WD external HD left in freezing temps

[Mjnatalucci]

Just purchased a new WD external hard drive. It was left in my mailbox overnight. Temperatures went down to 10°F. Will my hard drive work properly and be reliable? Thank you!

 

[nvalhalla]

yes, it should not operate at those temps, but storage in sub-zero is fine.

Side note: I've done computer repair for companies and we would put failing drives in the freezer to try and revive them for a minute to read important data.

 

[Mjnatalucci]

yes, it should not operate at those temps, but storage in sub-zero is fine.

Side note: I've done computer repair for companies and we would put failing drives in the freezer to try and revive them for a minute to read important data.

Thank you for your reply. Before I transfer my data onto it, are there any tests I should do to make sure it hasn't been damaged since it was left outside overnight? I already had one external HD fail and don't want to go through that again! Thank you for your time!

 

[reedo_43]

When the drive starts to warm up it will form condensation. Do not turn it on until it is bone dry. I would put in a "warm oven" lowest temp for an hour to make sure all of the condensation inside has evaporated. Good Luck!

 

[Mjnatalucci]

Should I just put it on the heat vents on my floor? It has been inside now for almost an hour.

 

[reedo_43]

That would work as well

 

[Mjnatalucci]

Thank you for the replies! They were very helpful!

 

[Benevolence]

+1 for making sure it's dry. The cold won't hurt your drive, but water condensation certainly will. If you ever want to check the HD for damage, HDTune is a great free program which can check your drive for errors. The quick scan is sufficient in most cases, and the in-depth scan is useful for determining if the damage is within or beyond operational parameters.