Member Avatar for Cudmore

Hey.
My question is, can laptops have startup problems if they're cold? If the answer is No, or They Shouldn't, then I will call the depot and interrogate them as to Why my computer fails to start in the mornings.

My problem is, sometimes when I turn on my computer, it tries to load the bootloader (grub) and just stops. The Hard Drive can be heard making a weird noise, ticking and scraping is how I would describe it. Each time this has happened, the laptop was just being start up from a long sleep, and was rather chilly. Maybe 5-15 degrees celcius.

Once I let it sit for a while, without booting but turned on, I guess it has a chance to "warm up" or something and boots just fine. Then if it's been running a while and I boot up, it works fine.

So, is my problem due to the temperature of the hard drive? That seems to be the only problem -- the rest of the hardware workes fine in low temperatures. If I shouldn't be having a problem with temperature, then I will call Dell. If it's normal, then I'll deal.

Thanks guys and girls.

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Quick summary and what to do next (based on the symptoms discussed by and the safety note from ).

Mechanical laptop drives can misbehave when they fail to spin up cleanly; cold can make things worse but the real red flag is any scraping/clicking noise. That noise usually means the heads are contacting the platter or the drive is struggling to start — not a normal temperature quirk. Immediate priority: copy any irreplaceable data off that drive now.

Concrete troubleshooting steps you can run once you have a backup:

  • Pull a S.M.A.R.T. report (for example smartctl -a /dev/sda on Linux) and look at Reallocated_Sector_Ct, Current_Pending_Sector, and Spin_Retry_Count. On Windows use a tool such as CrystalDiskInfo or the drive maker’s utility.
  • Run the vendor’s diagnostic (bootable or OS tool) to do a short and long scan. Note results and timestamps.
  • If possible, connect the drive to another machine or a USB adapter to see if the problem follows the drive or the laptop controller/BIOS.
  • If the drive only fails from a cold start, try warming the unit in a controlled way (room temperature) and rerun diagnostics. Record what happens — that record helps with warranty/RMA claims.

Practical tips and cautions:

  • Do not rely on temporary “warm it up” fixes. Clicking/scraping typically predicts imminent failure. Replace the drive if diagnostics report problems or the sounds continue.
  • If the laptop gives BIOS/ACPI messages at low temps as noted, consider BIOS and firmware updates, but only after backing up and checking vendor guidance.
  • For a long-term fix, moving to an SSD removes the mechanical failure mode and reduces cold-start sensitivity.

If under warranty contact Dell and supply the S.M.A.R.T. report, diagnostic logs, and a brief timeline of failures.

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Member Avatar for JakeCourtney

I would backup any important informaton ASAP. That hard drive shouldn't be making scraping noises or any metal-to-metal sounds. I would keep a close eye out on that hard-drive.

Member Avatar for jbennet

my thinkpad gives me a red BIOS screen saying ACPI error if i boot it up at less than about 17 Degrees C so yeah id say its to protect it

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