How soon should you switch on the laptop/pc after shutting down?

Hi all

I read somewhere you have to give it at least 20-30 seconds before powering up your laptop/pc again.

I guess it kinda makes sense since all the power needs to be drained from the components before another 'dose' is received.

So is it wise to leave it for a certain duration before starting again?

Thanks in advance.

Comments

  • and101and101 Posts: 2,688
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    You should be able to switch on the laptop straight away without causing any problems. Most of the internals will be switching on and off several million times a second anyway.
  • barky99barky99 Posts: 3,921
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    restart does it rather swiftly if you install some programs or program updates/upgrades ... nothing to worry about
  • TassiumTassium Posts: 31,639
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    Maybe in the olden days of tube TVs such a pause was necessary.

    I don't think it has ever been true of the modern PC, desktop or laptop.
  • chrisjrchrisjr Posts: 33,282
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    The only reason I can think of why a pause would be more or less compulsory is if the laptop was getting too warm. In which case it would be sensible to let it cool down before trying to power it back up.

    Mind you having said that better to find out why it's getting warm and correct the problem than keep turning it off and on all the time.
  • d'@ved'@ve Posts: 45,452
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    I usually allow 10 seconds after powering down my desktop before turning it on again (if I mistakenly shut down), just to let the hard drives spin down and the heads park - and as I've never had a hard drive fail in 15 years of using them daily, I see no reason to change my approach.
  • Helmut10Helmut10 Posts: 2,431
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    When installing some Software, or Windows updates a closedown is immediately followed by a Startup that certainly does no harm. Though in that case the PSU stays on.

    A full shut down including power a wait of a few seconds makes sense though it does not need to be as long as you're suggesting.

    You may need a longer power switch off if you are testing something like Hardware, CPU temperature, or you want to be absolutely sure of a 'cold' switch on with every thing cleared.
  • max99max99 Posts: 9,002
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    I always wait for the hard drive to spin down.
  • Magic CottageMagic Cottage Posts: 2,698
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    max99 wrote: »
    I always wait for the hard drive to spin down.

    Am I missing something here? I've had desktops for years now. Doesn't shut down mean just that. Certainly by the time my PC shuts down the hard drives are long spun down.
  • GormondGormond Posts: 15,838
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    d'@ve wrote: »
    I usually allow 10 seconds after powering down my desktop before turning it on again (if I mistakenly shut down), just to let the hard drives spin down and the heads park - and as I've never had a hard drive fail in 15 years of using them daily, I see no reason to change my approach.

    So they park their heads after power has been stopped?
  • d'@ved'@ve Posts: 45,452
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    Gormond wrote: »
    So they park their heads after power has been stopped?

    As soon as it's stopped so shouldn't be a problem but I stick to my old habits, it just doesn't seem like a good idea to restart a hard drive motor while the spindle is still spinning (though it may well be perfectly safe).
  • max99max99 Posts: 9,002
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    Am I missing something here? I've had desktops for years now. Doesn't shut down mean just that. Certainly by the time my PC shuts down the hard drives are long spun down.

    It does depend on the specific drive. When a machine has shut down (fans and lights are off), you can sometimes still hear the drive spinning down for a few seconds longer. I prefer to wait for those few seconds before hitting the power button again. It's a legacy attitude - even if it's irrelevant, I still prefer to wait.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 59
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    Am I missing something here? I've had desktops for years now. Doesn't shut down mean just that. Certainly by the time my PC shuts down the hard drives are long spun down.

    No their running when ever a motherboard is powered on, only when the motherboard switches off does the PSU stop supplying power to a hard drive, so technically speaking they will be slowing down when and stop say up to about 10 seconds after the motherboard has shut off power, though some motherboards still supply power to the motherboard, like mine does which I believe keeps memory in RAM, since I therefore switch the back off as well (be interesting to see if this is true, but have no way of testing if this is true).

    I have been running my existing (good quality) hard drives for about 6-8 years (can't remember the exact years) and that's done me no problems, never had to replace one of them as a result of knowing this. I used to be wreckless with an old hard drive and that broke, through doing just immediate turn ons when i'd just shut them down, this is proof of that, somewhat anyways.
    max99 wrote: »
    It does depend on the specific drive. When a machine has shut down (fans and lights are off), you can sometimes still hear the drive spinning down for a few seconds longer. I prefer to wait for those few seconds before hitting the power button again. It's a legacy attitude - even if it's irrelevant, I still prefer to wait.

    That's technically incorrect does not matter what type of hard drive at all, or how old or new it is, the truth is a power supply powers a hard drive when they turn on, so the BIOS can find the MBR on the hard drive, until the motherboard switches off does the power supply cut power to the hard drives, it's basic logic of computer architecture, even in laptops this occurs!

    A good rule of thumb is up to 10 seconds afterwards, that is all you have to appreciate! But saying depends on the particular drive is complete rubbish, otherwise it's like saying you'd have to get a motherboard to send out different instructions to each hard drive to get that to appreciate that type of hard drive, see illogical.
  • max99max99 Posts: 9,002
    Forum Member
    No their running when ever a motherboard is powered on, only when the motherboard switches off does the PSU stop supplying power to a hard drive, so technically speaking they will be slowing down when and stop say up to about 10 seconds after the motherboard has shut off power, though some motherboards still supply power to the motherboard, like mine does which I believe keeps memory in RAM, since I therefore switch the back off as well (be interesting to see if this is true, but have no way of testing if this is true).

    That's technically incorrect does not matter what type of hard drive at all, or how old or new it is, the truth is a power supply powers a hard drive when they turn on, so the BIOS can find the MBR on the hard drive, until the motherboard switches off does the power supply cut power to the hard drives, it's basic logic of computer architecture, even in laptops this occurs!

    A good rule of thumb is up to 10 seconds afterwards, that is all you have to appreciate! But saying depends on the particular drive is complete rubbish, otherwise it's like saying you'd have to get a motherboard to send out different instructions to each hard drive to get that to appreciate that type of hard drive, see illogical.

    What are you on about? You appear to be agreeing with me, whilst at the same time saying that I'm speaking incorrect, illogical rubbish.

    To clear up your confusion, not all hard drives spin down in the exact same amount of time. It depends on the model. Hence why you have a 10 second rule of thumb.
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