SGI: Hardware

Hi,

I wonder if an MMSC LCD display can be damaged by 'extreme' cold, or any LCD for that matter. Well it is 'liquid', and I guess a cold enviroment could affect it.

My Origin 2000 is in my garage and I don't have much heating in there since it is kind of expensive just to keep the car warm. This winter was quite cold in Sweden (too), -15° to -20° Celsius (about 0 for you Fahrenheit guys) where I live. Now, when I'm starting up the server the display is kind of flakey and not as sharp as before.
I didn't check the display carefully until recently. It has not been running during cold period + some extra warm up time , november-april.

/Bjorn

I've had the LCD of my Powerbook 170 down to about -40ºC, but that was just for a few hours at a time. I can imagine extended times at such a low temperature could be a problem, though.

yep - but it isn't just the LCD can get hosed by the cold. Many electronic components come in three temp grads, military, commercial and industrial. This is a MASSIVE oversimplification but basically a lot of parts (ICs, displays, caps) can't take cold or heat.
For example, he plastic packages on commercial ICs can absorb moisture over time - freeze them or heat them and bad things can happen....note why in critical apps you use ceramic package ICs....
Bottom line don't store the computer outside the range ~5c.....+40c.....
A lot more than the LCd will get damaged....