Shutting Down the PC??

[rajitha_ks]

Hey guys what happens when you shut down a PC? i've heard people saying turning off the pc(pulling the plug off the wall without shutting down) damages the hard drive. is this all true?

 

[VSGM]

ya it is true but if you have a SSD then no Problem.

 

[rajitha_ks]

ya it is true but if you have a SSD then no Problem.

yep SSD i can understand.. but how exactly does pulling the plug off the wall affect the HDD? and why is this only for Windows? well, about 15 years back when we were using dos pcs at school i remember they just turn it off there's no shutting down as for windows. why is it that turning the power off only affect windows based PCs?

and the other thing what is this thing called shuting down anyway? why can't we just power it off just as we do with a TV, or a VCR??

Pls Help

 

[kosandpol]

this thread should be in the Help section. Not the pro section.

anyway, the shut down sequence closes various open services, sets the proper logs, closes opened files, commits changes to the hard disk, and clears the page files. Finally it sends the shut down command to the various hardware devices including hard disk which does a the spin down and disk park. Afterwards the power is turned off.

The older PCs didnt have the automatic power off feature in the Mobo and power supply and so shutting down was a manual process. DOS had the disk park command which you had to run mannualy but I guess not many bothered to use it.

 

[slmega]

Usually when the power is disconnected the arm (set of the heads) jerks littlebit. When you shut down the pc, that arm goes to the landing position before power goes and jerk doesnt damage the shiny data disk. If you disconnect the power suddenly it may jerk while its on the data disk and that may damage it.

 

[rajitha_ks]

well thanks guys.. this info was very useful.