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I have recently set up my Win 98, 300mhz P11 computer to do a virus
scan, scan disk, defrag, and then a re- boot every night between 3 AM
and 6 AM. I like the idea of a "fresh" start each day and things seem
to run cleaner and faster. I turn the display off as it is a power
gobbling 19" CRT.
My question:

Does all this unattended nightly activity in any way hurt my computer,
e.g., does running the HD 24/7 wear it out faster than on-off cycling
it each day? It's a Maxtor 20 ghz, 5400 rpm unit about 3 years old.

TIA

bobster did mumble u5MOb.98141$xy6.176228@attbi_s02...

> I have recently set up my Win 98, 300mhz P11 computer to do a virus
> scan, scan disk, defrag, and then a re- boot every night between 3 AM
> and 6 AM. I like the idea of a "fresh" start each day and things seem
> to run cleaner and faster. I turn the display off as it is a power
> gobbling 19" CRT.
> My question:
>
> Does all this unattended nightly activity in any way hurt my computer,
> e.g., does running the HD 24/7 wear it out faster than on-off cycling
> it each day? It's a Maxtor 20 ghz, 5400 rpm unit about 3 years old.
>
> TIA

Whichever is your preference...

Read these:
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mturnoff.html
http://www.howstuffworks.com/question328.htm
http://www.pcguide.com/care/care/gen/powerOnOff-c.html
http://www.phoenix360.com/tech/datad...2.asp?did=1749
http://www.insllc.net/insllc/articles/shutdown.htm
http://www.bcentral.com/articles/enbysk/158.asp

They all say pretty much the same thing:
-Leaving it on will not hurt your computer.
-Leaving it on will save you 'boot time'
-Turning it off will save you money (energy consumption)
-Turning it off will take longer to boot (than leaving it on.. of course)
--
~SF~
The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a
capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety
labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself? -Unknown

If your virus scanner runs all the time then there is no need to run a
full system scan nightly.
Defragging once a night is ridiculous. Once a week should be ample for
a heavy user. Once a month for the average user.
A hard drive is an eletro-mechanical device. Motor, bearings,
platters, heads, and actuators. The more you use it, the closer you
bring it to its inevitable point of mechanical failure.

On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 07:57:14 GMT, "bobster" <>
wrote:

>I have recently set up my Win 98, 300mhz P11 computer to do a virus
>scan, scan disk, defrag, and then a re- boot every night between 3 AM
>and 6 AM. I like the idea of a "fresh" start each day and things seem
>to run cleaner and faster. I turn the display off as it is a power
>gobbling 19" CRT.
>My question:
>
>Does all this unattended nightly activity in any way hurt my computer,
>e.g., does running the HD 24/7 wear it out faster than on-off cycling
>it each day? It's a Maxtor 20 ghz, 5400 rpm unit about 3 years old.
>
>TIA

<SNIP>> I have recently set up my Win 98, 300mhz P11 computer to do a virus
> scan, scan disk, defrag, and then a re- boot every night between 3 AM
> and 6 AM.
<SNIP>> Does all this unattended nightly activity in any way hurt my
computer,
> e.g., does running the HD 24/7 wear it out faster than on-off cycling
> it each day? It's a Maxtor 20 ghz, 5400 rpm unit about 3 years old.

Well ... finally the electronics I learned in a USN submarine comes in
handy.

The deal is this. Every time you turn your computer on power runs through
the circuits much like water in your household plumbing. There are the
inevitable and normal surges in voltage which bang into relatively fragile
circuits, chips, capacitators, resistors & etc. and, similar to your
household plumbing, any coupling or attachment that is not in perfect shape
is suddenly susceptible to springing a leak each time the system powers up.
Constant pressure is better than sporatic pressure. So, while your computer
doesn't seem much like your household plumbing, it still works in a similar
manner.

Also in respect to the mechanics of things ... things in motion tend to stay
in motion, things at rest tend to stay at rest ... think of a car on a cold
morning. Start-up time is always the worst time for a mechanism. Heck ... I
need six cups of coffee and a kick in the ass myself.

Also in regard to loading start-up commands and operating systems (and
shutting them down) that's a good opportunity to lose a few of those pesky
zeros and ones ... a few might not matter but a cumulative few can become
many pretty fast.

I suggest to all my clientele that they leave their units on unless they
want to shut them down on weekends or holidays. Personally all I do is thumb
off my monitor come the end of the day.

So ... I don't know about the entire routine of scan, scandisk, defrag every
night, it seems to me that is a bit of overkill ... I do those on a weekly
basis unless I am moving around alot of major files but the re-boot aspect I
believe saves you nothing and just puts wear and tear on your circuitry.

This is of course just my opinion with alot of support from the US Navy
- Bay0Wulf

Thanks to everyone for your helpful support

I would not be happy if my computer did things behind my back. I also
wouldn't defrag every night unless I installed and uninstalled many programs
on a day to day basis. I leave all three of my computers on 24/7 with a
battery backup, for those moments when my power blinks and I have my monitor
to turn off in five minutes, harddrives to spin down NEVER! and stand-by at
NEVER! and NEVER! to hibernate. Your mileage may vary....;o)

"bobster" <> chiseled in stone, the following words
news:u5MOb.98141$xy6.176228@attbi_s02:

> I have recently set up my Win 98, 300mhz P11 computer to do a virus
> scan, scan disk, defrag, and then a re- boot every night between 3 AM
> and 6 AM. I like the idea of a "fresh" start each day and things seem
> to run cleaner and faster. I turn the display off as it is a power
> gobbling 19" CRT.
> My question:
>
> Does all this unattended nightly activity in any way hurt my computer,
> e.g., does running the HD 24/7 wear it out faster than on-off cycling
> it each day? It's a Maxtor 20 ghz, 5400 rpm unit about 3 years old.
>
> TIA

--
@}-}-------Rosee http://www.southerncaucus.org/hk18.htm
www.freedonation.com www.hungersite.com
"This (TINT) is whatever I want it to be you bigfooted
belligerent bowlegged babblative babuina."~Zigi~

@}-}-------Rosee wrote:

> I have my [...] harddrives to spin down NEVER!

Is it okay for hard drives to get hot? I opened my tower and the metallic
casing of my two HDs are HOT HOT HOT to touch... is that bad for them? I've
currently got the tower open with a fan blowing on them, just in case.

NO!!! it is not okay for anything to be hot. It shortens the life of the
components in your computer. I have two of my computers sitting on a cement
pad...<my room is behind the living room fireplace, NOT in service at
present. Room is also chilly at 59°F>. This setup keeps my computers cool
and I also have invested in these heatsink and fans:

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=782

and Artic Silver. Anything to minimize the heat will prolong your
computer's life....;o)

"Flaccid" <> chiseled in stone, the following words
news:bujcde$igcvk$:

> @}-}-------Rosee wrote:
>> I have my [...] harddrives to spin down NEVER!

> Is it okay for hard drives to get hot? I opened my tower and the
> metallic casing of my two HDs are HOT HOT HOT to touch... is that bad
> for them? I've currently got the tower open with a fan blowing on them,
> just in case.

--
@}-}-------Rosee http://www.southerncaucus.org/hk18.htm
www.freedonation.com www.hungersite.com
"This (TINT) is whatever I want it to be you bigfooted
belligerent bowlegged babblative babuina."~Zigi~