David Brodbeck wrote the following on 08/28/2007 01:32 PM:
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. ;)
Hmmm ... True, but I can buy many light bulbs for the cost of any component of my PC! Leave it on! Set your screen saver to blank the screen to save your monitor and that will save power. The most common failure mode of drives is bearing failure. When you keepthem on and spinning they are warm and happy. When you turn them off they get cold and cranky and the bearings may lock up. When this happens there is very little you can do about. Head crashes are an uncommon occurrence these days. 15-20 years they were more common, but bearing failure was still the #1 cause of drive failure.
As for the environment, it will be much happier if you don't use battery operated devices, use nuclear or hydro generated electricity, and only travel by shanks mare (walking).