Cold storage on electronics ?(Computers, Consoles, and such)

[123434]

Cold storage on electronics ?(Computers, Consoles, and such)
How well computers and consoles(xbox 1 and 360) handle when stored outside in a:
- "Moisture-tight" Cardboard box.
- In an abandoned old house which has no heating.
- Temperature North Europe: winters -26*C=-14,8°F.

Can I expect the hardware to work after 10-20 years of storing ?

[RealBlackStuff]

Unlikely.

[precip9]

Cold is particularly bad with the new stuff that contains ROHS solder, which is primarily tin. Below 56F, tin changes into a powder. It happens fast enough to make things fail while you still care. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_disease

Before ROHS, solder was an alloy of tin and lead. The lead stabilized the solder. Nevertheless, the cold is a thermal stressor in the same way that heat is. Differential expansion breaks seals on capacitors. Some components such as resistors become brittle.

I have a LeCroy digital oscilloscope that I purchased from someone who had stored it in a New Hampshire garage during the winter, and found that it didn't work anymore. The culprit was a single transistor that had an unusual weakness to cold.