Laptop HD leaking oil ??
Jun 18, 2016, 7:46 pm
#1
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Laptop HD leaking oil ??
I think this is total unmitigated BS, but let me know what you think.
Dropped my daughter at ORD T3 tonight. Security lines were short, but her (new) laptop alarmed. It took them multiple swab tests and 45 minutes to clear her. At the end they claimed that "oil from the computer hard drive sometimes leaks and that causes it to register as explosives".
Maybe she needs to take it to Jiffy Lube?
Dropped my daughter at ORD T3 tonight. Security lines were short, but her (new) laptop alarmed. It took them multiple swab tests and 45 minutes to clear her. At the end they claimed that "oil from the computer hard drive sometimes leaks and that causes it to register as explosives".
Maybe she needs to take it to Jiffy Lube?
Jun 18, 2016, 8:24 pm
#2
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Grade A male bovine excrement.
There might be a tiny amount of lubrication on the bearings but not enough to leak out. There's more likely a bit in the cooling fans but again it's still a tiny quantity. In 20+ years of dealing with PCs I have yet to encounter a liquid inside that is not due to something being spilled on the machine.
Since you say it's a new laptop I would be more inclined to think along the lines of traces of chemicals used in production. There will be traces of flux on the board from when it was soldered, there's a wide range of chemicals that get used as thermal paste between hot components (especially the CPU) and their heat sinks and those most certainly remain in the machine. As it goes on as a paste there's a solvent of some sort that will slowly be driven off. While much of it leaves upon first use older material does still get harder with time which means it's still leaving.
There might be a tiny amount of lubrication on the bearings but not enough to leak out. There's more likely a bit in the cooling fans but again it's still a tiny quantity. In 20+ years of dealing with PCs I have yet to encounter a liquid inside that is not due to something being spilled on the machine.
Since you say it's a new laptop I would be more inclined to think along the lines of traces of chemicals used in production. There will be traces of flux on the board from when it was soldered, there's a wide range of chemicals that get used as thermal paste between hot components (especially the CPU) and their heat sinks and those most certainly remain in the machine. As it goes on as a paste there's a solvent of some sort that will slowly be driven off. While much of it leaves upon first use older material does still get harder with time which means it's still leaving.
Jun 20, 2016, 9:29 am
#6
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Mine was leaking bits the other day. Luckily, it was through the serial port.
Makes me think of the post where they allegedly found bitcoins in someone's luggage.
Makes me think of the post where they allegedly found bitcoins in someone's luggage.
Jun 20, 2016, 5:25 pm
#7
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Jun 20, 2016, 9:26 pm
#9
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Jun 21, 2016, 10:24 am
#10
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Grade A male bovine excrement.
There might be a tiny amount of lubrication on the bearings but not enough to leak out. There's more likely a bit in the cooling fans but again it's still a tiny quantity. In 20+ years of dealing with PCs I have yet to encounter a liquid inside that is not due to something being spilled on the machine.
Since you say it's a new laptop I would be more inclined to think along the lines of traces of chemicals used in production. There will be traces of flux on the board from when it was soldered, there's a wide range of chemicals that get used as thermal paste between hot components (especially the CPU) and their heat sinks and those most certainly remain in the machine. As it goes on as a paste there's a solvent of some sort that will slowly be driven off. While much of it leaves upon first use older material does still get harder with time which means it's still leaving.
There might be a tiny amount of lubrication on the bearings but not enough to leak out. There's more likely a bit in the cooling fans but again it's still a tiny quantity. In 20+ years of dealing with PCs I have yet to encounter a liquid inside that is not due to something being spilled on the machine.
Since you say it's a new laptop I would be more inclined to think along the lines of traces of chemicals used in production. There will be traces of flux on the board from when it was soldered, there's a wide range of chemicals that get used as thermal paste between hot components (especially the CPU) and their heat sinks and those most certainly remain in the machine. As it goes on as a paste there's a solvent of some sort that will slowly be driven off. While much of it leaves upon first use older material does still get harder with time which means it's still leaving.
The TSO was either a moron, or making stuff up to cover his ignorance of why OP's DD's laptop alarmed, or both.
Since ETD looks for certain precursor chemicals, it's most likely that the new laptop in question came into contact with one of those chemicals during the manufacture, shipping, or sales processes. It could be present in a lubricant used on the manufacturing or packaging machinery; it could have been transferred from an employee at the manufacturer, packager, shipper, or retail location; or it could have been transferred from the owner, one of her friends or relatives, or the checkpoint TSOs themselves (few TSOs seem to have a clue about cross-contamination).
But "oil from the hard drive"? Poppycock!
Jun 21, 2016, 3:50 pm
#11
Join Date: Dec 2010
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Back before they got bought out by Seagate, disk drive maker Maxtor had an issue with their drive housings, which were cast in molds overseas. Turns out some vendors used paraffin wax in the molds. Yep, on the inside of the housings where the magnetic platters and very low clearance read/write heads live. So when the drives were in operation and got warm, the residual paraffin was vaporized and spread over those components, making the drives unusable.
Don't think this residue could leak out, but it may have been otherwise detectable.
Don't think this residue could leak out, but it may have been otherwise detectable.