Forced shutdown, Windows

The machines we love to hate

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Charlie McDonald
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Forced shutdown, Windows

Post by Charlie McDonald »

My computer mechanic, Bubba, tells me that instead of holding the on-button down til it shuts off
to unplug the power and remove the battery, to avoid marking up the hard drive. It seems to work fine.

Is there anything unsound about his advice?
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Erv Niehaus
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Post by Erv Niehaus »

Remove the battery?
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Howard Parker
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Post by Howard Parker »

"marking up the hard drive"?
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Charlie McDonald
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Post by Charlie McDonald »

Yeah, he said forcing shutdown leaves a glitch on the drive.
Yep, removing the battery, then of course, putting it back in.

So far, not getting a lot of 'impressed's about Bubba's method.

I guess in short, if one needs to mechanically shut the unit down, is holding the button down any big deal?
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Howard Parker
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Post by Howard Parker »

Best thing to do is to find out what app is hanging up and fix the problem.

The Bubba fix is no fix at all.

h
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Erv Niehaus
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Post by Erv Niehaus »

I think Bubba's alternate method to shutting it down is to use an ax! :whoa:
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Wiz Feinberg
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Post by Wiz Feinberg »

The normal shutdown process does a bunch of important tasks that closes open processes, flushes out data from your RAM and updates time stamps of system files and previously opened files (last modified date). It also ensures that the file index stays intact.

A forced shutdown scatters parts of open files and programs, fails to update time stamps, messes up the file allocation table and slows down your computer as the effects multiply over time (it takes longer to recompile scattered parts of files). Correcting scattered files requires the use of the chkdsk utility, or built-in Windows troubleshooting tools.

Removing the battery from the motherboard resets the BIOS, eliminating any custom boot options that may have been instituted. It also clears any password that may have been placed on the BIOS, protecting it against MBR/BIOS altering malware. It may also change which hardware is detected and activated during the boot process.

The bottom line is to find out what is causing bad shutdowns or hangs and fix them.

As for Bubba, didn't he shoot the jukebox?
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Charlie McDonald
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Post by Charlie McDonald »

Is there any harm in leaving the laptop awake? Seems to idle coolly. Seems to cure the issue.
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Wiz Feinberg
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Post by Wiz Feinberg »

Charlie McDonald wrote:Is there any harm in leaving the laptop awake? Seems to idle coolly. Seems to cure the issue.
Just keep the bottom lifted or sitting on a cooling surface with ventilation holes in it and set the display properties to shut off the display after x number of idle minutes, to save it from burn in.
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Charlie McDonald
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Post by Charlie McDonald »

The bottom happens be lifted off the drawer surface, and the display setting is set.
Thank you~
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Wiz Feinberg
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Post by Wiz Feinberg »

You just have to make sure that the fan on the bottom or side isn't blocked.
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Charlie McDonald
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Post by Charlie McDonald »

The side fan keeps my coffee warm. Not really. Neither does the Tardis fridge/warmer. We should expect more of our appliances.
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Dale Gray
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Post by Dale Gray »

I have heard of unplugging power cord, removing the battery, then holding down power button for 10 secs will remove static electricity.
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