PC in attic

S

serotoninsid

Registered User
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My PC is coming to a point that its under-resourced for the applications I want to run. However, its still fully functioning and I'd like to get the last drop of value out of it.

The plan is to place it in the attic and run it as a cctv server. This would make a lot of sense from many points of view - as it would make the cable runs betwen camera's and pc easier/shorter. Also, its the only place in the house I could run this pc 24/7 as its bloody noisy!

My only concerns with this are..

1. Would there be any insurance issues with having this type of electric appliance in an attic?

2. Would it be able to deal with extremes of temperature?
 
Tempeture may be an issue.
But from experience unless a PC is custom built as a DVR for CCTV it will not be very stable & your HDD would probobly not be up to the task of running constantly
 
colm said:
But from experience unless a PC is custom built as a DVR for CCTV it will not be very stable.
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. I was hoping that if I had a reliable OS on there - linux based - that this would keep it running
reliably? In any event, I already have the cctv server card and the pc has little monetary value as it stands right now so I suppose I have nothing left to lose by trying it out.....provided it doesn't leave my house insurance invalid??

colm said:
your HDD would probobly not be up to the task of running constantly
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Well, they would be set to record once triggered by motion sensor - in fields of view that would have very low traffic - so HDD should be ok.
 
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serotoninsid said:
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Well, they would be set to record once triggered by motion sensor - in fields of view that would have very low traffic - so HDD should be ok.
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Give it a shot.. Like you say nothing to lose.
Running linux as opposed to windows should help as well.
 
colm said:
Give it a shot.. Like you say nothing to lose.
Click to expand...

And if your house burns down?

Without wishing to sound alarmist, running something designed for a normal office/home environment in an attic, with a power source of unknown quality for 24/7 seems a bit risky to me.

Say a slate comes off the roor, and water starts leaking in. Say mice start chewing through cables etc. Say something else happens....
 
ang1170 said:
And if your house burns down?

Without wishing to sound alarmist, running something designed for a normal office/home environment in an attic, with a power source of unknown quality for 24/7 seems a bit risky to me.
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Well, that did form part of my query. If anyone has a definitive answer on it, would home insurance cover hold or not in this instance?
 
I'm no expert, other than some experience of seeing people assume you can use a product designed for one environment using it in a much harsher one and coming badly unstuck.

If it were me, I wouldn't do it regardless of what the insurance said, without at least someone knowledgeable and suitably qualifiied taking a look at the exect setup.
 
serotoninsid said:
If anyone has a definitive answer on it, would home insurance cover hold or not in this instance?
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The only definitive answer will come from your specific insurance policy booklet terms & conditions or from your insurer. Nobody here knows what cover you have!
 
ClubMan said:
Why exactly?
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Linux based systems are more reliable than windows based. Windows based systems can crash for no apparent reason. Thats why linux/unix based systems are usually used as servers - due to their reliability.

Clubman said:
The only definitive answer will come from your specific insurance policy booklet terms & conditions or from your insurer. Nobody here knows what cover you have!
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Your right of course. Had a look at the policy(FBD);
'Accidental damage to contents ....excludes destruction or damage arising from electrical defect'
So contents would be affected.
 
serotoninsid said:
Linux based systems are more reliable than windows based. Windows based systems can crash for no apparent reason.
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Any system if misconfigured or running dodgy software/drivers etc. can behave like this. Anyway - this is somewhat off topic so no need to discuss it here.
 
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