On Aug 28, 2007, at 10:50 AM, Raquel wrote:
I also understand that when the hard disks get power that the platters torque just a tad, if not causing heads to come into contact with the platter, at least causing wear on bearings.
In theory start-ups put more stress on the spindle motor, yes. I can't remember the last time I saw a hard disk that had a spindle motor failure, though. Also, modern hard disks move the heads to a safe "landing zone" before they spin down.
On machines I don't rely on to provide network services, I shut them down when they're not in use. I also set hard disks to spin down after a half hour or so of inactivity. I turn off the lights in rooms I'm not in, too, although I'm sure this shortens the life of the light bulbs. ;)