> On Mar 16, 2022, at 2:58 PM, Fred Cisin via cctech <cctech@classiccmp.org>
> wrote:
>
> [EXTERNAL EMAIL]
>
>> On Wed, 16 Mar 2022, Diedrich, Bryce via cctech wrote:
>>> Just got a Commodore Vic-20. What is the safest way to power it off when I
>>> am done using it?
>
> On Wed, 16 Mar 2022, geneb via cctech wrote:
>> Turn it off.
>
> Then disconnect the power cord from the wall.
> Clean the machine
> Place it in a sealed container with vaccum or inert gas
>
> Optional: (if you are "done using it")
> Post it on eBay as "R@RE"
> or
> place in a vault
> or
> drop it off at the recycling center
>
:-)
I’m somewhat curious here, too.
I *think* that as long as any file-write operations have completed (ie
the tape isn’t still turning) there’s no risk of long-term data corruption -
that is, there’s no open files as a modern hard-disk or SSD might have that
need to be closed out. Of course, anything in RAM not written to tape (or
floppy) would be lost, but maybe that goes without saying.
But the question still has merit. Some power supplies electrically
sequence voltages relying on the 120V to still be present even though the
switch is “OFF”, so powering down by pulling the plug out of the wall is a
different (and possibly more stressful) operation that flipping the machine’s
switch “OFF”. My DEC Rainbow, for example, has a 2PST switch that powers both
the electronic power supply (one pole) and the cooling fan (the other pole) and
obviously it’s not brilliant to turn off the fan while the electronics are
still running, but in that case the “sequencing” works the same whether you
throw the 2PST switch or pull the plug out of the wall.
I suspect none of this applies to the VIC-20 - the power switch just
disconnects the 120VAC from the wall in the same way that pulling the wall plug
out of its socket (or flipping the switch on a power-strip) would do - but I
don’t know this at all. Is that the case?
I think the answer is different for almost any computer, so it’s pretty
tough to answer generically, but it would be kind of interesting to explore all
of the variations on this.
- Mark
