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Does leaving your laptop unsuspended and moving it around risk damaging the hardware?
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This is a very unscientific, and most-likely poorly phrased question (due to my complete lack of expertise) to be sure, but any responses will be greatly appreciated.
My dad told me that walking around with my laptop in my bag, or leaving it in a moving car, without suspending it or shutting it off totally, for long periods of time, regularly over many days, can eventually cause gradual and progressive damage to the hardware. I think it was the hard disk, or the memory he mentioned.
However, out of convenience I'd like to not turn it off when travelling between places.
Is there a real risk that over time, transporting it from place to place without powering it off can mess with the hardware? Or would it be the same if it were on anyway?
If this question is asked in the wrong stackexchange site, or can be phrased better, please feel free to let me know/edit this question/move it.
laptop hardware-failure
asked 2 hours ago
Max Li
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up vote
3
down vote
favorite
This is a very unscientific, and most-likely poorly phrased question (due to my complete lack of expertise) to be sure, but any responses will be greatly appreciated.
My dad told me that walking around with my laptop in my bag, or leaving it in a moving car, without suspending it or shutting it off totally, for long periods of time, regularly over many days, can eventually cause gradual and progressive damage to the hardware. I think it was the hard disk, or the memory he mentioned.
However, out of convenience I'd like to not turn it off when travelling between places.
Is there a real risk that over time, transporting it from place to place without powering it off can mess with the hardware? Or would it be the same if it were on anyway?
If this question is asked in the wrong stackexchange site, or can be phrased better, please feel free to let me know/edit this question/move it.
laptop hardware-failure
asked 2 hours ago
Max Li
1164
New contributor
Max Li is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
2
When the laptop is suspended, doesn't the power shut off completely? The fans & hard drive all stop? Why wouldn't the drive should be as safe as anytime it's powered off? If the drive stayed powered on, the battery wouldn't last more than a few hours.
– Xen2050
2 hours ago
Read your laptop's manual about maximum acceleration values or contact the manufacturer.
– Ipor Sircer
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
This is a very unscientific, and most-likely poorly phrased question (due to my complete lack of expertise) to be sure, but any responses will be greatly appreciated.
My dad told me that walking around with my laptop in my bag, or leaving it in a moving car, without suspending it or shutting it off totally, for long periods of time, regularly over many days, can eventually cause gradual and progressive damage to the hardware. I think it was the hard disk, or the memory he mentioned.
However, out of convenience I'd like to not turn it off when travelling between places.
Is there a real risk that over time, transporting it from place to place without powering it off can mess with the hardware? Or would it be the same if it were on anyway?
If this question is asked in the wrong stackexchange site, or can be phrased better, please feel free to let me know/edit this question/move it.
laptop hardware-failure
asked 2 hours ago
Max Li
1164
New contributor
Max Li is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
This is a very unscientific, and most-likely poorly phrased question (due to my complete lack of expertise) to be sure, but any responses will be greatly appreciated.
My dad told me that walking around with my laptop in my bag, or leaving it in a moving car, without suspending it or shutting it off totally, for long periods of time, regularly over many days, can eventually cause gradual and progressive damage to the hardware. I think it was the hard disk, or the memory he mentioned.
However, out of convenience I'd like to not turn it off when travelling between places.
Is there a real risk that over time, transporting it from place to place without powering it off can mess with the hardware? Or would it be the same if it were on anyway?
If this question is asked in the wrong stackexchange site, or can be phrased better, please feel free to let me know/edit this question/move it.
laptop hardware-failure
laptop hardware-failure
asked 2 hours ago
Max Li
1164
New contributor
Max Li is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 2 hours ago
Max Li
1164
New contributor
Max Li is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 2 hours ago
Max Li
1164
New contributor
Max Li is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 2 hours ago
Max Li
1164
asked 2 hours ago
Max Li
1164
1164
New contributor
Max Li is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Max Li is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Max Li is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
2
When the laptop is suspended, doesn't the power shut off completely? The fans & hard drive all stop? Why wouldn't the drive should be as safe as anytime it's powered off? If the drive stayed powered on, the battery wouldn't last more than a few hours.
– Xen2050
2 hours ago
Read your laptop's manual about maximum acceleration values or contact the manufacturer.
– Ipor Sircer
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
2
When the laptop is suspended, doesn't the power shut off completely? The fans & hard drive all stop? Why wouldn't the drive should be as safe as anytime it's powered off? If the drive stayed powered on, the battery wouldn't last more than a few hours.
– Xen2050
2 hours ago
Read your laptop's manual about maximum acceleration values or contact the manufacturer.
