Windows 10: How to explain why it isn't a good idea to shut down a computer using

I don't think it's a good idea to shut down a computer using the on/off button unless it's a situation of last resort.
However I've seen so many of the people I help do that.
I'd like to find a simple explanation about that w/o getting too technical about it.

For a standard HDD, I try to explain that there is a spinning platter in the HDD and there are "needles" in there that are called read and write heads.
The normal procedure to select shut down allows time for programs to close out properly and for the spinning platter and the read/write heads to come to rest and park themselves safely.
However, using the on/off button everything stops the spinning platter and read/write heads too quickly which can lead to a shorter life span of the HDD and the effect of improperly closing out programs is unpredictable.
If that simple explanation is ok that's fine with me but I'd appreciate some comment or article that's better for me to use.

On SSD's, I don't have an explanation so I need help on coming up with something decent.

:)

 

Is it a good idea to upgrade to Windows 10 on a Dell Inspiron 8600?

I thought so. So should I upgrade my CPU to an SL7V3 (2.1 GHz, 2M Cache), or should I upgrade the entire laptop to a Latitude D510 and start building from there?

 

Is it a good idea to upgrade to Windows 10 on a Dell Inspiron 8600?

That's a very old laptop in computer years; the 8600 was introduced in 2003, six years before Windows 7 became available. Given the small amount of RAM, the very small hard drive and a CPU that might be barely adequate, I would leave well enough alone.
Trying to upgrade it to 10 isn't likely to have a happy ending.

 

Many programs are writing to the disk in the background, even if you are no longer using the program. You need to let all programs stop writing and properly shut down before the computer should shut down. Shutting down with the power button may corrupt the data if it is in the process of writing to the disk.

 

That's a good one.

 

Most modern computers are controlled thru ACPI power management. Pressing the power button is not a sudden disconnect of electricity (power) to the system, it is, by default, the same as issuing a shutdown command or clicking the shutdown button. The options for what the power button will do are:





Pulling the plug, or switching off the powerstrip, or a sudden loss of utility power (without battery/UPS) could likely cause damage. The Power Button is designed to gracefully shutdown the system just as if you had clicked "shutdown".

Advanced Configuration and Power Interface - Wikipedia

 

On most modern systems a short press on the power button will start a controlled shutdown. Press and hold it until the power dies is an uncontrolled emergency shutdown. The first is safe, the second can possibly cause corruption.

If the people you help aren't computer-savvy, just ask them if they'd routinely use an emergency stop to park their car?

 

Good point. I'm sure there are some who hold the button in....just to be sure it's off. Gulp!

 

The only time I perform a hard shutdown is when 17063 won't install and is stuck in a no-boot scenario!!! *Wink

 

Quite often then......*Smile

Point is, the Power Button is ok to use, it is designed for that...just don't get carried away.

 

*ROFLMAO2

 

Since system shutdown usually takes place quite quickly you might assume that not much is happening. You would be wrong. System shutdown is actually a very complex process, removal of power being only the final step.

When a normal shutdown is initiated all running applications and services are notified and given an opportunity to set their affairs in order. The details are application specific but might include updating files and the registry. Then the system does it's own shutdown, including ensuring all pending writes are completed. All of this is the same for SSDs and conventional drives.

With a forced shutdown none of this will occur. Usually there will be no serious consequences. But there are exceptions and you have no way of knowing when they will happen.

Either take the time for a normal shutdown, or do quick power off and accept the possibly serious consequences.

 

You have had some good explanations of why it is important to shutdown gracefully. I'd just like to comment that the heads in an HDD are not "needles" and shutting the power down quickly does not cause physical damage of the HDD or SSD in any way. The HDDs actually use the inertia of the disks spinning down to generate power to retract the heads so no physical damage occurs. As has already been said, a sudden interruption of a write to the disk could lead to corruption of data.

If it is necessary to power the machine off abruptly, if possible, try to do it only when there is no disk activity since disk activity may mean that data is in the process of being written to the disk. Interrupted writes lead to corrupted data which is true for both HDDs and SSDs.

 

Good point.

The reason I use the word "needles" is because I want the people to get a "picture" of how they might be contributing to possible damage when they keep using the on/off button so often: when I have used read/write heads w/o using the word "needles" their reaction is "so what". I had a picture once of the internal construction of a HDD and used to say if you want to pay for a new HDD sooner than later, let those internal components potentially crash. It just frustrates me when I see my family and friends do hard shutdowns as a habit especially when doing so 3 or 4 times a day. Most of my frustrations is from the power button being held in for who knows how long and than complaints that it takes to computer so long to shut down. I just had a relative who bought a new Dell Windows 10 desktop and had Staples set it up so all he had to do was boot it up and use it immediately. When I stopped at his house he shut down the computer using the on/off button and didn't care about realizing there's a proper way to shut the computer down. Oh well.