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Questions tagged [physical-environment]

Physical environment refers to the effect of the physical environment, such as temperature, power, wireless transmission obstacles, and weather, on hardware performance. If your question refers to the user's environment or the computer setup or workspace, use the [work-environment] tag.

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How do I physically prevent people from unplugging an Ethernet cable?

We have a crowded computer laboratory. We render free Ethernet ports for laptop users. But they don't carry their Ethernet cables with them, they unplug cable of a fixed desktop PC and plug it to their laptop. When their work is finished, they don't…
hkBattousai
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54
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7 answers

Commuting with a laptop that is powered on

How safe is it to leave my laptop running a build or other time-consuming task when I am traveling? I mostly travel on a two-wheeler, with my laptop in a backpack, strapped vertically to my back (left edge towards Earth, right edge towards sky or…
Agnel Kurian
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19
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3 answers

Can humidity damage electronic devices?

My small vacation apartment has no cooker hood and even the simplest kitchen task, boiling water, creates condensation on windows. I try to keep a window open whenever possible. At what point can high room humidity cause hardware damage?
user198350
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11
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3 answers

Linux command to tell if the machine is physical or virtual

How can we check whether the machine is a physical or virtual one in Linux? Which command can be used?
Prashast
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9
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4 answers

External USB hard drive and risk of internal condensation?

Apparently you can kill a USB hard drive by moving it from a cold to warm environment and powering it up. The killer being internal condensation. Q1: How real is the risk? What kind of temperatures are we talking about? I don't want to waste time…
misha256
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8
votes
3 answers

Are there any disadvantages of having a "free fall sensor" on a hard disk drive?

This is a general question that came out of a specific comparison between the Western Digital Scorpio WD3200BEKT and Western Digital Scorpio WD3200BJKT (which is the same as the former but with a free fall sensor.) Note: I'm not asking for a review…
therobyouknow
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7
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8 answers

How to prevent corosion damage in a salt air environment?

I am fortunate enough to live at the beach and am a big electronic gadget guy. Almost every afternoon there is a solid onshore wind that blows in the house. The dust that comes off the beach has a high salt content and the area is very humid. …
NCG
6
votes
4 answers

Difference between indoor and outdoor WiFi Access Points

Does anyone know if there is an operational difference between what is classified as an 'indoor' wifi access point and an 'outdoor' wifi access point. I'm speaking specifically to its operation rather than things like whether its enclosure is…
IronJaxor
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5
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5 answers

Prepare desktop for a long-distance move

I'm moving soon and I'm trying to figure out a way to move my computer hardware. A have a shiny new desktop. In past long-distance moves, I had older desktops and I didn't care if they broke. Ditto my hard drives as data was backed up over several…
John
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4
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3 answers

Operating altitude for a MacBook Pro?

I saw on the Apple website that the MacBook pro has a maximum operating altitude. Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet Does this mean that I should not use it on a plane? Or is this just a slick way for Apple to say, "It's not our fault if you…
Jeff Meatball Yang
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4
votes
2 answers

Is air conditioning necessary for a desktop PC or Server if I live in a hot region?

Is air conditioning necessary for a desktop PC or Server if I live in a region where summer temperature is 48 centigrade?
metal gear solid
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3
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2 answers

Best environment for your PC Tower

I recently moved into an apartment building that has a small study with a built-in desk. My tower is now played beneath the desk in a very tight spot. I'm not sure how much ventilation it gets, but I know that the area does get rather warm. This has…
Sampson
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3
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1 answer

Debugging Unexpected System Shutdown

NOTE: Original post is truncated to be inline with the spirit of a StackExchange post (An answer to a question). However, the the journaling I was doing is still valuable as I describe my process: I've archived the last "Journal State" of this post…
Erotemic
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3
votes
2 answers

Effects of ammonia fumes on computer hardware

At my company we have recently started printing film for use in our flexible packaging conversion operations. The printing process utilizes inks with a pungent ammonia fume (I think it's used as a transfer medium). We are considering adding a…
MoondogsMaDawg
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2 answers

water cooler fan in my computer room

Is using water cooler fan in my computer room HARMFUL for the internal parts of the computer system?
metal gear solid
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