will inactivity is going to harm my system??

[Choto Cheeta]

Well I would be out of town for 2 or 3 months. In that period of time my PC will stay inactive (turned off). Now I’m worried that keeping the system turned off for that much of time might harm the system.

Will all the hardware stay ok after 2 or 3 month of inactivity or some of them might get damage.

My friends say that few of the hardware will get damaged as I used to work on my system 5hours a day.

I’m very worried about this matter…..

[icecoolz]

whoever ur friend is he's shoving u a load of crap. Nothing will happen to ur system. Its like asking if my TV will work if I dont watch it or use it for 2-3 months. come on mate. Chill. Ur system will be fine.

[borg]

My friends say that few of the hardware will get damaged as I used to work on my system 5hours a day.

hahahahahah

I want to meet this friend of yours

[pradeep_chauhan]

Good Friend Leave the PC with him so that he can do the "MANDATORY" % hours a day usage. Good Friend indeed.

[techno_funky]

ok do this
take pc
DISASSEMBLE it
and store all the parts in your REFRIGERATOR
then theres no problemo's
everything will work amazingly nice after you return

allrite just joking man
well dont worry nothing would happen to you PC if you dont use it for long
all i can say is if there is no one in your house i.e residing
you can cover the pc with a mattress etc
so that dust wont settle over,in it
that all i can say

[ctrl_alt_del]

Originally Posted by techno_funky

you can cover the pc with a mattress etc

A matteress!!!???!!! Surely you meant a bedsheet right? But that surely is a sound advice. Use the dustcover if you have one. The only thing that can do any harm is the dust settling down due to long periods of inactivity.

[djmykey]

Since you say that you r gonna be out for atleat 2-3 months so my suggestion is that pack it in the boxes that came along with the comp and keep 'em wherever in the house. That's what I do when exams near

[pimpom]

Use a plastic cover instead of cloth. Plastic is better at keeping out dust AND moisture.

[krisjr]

holly geez..thats really the heights man.ur frenz r pulling a fast 1 on u mate.put dust cover and go wer ever u want..my comp stays inactive for 4months ,nothng happens except dust settling in..

[delhibhai1000]

dustcover+that silica gel thing to absorb the moisture....

[Choto Cheeta]

thnx all for ur valluable advices.....

now i am realy tension freeeeeeeeeee.....

Since you say that you r gonna be out for atleat 2-3 months so my suggestion is that pack it in the boxes that came along with the comp and keep 'em wherever in the house. That's what I do when exams near

ya i am just doing it... packing it in the boxes.......

but one other thing is i'm going to miss 2 digit issue.... but again when i return i will find 3 digit to explore at once...... well there is forum also so i wont be out of touch totaly.... right??

[sunmysore]

Yea, dont frget to reload the OS when u switch back the comp....

[goobimama]

another question: how safe is it to keep the computer on for say, more than 12 hours running? its a p4 1.6 ghz system with one 7200rpm HD running continuously and the other 5400 powering off at 10 mins. also, have one cabinet fan installed. The temperatures are very stable at 40-47*c.

[Choto Cheeta]

how safe is it to keep the computer on for say, more than 12 hours running?

good one.....

my friend has cel 1.0, p4 1.7, cel 2.4, amd 1.0 in his cyber cafe running 14 hours a day.... surprisingly the cel do better than others.... & his is not facing any hardware problem but he says systems get slower at the end of the day......

Nothing will happen, rest assured

[daj123]

saurav_cheeta, well my experience is quite different from others. Your system will indeed face problems if you keep it switched for long periods of time. The thing is when you switch on your system and use it for some period of time, it 'warms up'. This warming up is essential for all the electrical components to stay healthy. For example, if the electrolytic capacitors are inactive for a long period of time, as in your case, the fluids inside them may become inactive and you will get an unstable system at the end of the month or whatever is your period of inactivity. The second problem is that of dust and moisture. This is a deadly combo. As someone suggested use silica gel to keep moisture away. Cover your PC properly to keep it from catching dust. I had a very bad experience with dust. My AGP card was rendered inactive due to dust settling on the card. This was just a thin layer but it must've contained electrostatic particles which were interfering with the circuitry. I had to clean it will a good solution and leave it for 2 days! Only after which it started functioning. So electronic devices/components if left inactive for a long time WILL definitely create problems.

Disclaimer: These is just my experiences/opinions.

[pimpom]

Originally Posted by goobimama

another question: how safe is it to keep the computer on for say, more than 12 hours running? its a p4 1.6 ghz system with one 7200rpm HD running continuously and the other 5400 powering off at 10 mins. also, have one cabinet fan installed. The temperatures are very stable at 40-47*c.

The answer to this is more complex than many people would think. I posted an opinion in other threads.

On the one hand, many parts of a complex electronic system experience large surge currents and mechanical acceleration when first turned on. Thermal (heating-cooling) cycles cause expansion-contraction cycles. This puts a lot of strain on those components and may eventually cause failure. This is why some people say that it's best to leave your computer on 24/7.

On the other hand, other kinds of stress are going on when it's running. Fan and hard disk bearings gradually wear away. Continuous heat can cause metal fatigue at solder points and inside chips, finally resulting in loss of electrical contact. Electro-chemical changes can occur at the molecular level, both inside and outside individual components.

Personally, I think it's best to use an intelligent compromise. Leave your computer on as long as you need to, but turn it off when you're going to leave it idle for a long time.

dust is something different then inactivity, if it affects then Y do U think, old stock components work flawlessly even after being kept in the dtorage room for 1 or 2 years