hard drive life time question

[flush01]

if i leave computer 24/7 for lets say a year... or if i turn computer off every night and start it up in the morning for a year...

which one of those scenarios will make hard drives live longer ?

 

[Motoxrdude]

Ah, wow. This can be debated. I would say leaving it on all the time. Just keep your hdd cool.

 

[Dr Studly]

isn't there the most strain on the hdd when the PC starts up?
+ are we counting windows defult settings? then it would go into standbye 4ever

 

[Motoxrdude]

Yes.

 

[flush01]

isn't there the most strain on the hdd when the PC starts up?
+ are we counting windows defult settings? then it would go into standbye 4ever

i mean like in general, u use computer during day and dont turn it off during night...

 

[ceewi1]

http://www.computerforum.com/showthread.php?t=24539

 

[Skizzor]

Keep it on but make sure it stays cool.

 

[Blue]

Not even go to touch this . This debate has been going as long as computers have existed . Both camps make great arguments.

 

[m0nk3ys1ms]

its a tough question, someone should take two exact computers with the same hdd and leave one on all the time, and turn the other off when not using, and see which one goes bad first

 

[Ku-sama]

its a tough question, someone should take two exact computers with the same hdd and leave one on all the time, and turn the other off when not using, and see which one goes bad first

naw, no two peices of hardware are alike

 

[m0nk3ys1ms]

naw, no two peices of hardware are alike

wouldnt you want to use the exact same everything, so that everything would run at the same temperature, ect.

 

[Ku-sama]

naw, lol, everything isnt equal

 

[m0nk3ys1ms]

you know what i meant though

 

[Ku-sama]

yeah, ok, set them up, tell us in like 10 years which dies first

 

[Yeti]

its a tough question, someone should take two exact computers with the same hdd and leave one on all the time, and turn the other off when not using, and see which one goes bad first

naw, no two peices of hardware are alike

That's exactly why hard drives have a mean time between failure (MTBF) rating - on average the drive will last X number of hours. Limiting your sample to 2 completely nullifies any conclusion from the data you get.