Common Computer Questions

[XxShadowTongyxX]

Hello, not sure if this is the correct spot to ask such a question, so I apologize in advance if this is the wrong area...

Anyways my question is just a basic one. I was just wondering if it matters how often you turn on/off your computer? Like will it cause the computer to run slower, or damage the hard drive, disk drive, motherboard or anything else inside of my computer?

One time I could not figure out what I wanted to do, so I turned the computer on, left it on for a few minutes, than went to the start menu, and selected shut down. After the computer fully shut down, a few minutes later I turned it back on, than repeated this a few times, two or three... At the time I did not really realize I was doing this, as I was deciding to play my PS3, or play on my computer. Anyways yes, just wondering if it could cause any damage to the computer.

Another question I have is, could it cause harm to the computer if the power goes out while its turned on? Not because of an lightning storm, but just from some other reason? Thanks in advance for all of your answers, I greatly appreciate it.

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

Modern day computers don't have much problems with power outages.
However, if a drive is formatting or an operating system install or kernel change is happening then some damage to the HDD may occur, you could easily do a reformat to fix it.

However, if you're flashing/updating firmware or BIOS and you lose power permanent damage may occur.


Turning a computer on and off several times has the potential to wear down the components, but not particularly anymore than regular use.
Think about if you were to turn a car on and off a lot. Eventually the ignition wears, the spark plug wears, the alternator wears...
Same with a computer, certain components get some extra wear if you turn it on and off a lot.
Though it won't really hurt it short term, I wouldn't make a habit of doing it, as over time it could cause components in your power supply to wear down.

 

[XxShadowTongyxX]

Thank you... I just wanted to make sure that it would not cause any harm to my computer, as I really do not have enough money to buy another if something were to happen to the computer, and for the fact that I just bought this one two weeks ago...

 

[betrayer]

Turning your computer on/off for several times sometimes damages. 'cause you cut the elecrtircis off and than suddenly put the electricity on again,so there is an electron pool occurs and it can damage your PC. You have to wait that your PC discharges.

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

Turning your computer on/off for several times sometimes damages. 'cause you cut the elecrtircis off and than suddenly put the electricity on again,so there is an electron pool occurs and it can damage your PC. You have to wait that your PC discharges.

Tell me more about this "electron pool"?
I'm interested.

 

[betrayer]

when you cut off the electricity the electrons which passed didin't come back. But on the other side those cannot go further. So the stress is occured. Of course it doesn't come into existence first time but when you cloese and open the PC one after the other for several times the electricity cannot discharge. Ä°t likes electron pool theory in metals. I will be wrong but it takes time to get discharge. There is always density of electirc.

 

[DBB2010]

when you cut off the electricity the electrons which passed didin't come back. But on the other side those cannot go further. So the stress is occured. Of course it doesn't come into existence first time but when you cloese and open the PC one after the other for several times the electricity cannot discharge. Ä°t likes electron pool theory in metals. I will be wrong but it takes time to get discharge. There is always density of electirc.

aren't the capacitors in the psu responsible for drawing the power that hasn't circulated and storing it? i thought that was why they say to never take apart the psu.

to the OP, computers are designed to cool themselves. i leave my laptop and desktops on constantly. just make sure you clean the heatsinks and check for overheating every once in a while.

if you're experiencing issues with the power spiking or dropping, invest in an Uninterruptable Power Supply.

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

aren't the capacitors in the psu responsible for drawing the power that hasn't circulated and storing it? i thought that was why they say to never take apart the psu.

to the OP, computers are designed to cool themselves. i leave my laptop and desktops on constantly. just make sure you clean the heatsinks and check for overheating every once in a while.

if you're experiencing issues with the power spiking or dropping, invest in an Uninterruptable Power Supply.

Capacitors begin discharging as soon as power is turned off.

 

[DBB2010]

Capacitors begin discharging as soon as power is turned off.

discharging to where?

 

[carnageX]

Capacitors are meant to store energy, not let it out. They discharge energy in the PSU over extended amounts of time, or if the power button is pressed while the computer is unplugged.