-loud-fan-is-almost-always.aspx)

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techiferous
Cool.

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mkramlich
And if you put your laptop in the oven you can rip a CD faster. Also I've
heard that bubble sort finishes faster when in a microwave set to Popcorn.

