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1970BossMsutang · Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:47 am

So i have my laptop in my car almost all the time and seeing as i live in Vermont it gets a bit cold here....so my question is can the cold hurt a LCD display like the one on my laptop?

Usacomp2k3 · Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:51 am

I'd recommend looking what the temperature range that the manufacturer of the laptop recommends. What kind of laptop is it?

Example:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/s ... /specs.htm
Those are the specs for my laptop:

Operating
0° to 35°C (32° to 95°F)

Storage
–40° to 65°C (–40° to 149°F)

EDIT:
For the Dell 27" LCD:

Operating

5 to 35C (41 to 95F)

Non-operating

Storage: 0 to 60C (32 to 140F)
Shipping: -20 to 60C (-4 to 140F)

EDIT2:
For a Lenovo Thinkpad T61:

Temperature
Ataltitudes up to 2438m (8000ft)
-Operating: 5°C to 35°C (41°F to 95°F)
-Non-operating:5°C to 43°C(41°F to 109°F)
At altitudes above 2438m(8000ft)
-Maximum temperature when operating under the unpressurized condition: 31.3°C (88°F)

EDIT3:
For the Acer laptop my fiance has:

Temperature:
•Operating: 5 °C to 35 °C
•Non-operating: -20 °C to 65 °C

1970BossMsutang · Fri Nov 09, 2007 1:09 am

its an asus G2S-A1

Usacomp2k3 · Fri Nov 09, 2007 1:17 am

1970BossMsutang wrote:
its an asus G2S-A1

http://dlsvr04.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/G2S/e3179_g2s_low.zip

UberGerbil · Fri Nov 09, 2007 1:28 am

Liquid crystals really are liquid, and they really will freeze. I had an early PDA back in the 90s that I left in the outside pocket of a jacket in Calgary in January. The center of the LCD froze in a big black blotch.

I don't know if the batteries used in laptops can be damaged by low temperatures, but the efficiency of batteries drops with temperature, so you'll get less run time out of a cold battery.

ChrisDTC · Mon Nov 12, 2007 12:48 am

Usacomp2k3 wrote:
1970BossMsutang wrote:
its an asus G2S-A1

http://dlsvr04.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/G2S/e3179_g2s_low.zip

Looks like you should bring the laptop in with you or park the car in the garage

FireGryphon · Mon Nov 12, 2007 2:10 am

It's probably safe to stay within the defined operating temperatures, but I have operated equipment out of spec before and it works fine. For example, my Canon A95 camera sees heavy use in cold conditions, so cold that moisture freezes on the LCD monitor. The camera still works fine, but it gets horrible battery life (once the batteries defrost, they work without recharging).

Basically, keeping it in the car once or twice in a pinch probably won't hurt, but I wouldn't do it too often.

hans · Mon Nov 12, 2007 10:24 pm

I killed a dying laptop by leaving it in a car in Boston on a winter night. It took a couple years but it finally booted back up again. Then promptly got stolen.

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