Hard drives and heat: a bad combination!

What should you do when record temperatures are forecast in France? How do servers cope with temperatures that can reach 40° and feel like up to 48 degrees? During a heat wave, the heat affects our bodies and we take protective measures!

What about your hard drives and other IT devices? They too are affected by extreme heat.

The impact of heat on hard drives

As soon as temperatures approach 35 degrees, a hard drive is at risk of overheating. Its components expand, and there is then a risk of the read head assembly rubbing against the platters.

Note that SSDs are also sensitive to temperature variations.

Significant risks

The risks to your business are therefore significant:

  • Slower hard drive processing power and therefore slower transfer/reading of your data
  • Error messages on your computer, with a risk of shutdown
  • Loss of all the data on the drive
  • In the rarest cases, which do nonetheless occur, the storage device may explode.

Your other IT devices are affected too

Hard drives are not the only electronic devices that suffer from the heat. Computers, cell towers and internet routers are also affected!

Higher power consumption in hot weather

RTE, the high-voltage grid operator, estimates that each degree above normal seasonal temperatures results in a 500 MW increase in consumption, equivalent to the consumption of the city of Bordeaux. This therefore means higher consumption by all IT devices.

Overheating data centers

The temperature threshold not to be exceeded in data centers is approximately 50 degrees. The risk of their electronic components going into standby mode when overheating is not negligible.

Data loss on your computers

If your computer overheats too much, it will issue an alert and shut down abruptly. As a result, all the data on the machine is lost, without any hardware damage.

This problem has been identified by two computer manufacturers, Intel and Acer, who advise not to put your laptop on your lap and not to block the air vents. With a backup solution suited to your needs, you run no risk of permanent data loss.

Kiwi Backup's tips for protecting your data during a heat wave:

Your data and your customers' data are essential to the smooth running of your business. Losing them is out of the question. To help, Kiwi Backup gives you several tips*:

*Of course, these tips apply all year round.

  • Do not block the ventilation of your hard drives and other devices
  • Place your hard drives in a temperate room, out of the sun. Ideally, store your data in an air-conditioned clean room
  • Forget the rumor that recommends putting your overheated hard drive in the freezer. It is not reliable and will not work every time
  • Back up your data with cloud software that replicates data. That way, there is no risk of hard drives overheating since they are kept in clean rooms, and if there is a problem in one data center, the other takes over!

The Kiwi Backup solution addresses the issue of data loss. With data outsourced to two remote sites, you have a 90-day history and billing based on source volume only. If you are a software publisher or IT distributor, the solution is also available as a white label.

Some sources to learn more:

https://www.zdnet.fr/actualites/ordinateurs-portables-ete-et-chaleur-un-si-mauvais-cocktail-39362066.htm

https://www.data-labcenter.fr/news-et-reportages/conseils-et-generalites/chaleur-lennemi-materiel-informatique/

https://www.zdnet.fr/actualites/canicule-comment-les-operateurs-telco-veulent-eviter-la-surchauffe-et-la-barre-fatidique-des-50-degres-39886489.htm