– Ipor Sircer
2 hours ago
2
2
When the laptop is suspended, doesn't the power shut off completely? The fans & hard drive all stop? Why wouldn't the drive should be as safe as anytime it's powered off? If the drive stayed powered on, the battery wouldn't last more than a few hours.
– Xen2050
2 hours ago
When the laptop is suspended, doesn't the power shut off completely? The fans & hard drive all stop? Why wouldn't the drive should be as safe as anytime it's powered off? If the drive stayed powered on, the battery wouldn't last more than a few hours.
– Xen2050
2 hours ago
Read your laptop's manual about maximum acceleration values or contact the manufacturer.
– Ipor Sircer
2 hours ago
Read your laptop's manual about maximum acceleration values or contact the manufacturer.
– Ipor Sircer
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
up vote
5
down vote
However, out of convenience I'd like to not turn it off when travelling between places.
Suspending is not the same thing as turning it off!
In suspend mode, most of the hardware is unpowered (CPU not generating heat, HDD heads safely parked), but the RAM contents still remain as they were – the OS is "frozen in time".
This means that the suspended laptop is safe to carry, but you can instantly resume working (even old laptops resume in 2–5 secs) – there is no inconvenient waiting for the OS to boot up again.
That said:
A suspended laptop still needs minimal power. Depending on battery, it can remain suspended for several days or even weeks, but not forever. (But certainly longer than with your method of just keeping it on all the time!)
Windows has a setting for automatic hibernation. If you leave the laptop suspended for a long time, Windows will eventually decide to hibernate to disk instead (to avoid running out of battery). The default timer is very short (a few hours) – you'll likely want to increase it to a few days.
I think it was the hard disk, or the memory he mentioned.
Possibly both. There are two primary sources of damage:
Some components (especially CPU, GPU, SSD flash) can be damaged due to constant overheating. (That's why computers have fans.) If you leave the computer fully powered on inside a small bag, there really isn't much airflow to cool it down.
Meanwhile, devices with moving parts – especially the hard disk (if it's a magnetic HDD) – may be damaged physically due to sudden shocks causing the heads to crash into the platter, which in normal operation is a few nm away.
(Some laptops have motion sensors which try to detect when the device is falling and about to smack into the ground, but that doesn't provide anywhere close to total safety. They're not going to help much if the device is being constantly thrown around in the trunk...)
answered 2 hours ago
grawity
217k32439506
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
5
down vote
However, out of convenience I'd like to not turn it off when travelling between places.
Suspending is not the same thing as turning it off!
In suspend mode, most of the hardware is unpowered (CPU not generating heat, HDD heads safely parked), but the RAM contents still remain as they were – the OS is "frozen in time".
This means that the suspended laptop is safe to carry, but you can instantly resume working (even old laptops resume in 2–5 secs) – there is no inconvenient waiting for the OS to boot up again.
That said:
A suspended laptop still needs minimal power. Depending on battery, it can remain suspended for several days or even weeks, but not forever. (But certainly longer than with your method of just keeping it on all the time!)
Windows has a setting for automatic hibernation. If you leave the laptop suspended for a long time, Windows will eventually decide to hibernate to disk instead (to avoid running out of battery). The default timer is very short (a few hours) – you'll likely want to increase it to a few days.
I think it was the hard disk, or the memory he mentioned.
Possibly both. There are two primary sources of damage:
Some components (especially CPU, GPU, SSD flash) can be damaged due to constant overheating. (That's why computers have fans.) If you leave the computer fully powered on inside a small bag, there really isn't much airflow to cool it down.
Meanwhile, devices with moving parts – especially the hard disk (if it's a magnetic HDD) – may be damaged physically due to sudden shocks causing the heads to crash into the platter, which in normal operation is a few nm away.
(Some laptops have motion sensors which try to detect when the device is falling and about to smack into the ground, but that doesn't provide anywhere close to total safety. They're not going to help much if the device is being constantly thrown around in the trunk...)
answered 2 hours ago
grawity
217k32439506
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
However, out of convenience I'd like to not turn it off when travelling between places.
Suspending is not the same thing as turning it off!
In suspend mode, most of the hardware is unpowered (CPU not generating heat, HDD heads safely parked), but the RAM contents still remain as they were – the OS is "frozen in time".
This means that the suspended laptop is safe to carry, but you can instantly resume working (even old laptops resume in 2–5 secs) – there is no inconvenient waiting for the OS to boot up again.
That said:
A suspended laptop still needs minimal power. Depending on battery, it can remain suspended for several days or even weeks, but not forever. (But certainly longer than with your method of just keeping it on all the time!)
Windows has a setting for automatic hibernation. If you leave the laptop suspended for a long time, Windows will eventually decide to hibernate to disk instead (to avoid running out of battery). The default timer is very short (a few hours) – you'll likely want to increase it to a few days.
