heat is the enemy. Check your owner's manual for guidance regarding
temperature range for storage while OFF, and for operating while ON.
My unit says that while operating the unit the ambient room
temperature should remain below 35C/95F.
All computers rely on internal fans to pump out heat from the innards.
A faulty or obstructed fan may not be able to keep the innards cool
enough, even if the ambient temp is within the acceptable envelope.
The various components inside your unit have different tolerances for
heat and different acceptable temperatures. So overheat might, *for
example*, damage a CPU but not a hard drive.
A hard drive diagnostic from your hard drive manufacturer might shed
some light and/or provide peace of mind. If you cannot find such a
utility from your hard drive manufacturer then Hiatchi's drive fitness
test (dft) may be a useful diagnostic. It can inspect drive internals
for max temperature exceeded and so-called "S.M.A.R.T." technology.
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm
It also comes with a User guide in PDF.
If your computer is Dell then Dell may have a general utility that
checks a myriad of components and parameters, including fan rpm,
graphics card, etc. |
