Natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes appear to be on the rise and can damage your computer. Lightning strikes, fire, and extreme temperatures can cause significant physical damage and would lead to the loss of data. However, with the right measures, you can protect your computer from these natural disasters and still have your valuable data with you. The following are some of the measures you can take to protect your laptop from natural disasters.
Keep your Computer Under Room Temperature
In case of a fire outbreak, your computer runs a high risk of being subjected to extreme heat which can be enough to damage some of its delicate, delicate components. Smoke produced can end up destroying the CPU fan due to overheating. Computer components are designed to operate within a specific range of temperatures, and hence, if your computer gets exposed to high temperatures, it is of the essence to make sure that it runs in room temperatures. This is because excessive heat or cold can lead to malfunction of the computer’s components.
Protect Your Computer from Power Surges
If you want to guard your computer against power surges, then it is advisable to purchase a surge protector. What is a surge protector you may ask? A surge protector is a device designed to protect electrical appliances from damage caused by electrical surges. When a surge is high enough, it can cause massive damage on a computer. A surge protector works by passing the electrical current from the outlet to some electrical and electronic devices secured into the power strip. In case of a voltage from the outlet surges, the surge protector diverts the extra electricity into the outlets ground wire, hence protecting your computer and other electrical devices from electrical damage. For you to protect your computer from lightning strikes, it is advisable to carry a vast electrical surge to prevent an increase in voltage which is capable of causing damage to some components of your computer such as the CPU, motherboard, and memory. Lightning strikes do cause damages to modems and routers.
Unplug Computers During Storms and Provide your Computer with an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
A storm can ruin your computer, and hence it is advisable to be well-prepared in case it happens. What you can do is store important warranty paperwork that’s easy to access and backup all your important files through offsite storage. Once you know a storm is coming, unplug your computer, internet, and other peripherals connected to the computer. In most incidents when a natural disaster occurs, e.g., a lightning storm, your computer can be powered off immediately, and when this happens, it tends to be harmful to your computer hardware and may lead to data loss. Equipping your computer with a UPS
keeps your computer running when power has been lost. This will give you time to save your files and shut your PC down properly.
Put Your computer on Higher Ground
When a natural disaster such as a flood occurs, make sure your computer is not on the floor. Moving your computer on higher ground such as the top of a desk can be safe from floods temporarily. Since most water will be on the floor, doing this will buy you enough time to move your computer and its devices from the disaster site. In addition to that, learn to remove a hard drive in case of a disaster since it might be impossible for you to recover stored data when this hard drive gets damaged by water. Therefore it is safe and recommendable to learn how to remove it since it would save you from losing all your data.
Develop and Emergency Plan
Lastly, always develop an emergency plan such as fire extinguisher equipment in case of a fire outbreak, and always install power generators when the lights go off in case of a storm or heavy rains. These measures will help you minimize the damage from natural disasters and recover data from the computer with ease.