I think it was the hard disk, or the memory he mentioned.
Possibly both. There are two primary sources of damage:
Some components (especially CPU, GPU, SSD flash) can be damaged due to constant overheating. (That's why computers have fans.) If you leave the computer fully powered on inside a small bag, there really isn't much airflow to cool it down.
Meanwhile, devices with moving parts – especially the hard disk (if it's a magnetic HDD) – may be damaged physically due to sudden shocks causing the heads to crash into the platter, which in normal operation is a few nm away.
(Some laptops have motion sensors which try to detect when the device is falling and about to smack into the ground, but that doesn't provide anywhere close to total safety. They're not going to help much if the device is being constantly thrown around in the trunk...)
answered 2 hours ago
grawity
217k32439506
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
up vote
5
down vote
However, out of convenience I'd like to not turn it off when travelling between places.
Suspending is not the same thing as turning it off!
In suspend mode, most of the hardware is unpowered (CPU not generating heat, HDD heads safely parked), but the RAM contents still remain as they were – the OS is "frozen in time".
This means that the suspended laptop is safe to carry, but you can instantly resume working (even old laptops resume in 2–5 secs) – there is no inconvenient waiting for the OS to boot up again.
That said:
A suspended laptop still needs minimal power. Depending on battery, it can remain suspended for several days or even weeks, but not forever. (But certainly longer than with your method of just keeping it on all the time!)
Windows has a setting for automatic hibernation. If you leave the laptop suspended for a long time, Windows will eventually decide to hibernate to disk instead (to avoid running out of battery). The default timer is very short (a few hours) – you'll likely want to increase it to a few days.
I think it was the hard disk, or the memory he mentioned.
Possibly both. There are two primary sources of damage:
Some components (especially CPU, GPU, SSD flash) can be damaged due to constant overheating. (That's why computers have fans.) If you leave the computer fully powered on inside a small bag, there really isn't much airflow to cool it down.
Meanwhile, devices with moving parts – especially the hard disk (if it's a magnetic HDD) – may be damaged physically due to sudden shocks causing the heads to crash into the platter, which in normal operation is a few nm away.
(Some laptops have motion sensors which try to detect when the device is falling and about to smack into the ground, but that doesn't provide anywhere close to total safety. They're not going to help much if the device is being constantly thrown around in the trunk...)
answered 2 hours ago
grawity
217k32439506
However, out of convenience I'd like to not turn it off when travelling between places.
Suspending is not the same thing as turning it off!
In suspend mode, most of the hardware is unpowered (CPU not generating heat, HDD heads safely parked), but the RAM contents still remain as they were – the OS is "frozen in time".
This means that the suspended laptop is safe to carry, but you can instantly resume working (even old laptops resume in 2–5 secs) – there is no inconvenient waiting for the OS to boot up again.
That said:
A suspended laptop still needs minimal power. Depending on battery, it can remain suspended for several days or even weeks, but not forever. (But certainly longer than with your method of just keeping it on all the time!)
Windows has a setting for automatic hibernation. If you leave the laptop suspended for a long time, Windows will eventually decide to hibernate to disk instead (to avoid running out of battery). The default timer is very short (a few hours) – you'll likely want to increase it to a few days.
I think it was the hard disk, or the memory he mentioned.
Possibly both. There are two primary sources of damage:
Some components (especially CPU, GPU, SSD flash) can be damaged due to constant overheating. (That's why computers have fans.) If you leave the computer fully powered on inside a small bag, there really isn't much airflow to cool it down.
Meanwhile, devices with moving parts – especially the hard disk (if it's a magnetic HDD) – may be damaged physically due to sudden shocks causing the heads to crash into the platter, which in normal operation is a few nm away.
(Some laptops have motion sensors which try to detect when the device is falling and about to smack into the ground, but that doesn't provide anywhere close to total safety. They're not going to help much if the device is being constantly thrown around in the trunk...)
answered 2 hours ago
grawity
217k32439506
edited 7 mins ago
answered 2 hours ago
grawity
217k32439506
answered 2 hours ago
grawity
217k32439506
answered 2 hours ago
grawity
217k32439506
217k32439506
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
Max Li is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Max Li is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Max Li is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Max Li is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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2
When the laptop is suspended, doesn't the power shut off completely? The fans & hard drive all stop? Why wouldn't the drive should be as safe as anytime it's powered off? If the drive stayed powered on, the battery wouldn't last more than a few hours.
– Xen2050
2 hours ago
Read your laptop's manual about maximum acceleration values or contact the manufacturer.
– Ipor Sircer
2 hours ago