Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.ircc.ohio-state.edu!news
From: smsmith@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Stephen M. Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Disk Parking
Message-ID: <1991Jan28.180400.27887@magnus.ircc.ohio-state.edu>
Date: 28 Jan 91 18:04:00 GMT
References: <26544@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU>
Sender: news@magnus.ircc.ohio-state.edu
Distribution: usa
Organization: The Ohio State University
Lines: 43
Nntp-Posting-Host: hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu

In article <26544@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> jdb@reef.cis.ufl.edu (Brian K. W. Hook) writes:
>I just purchased a 386-33 with a 133MB hard drive and was debating whether I
>should leave it on all the time./  From what I gather, the shock to the 
>computer when it is turned on is relatively harsh compared to being on
>all the time.  Also, I don't want the hard drive spinning all of the time
>when it isn't in use....is their a way to have the hard drive shut down
>when no activity has been present for a while?

I *think* there is a software application which can do this--but 
no harm is done to the hard drive when it's left spinning.  In fact, there
is more wear and tear on the drive to power it down then power it
back up again.

>Also, if I park the heads on the drives, to the platters quit moving or have
>the heads just been realigned to a safer place on the disk?  

The platters keep moving and the heads are positioned in a safe place.

>If they quit moving that could solve a lot of my problems.  I could 
>just park the heads and turn off the monitor when I wasn't going to 
>be using the computer for a while.

In my opinion it would be better to keep the monitor on and either
have a screen blanking program in effect or just turn the brightness
all the way down.  This will keep the phosphor coating from getting
"burnt."

Your questions have generally to do with whether it is best to
keep the power on in a computer or to shut the power off during
times it is not in use.  For a full discussion of this as it
relates to specific components and to the system as a whole, look
in the Frequently Asked Questions posting in this newsgroup.  To
find it on a Unix system, enter /Frequent/r  (this will search
backward for articles with "Frequent" in their subject heading
and will work for those that have been already marked as read).
The Frequently Asked Questions posting will tell you where to go
to get the file which discusses this issue at length.

S. "Stevie" Smith \  +  /
<smsmith@hpuxa.   \+++++/    " #*&<-[89s]*(k#$@-_=//a2$]'+=.(2_&*%>,,@
 ircc.ohio-state. \  +  /      {7%*@,..":27g)-=,#*:.#,/6&1*.4-,l@#9:-)  "
 edu>             \  +  / 
 BTW, WYSInaWYG   \  +  /                              --witty.saying.ARC