Hard Drive Myths - The Truth

MissilemanMissileman Orlando, Florida Icrontian
edited June 2007 in Hardware
I saw this over at Techarp. An excellent read for the many newbies and misinformed.


http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=84

I thought it might be a good read for some and you know who you all are :)

Comments

  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited June 2007
    That's a republish of an old article, but still good.

    //EDIT: Ahah! I get to the end of the article, and it says thusly. :D Yay steel-trap memory.
  • MissilemanMissileman Orlando, Florida Icrontian
    edited June 2007
    Thrax wrote:
    //EDIT: Ahah! I get to the end of the article, and it says thusly. :D Yay steel-trap memory.


    Ah,,, but the steel will rust and always sooner than we would like to think :wink:
  • Yayo01Yayo01 Member
    edited June 2007
    That was really interesting :)
  • athalonheadathalonhead Member
    edited June 2007
    This is the one I have a problem with because I like to leave my computer on 24/7.
    And I don't let anything power down or anything because I dont like the lag when I go to use it. There was some study done recenty that said heat didnt cause hard drive problems or failures. Ill try to find it.



    It is better to spin down the hard drive whenever you can to reduce stress on the spindle motor.

    Truth :
    Normally, the platters are spun up at start up and kept spinning after that. The spinning up process is the most taxing part on the hard drive's spindle motor. Maintaining the spindle speed thereafter requires a lot less effort.

    If the platters have spun down and you need to read/write something on the platters, you will need to spin up the platters to full speed before you can read or write. Therefore, if you want maximum performance, it's better to keep the hard drive spinning.

    However, spinning down the hard drive during periods of inactivity can not only reduce power consumption, it can also reduce the heat produced. The reduced thermal output will increase the longevity of your hard drive.

    So, while spinning down the hard drive will not reduce stress on the spindle motor, it can reduce the hard drive's power consumption and thermal output as well as increase its lifespan.
  • Your-Amish-DaddyYour-Amish-Daddy The heart of Texas
    edited June 2007
    But my myth isn't on there.

    "Shotgunning your hard drive, and then placing it under a steamroller causes it to respawn in your case."
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