hard drive question

[DBL86]

Should i have windows shut off my hard drive overnight, or is it best to leave it on all the time? And what would be best for my PC, putting it on standby overnight or just turning off my monitor?

 

[Wuming]

think it would be better to let your harddrive be powered down? keeps the heat down, keeps noise down, and also power consumption. i would put my system on standby and turn off the monitor. just my opinion though!

 

[billyjak]

I leave mine on 24/7
It goes into powerdown after awile anyway.
You can set it up under power management control panel.

 

[borealiss]

the best thing for you pc is to leave it on all the time. but the "wear and tear" on a computer from starting up and shutting down is neglible. if it fails from too much on-off, then it probably would've failed down the road. shouldn't matter though.

 

[jamarno]

It's best to turn it off overnight or use the power saving setting because chips that drive the head arm and motor run hot and can eventually short out. Yesterday, i measured a Maxtor's motor chip (1 of 3) at 68C when the drive was horizontal, 53C when it was vertical, and this was with the drive out of the computer and in 25C air.

 

[MulLa]

Guess the HDD is a "moving" part in your pc and all moving parts are subjected to wear and tear. Guess powering down the drives would be a good idea.

 

[DBL86]

Thanks for the replies, i usually leave my system on all the time, i just wanted to know if the hard drive should be shut off when inactive. I'll probably put my pc in standby mode and turn off the hd overnight from now on.