----- Original Message ----- From: "hilary" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "PCI PowerMacs" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2001 11:59 PM Subject: Re: Hard drive life
> Hello all > I've been wondering if anyone has the definitive answer to this question > - I've > heard both sides of the story depending who I was talking with but still no > 'real' answer. > > What wears a hard-drive the most? Is it the start up or the continuous > running of > it? I've got friends that let their computers run on all day and only > shut it > down at bedtime or so. Others, like myself start it up and use it for > when I need > it - give or take an hour or so. > > Anyone? > > Hilary This is one of those things that have been debated since the beginning of computers and hard drives, right along with whether its better to leave a computer on all the time or not. The main question is whether it gets more wear and tear from the startup and shutdown, or from just sitting there spinning for hours while you're not using it. It's something of a tradeoff that's often hard to figure out. Also, today with most hardware having a MTBF of hundreds of thousands of hours on average, it's even harder to judge. I personally have always turned my computers off at night, though I'll often leave my two main ones on during the day as I usually will need them on and off. I'm not too terribly worried about hardware failures. All my stuff that I couldn't live without is backed up, stuff is cheap enough that I don't really have to worry about anything breaking, and I have enough spare parts lying around and in other computers that I haven't had a completely debilitating failure since the lightning storm of '96 (was away from home and wasn't able to unplug my stuff, must have hit twice because my surge protector was blown and it still got some of my stuff). Anyway, to sum up, you'll not likely get a solid answer, people are always arguing. Just go with what fits your lifestyle the most (assuming it doesn't involve hammers and long falls down staircases, that is :) ). Scott Holder -- PCI-PowerMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Sonnet & PowerLogix Upgrades - start at $169 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PCI-PowerMacs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/pci-powermacs.shtml> Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive:<http://www.mail-archive.com/pci-powermacs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Macintosh? Get free email and more at Applelinks! <http://www.applelinks.com>
