Today's hard drives are indeed designed to run for hundreds of thousands
of hours.  I turn my computer off if I don't intend to use it after a few
hours because of the mechanical parts inside.  The two mechanical parts
of importance are the cooling fans for the power supply and the
processor.  A by-product of energy use is the generation of heat.  Both
the power supply and processor generate heat.  In fact, modern processors
drink so much energy, they run hot and computer manufacturers have added
cooling fans that lie a few millimeters above the processor, dispersing
its heat.  If these cooling fans fail and you don't know it and the
machine continues to run for long periods, the internal components of the
machine will be damaged, melt, and perhaps catch fire eventually.

To prevent cooling fans from wearing out, I don't run my machine when I
am sleeping or when I am at work.  I also listen to my machine at start
up to hear if the computer sounds different.  If it does, a cooling fan
may not be running.

Kelly


----- Original Message -----
From: "Stu Turk" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, January 31, 2003 3:18 PM
Subject: Re: Shutting off computer


> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Meyers, Judith" <[log in to unmask]>
>
>
> > Our IT person highly recommends shutting off the computer at night.
=
> > When the computer is running, the C drive continues to spin.  The C =
> > drive will break down more quickly, if the computer is constantly
left =
> > on. =20
>
>    That has been the standard recommendation for most computers for
some
> time now for most computers.  But now many or possibly most newer
computers
> have a feature to shut down the hard drive after a specific amount of
time
> with no activity.  It also may depend on what program are running.
Windows
> XP, for example, seems to have several shut down options (I still don't
know
> the difference between Stand-by and Hybernate.)
>      I have a 24 hour computer bulletin board (BBS) that is running on
a
> computer that, except for power failures, has been running continuously
for
> more than four years without any problem.  So, it seems to depend on
the
> computer  and how it is set up and whether a power saving or automatic
> shutdown feature has been turned on.
>
>
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>


VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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