HDD 24/7 or not?

[larryiam]

Ok i got an interesting question to ask. Is it harder on a HDD to leave it on all the time(24/7) or turn it off when not in use(at night for me)? i was wondering because if it won't hurt my HDD i am going to leave my computer on 24/7. My HDD never get above 26C. My case never get above 32C. Or whats your opinion/suggestion? Oh i got bored so i created a poll so vote please.

 

[SNGX1275]

Depends. If you only use your PC a couple hours a day then I'd let it shut the hd down. If you access at various times per day with no real schedule then I'd just leave it on all the time.

 

[larryiam]

Well i am on it most of the whole day so i will leave it on then. So i won't have any issues with leaving my puter on? Shes my one and only.
Thanks SNGX for the quick reply!

 

[Obi-Wan Jerkobi]

I wouldn't worry too much about it, leaving your hd running or not was something they worried about in the 90's. Because the HDD's had crappy ballbearings etc. turning them on and off would wreak havoc on the platters and write heads.

But you don't have to worry about that now, HDD's are much more resilient and built much better so you don't really have to worry about damaging it through turning it off. They have technology to make it easier on the drive.

 

[larryiam]

ok thanks guys i have been wondering that for quite sometime.Computer will stay on 24/7 now.

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

I'm with SNGX, if it's used frequently just leave it on.

I could be wrong on this, but I believe most of today's HDDs automatically perform a task known as "disk sweep" or "wear leveling". The procedure occurs after a brief idle time, where the read/write heads are moved to a cylinder in the outer portion of the platters. If activity remains idle for another period of time, the read/write heads move to another cylinder in the same vicinity.

The technology is supposed to prevent the platters from extended exposure to the friction caused by the read/write heads. While the heads are not in direct contact with the medium, they are close enough that the constant air pressure from the floating heads will increase wear and potentially cause complications over time.

Odds are, your HDD will be obsolete and put out of commission before it experiences any issues, so, just let it go.

 

[larryiam]

Ok good and thanks for your input!. Yea within the next 6 months i hope to have a new 160GB Sata.

 

[NetCablesPlus]

I leave all my disks running 24/7 on all machines. At night, however, I shut off my big ole monitor on my main machine.

But this thread has gotten me to thinking. I do have an old Win98SE laptop (Toshiba) from the mid-1990's. Perhaps I should be shutting that down at night instead of leaving the HDD running?