My friend and I want to freeze this mid-tower PC for 24 hours. Contains both an M2 and several HDDs.
Questions
1. Will doing this repeatedly, say every two weeks indefinitely, cause harm to electronics within in any way, assuming they are allowed to dry sufficiently before being turned on again?
2. If it is safe to freeze them, what is a good amount of time to let them dry before turning the PC on again?
THE ACTUAL PLAN
To clarify, the idea was to buy a chest freezer. Set the unit to be as cold as possible, put the PC in there for 24 hours. According to what I've read online no roach can survive an immediate change in climate like this. They can hibernate up to 10 to 14 hours (say a cold night) but further exposure will start to kill them off. At 24 hours, in temperatures of 32F or lower, they will surely die. Roaches are able to survive cold temperatures, but only if allowed to acclimate over time. A change this quick will not allow them or their egg sacs to survive.
The PC comes out, compressed air is blow throughout the unit to dislodge dead bodies and eggs, and then the PC is left to dry on a floor with a fan blowing air inside it for two to three days to insure no water remains. The PC is placed on a large tape pad made of duct tape and power is finally restored. Large roaches get caught on duct tape. Tiny roaches can crawl across it fine. Roach eggs take two to three weeks to hatch.
If the computer is frozen twice a month in this manner there should be very little activity within a PC at all. Tape pads are effective but over months time prove incapable of stopping every single visitor, as someone eventually gets inside, lays eggs, and an infestation takes root. My primary concern is for the electronics and whether they can take be refrozen in this matter over the course of multiple years. Twice a month is 52 times, 3 years is 156. It definitely add ups. Will the regular compression and expansion of plastics, metals, or circuitry within hurt any parts in any operational manner?
BACKGROUND STORY (optional read)
Friend asked me to help with a computer problem. I diagnosed it as a dead PSU over the phone, and when I investigated in person I found he had a horrible roach infestation in his home. Unfortunately, he has an autoimmune disease and using pesticides isn't a solution. He has consulted pest control experts and he is using all non-chemical roach methods recommended, but he cannot rid his house of them, only control their numbers. Unfortunately, electronics are perfect hive locations, because of constant warmth and being tight cut off spaces. His PC PSU was no exception. I cleaned it out, tried a PSU I had handy, and his PC is fine.
At this point the question is how to save this PC from dying and reduce the potential for roach assisted (dropping, dead bodies, egg sacks) short circuiting. To the roaches, the PSU is a closed ecosystem. If a single roach gets in, it lays eggs, the eggs hatch, and that generation lives inside the PC, likely feeding on the remains of other dead roaches. They never have to leave in order to thrive. Despite his best efforts to prevent access into the PC itself, they always find a way. So he has accepted that for the time being, roaches aren't going anywhere.
He relies on a PC for everyday work, so he needs to protect it from failure. He has a solid data backup solution, so this conversation is only about protecting future hardware failure. We read online that freezing roaches and their eggs will kill them off. After that, he can blow any remaining bodies out with compressed air. If he does this every two weeks, it should prevent any real hives from establishing in the future.
Questions
1. Will doing this repeatedly, say every two weeks indefinitely, cause harm to electronics within in any way, assuming they are allowed to dry sufficiently before being turned on again?
2. If it is safe to freeze them, what is a good amount of time to let them dry before turning the PC on again?
THE ACTUAL PLAN
To clarify, the idea was to buy a chest freezer. Set the unit to be as cold as possible, put the PC in there for 24 hours. According to what I've read online no roach can survive an immediate change in climate like this. They can hibernate up to 10 to 14 hours (say a cold night) but further exposure will start to kill them off. At 24 hours, in temperatures of 32F or lower, they will surely die. Roaches are able to survive cold temperatures, but only if allowed to acclimate over time. A change this quick will not allow them or their egg sacs to survive.
The PC comes out, compressed air is blow throughout the unit to dislodge dead bodies and eggs, and then the PC is left to dry on a floor with a fan blowing air inside it for two to three days to insure no water remains. The PC is placed on a large tape pad made of duct tape and power is finally restored. Large roaches get caught on duct tape. Tiny roaches can crawl across it fine. Roach eggs take two to three weeks to hatch.
If the computer is frozen twice a month in this manner there should be very little activity within a PC at all. Tape pads are effective but over months time prove incapable of stopping every single visitor, as someone eventually gets inside, lays eggs, and an infestation takes root. My primary concern is for the electronics and whether they can take be refrozen in this matter over the course of multiple years. Twice a month is 52 times, 3 years is 156. It definitely add ups. Will the regular compression and expansion of plastics, metals, or circuitry within hurt any parts in any operational manner?
BACKGROUND STORY (optional read)
Friend asked me to help with a computer problem. I diagnosed it as a dead PSU over the phone, and when I investigated in person I found he had a horrible roach infestation in his home. Unfortunately, he has an autoimmune disease and using pesticides isn't a solution. He has consulted pest control experts and he is using all non-chemical roach methods recommended, but he cannot rid his house of them, only control their numbers. Unfortunately, electronics are perfect hive locations, because of constant warmth and being tight cut off spaces. His PC PSU was no exception. I cleaned it out, tried a PSU I had handy, and his PC is fine.
At this point the question is how to save this PC from dying and reduce the potential for roach assisted (dropping, dead bodies, egg sacks) short circuiting. To the roaches, the PSU is a closed ecosystem. If a single roach gets in, it lays eggs, the eggs hatch, and that generation lives inside the PC, likely feeding on the remains of other dead roaches. They never have to leave in order to thrive. Despite his best efforts to prevent access into the PC itself, they always find a way. So he has accepted that for the time being, roaches aren't going anywhere.
He relies on a PC for everyday work, so he needs to protect it from failure. He has a solid data backup solution, so this conversation is only about protecting future hardware failure. We read online that freezing roaches and their eggs will kill them off. After that, he can blow any remaining bodies out with compressed air. If he does this every two weeks, it should prevent any real hives from establishing in the future.
