Operating computers in the cold

Hello all,

I have fun with my converted milling machine and we are preparing to move it to its final place in the shop but now the computer is starting to act up.
The machine is standing in a workshop that is not heated or insulated. So the Computer (hp ProDesk Mini PC) is exposed to really low temperatures. Up until the start of this year it was never an issue but now the computer crashes shortly after booting and starting LCNC. I know this has to do with the cold because I moved the computer inside and after it warmed up I was able to run it just fine. After moving back to the shop it gave me about 20 minutes of work before crashing again. (Likely after cooling down enough) At some point while trying to boot and crashing the computer was beeping in a way that indicated a power supply issue.

The computer was exposed to 0°C (HP datasheet rates it to +10°C). I know the Mesa cards are allowed to handle 0°C but the computer seems to have taken some damage.

It was only a 100€ computer and I was able to save my configs so I'm not to sad if it has taken permament damage.

I have now bought a heating cable used with water pipes which gently heats the computer up with 64W of heating power and a thermostat but after a first test it only ran for 5 minutes.

TL;DR:
I have a computer that was affected by freezing temperatures (0°C)
now it won't run for long
I need a good solution (heating the shop unfortunately not an option)
Does anyone know Computers that handle the cold?
Any other experience?

I can't rule out moisture.

However it's curios that the computer boots up fine but then crashes and once I take it inside it's running just fine.

Krulli_Fräser wrote:

I can't rule out moisture.

However it's curios that the computer boots up fine but then crashes and once I take it inside it's running just fine.
 

Frost melting when first turned can have this effect, Beware that too long operation with actual
liquid water from melted frost can cause permanent damage due to electrolytic corrosion.
 

Ok so are there computers that are not affected by water condensation?

Also am I advised to use a heater in the control cabinet where the mesa cards, VFD and servo drives live or are they inherently less prone to issues with cold or condensation.
 

I have a monitor which used to have difficulties to turn on when it was cold, it turned on but then it kept flickering. This was because of bad capacitors in the power supply, after replacing these it always works immediately, even with minus temperatures