Are retrocomputers best left on or off?
retrocomputing.stackexchange.com
Are retrocomputers best left on or off?
1–10 of 79 posts
Re: Are retrocomputers best left on or off?
#2Especially with older disk drives if you don't power them up for a long time (months) the bearings may seize, at which point you may have to use the hair dryer trick to try getting them to work again.
Re: Are retrocomputers best left on or off?
#3My two cents:
If we are talking about 1970s and '80s machines, they tend to run pretty hot, related to the PSU technology. Things like electrolytic capacitors "don't like this" and may contribute to cascading failures. PSU failures are apt to fry some chips, some of which may be hard to come by. So, better keep them cool = off.
If you consider machines from the 2000s retro, continuous run, avoiding the stresses caused by system start, may help keeping them alive. (I've a MacPro running since 2008, with no failures, apart from failing 3rd party ECC DDR3 RAM. Some of this RAM has even failed twice, the RAM originally shipped by Apple is still fine, though. This machine has only been ever off, when I've been on vacation.) – Machines from the 1990s and early 2000s are pretty much the same, but typically suffer from poor capacitors and/or batteries. So…?
Re: Are retrocomputers best left on or off?
#4Honestly emulators work better than the real thing 99% of the time, so I don't feel the need to play with flaky and dusty 30yr old hardware
Re: Are retrocomputers best left on or off?
#5[deleted]
Re: Are retrocomputers best left on or off?
#6Honestly emulators work better than the real thing 99% of the time, so I don't feel the need to play with flaky and dusty 30yr old hardware
Yeah, but they don't emulate the smells, the sound of fans spinning up and the gentle breeze they generate, the beeps and boops, the tick tick tick hard drives make, the long travel of keys on that old keyboard with a slightly sticky shift (gotta be from that coffee I spilled in '97).
Re: Are retrocomputers best left on or off?
#7if you never turn the computer on, why does it matter if it's hypothetically still functional? boot it occasionally, the only thing that keeps a machine alive is someone caring for it
Re: Are retrocomputers best left on or off?
#8My two cents: If we are talking about 1970s and '80s machines, they tend to run pretty hot, related to the PSU technology. Things like electrolytic capacitors "don't like this" and may contribute to cascading failures. PSU failures are apt to fry some chips, some of which may be hard to come by. So, better keep them cool = off. If you consider machines from the 2000s retro, continuous run, avoiding the stresses cause…
It’s almost as if the question is vague on purpose to stir up responses!
Re: Are retrocomputers best left on or off?
#9if you never turn the computer on, why does it matter if it's hypothetically still functional? boot it occasionally, the only thing that keeps a machine alive is someone caring for it
"I intend to use it for about 1 hour per day."
Re: Are retrocomputers best left on or off?
#10Honestly emulators work better than the real thing 99% of the time, so I don't feel the need to play with flaky and dusty 30yr old hardware
Yeah, but they don't emulate the smells, the sound of fans spinning up and the gentle breeze they generate, the beeps and boops, the tick tick tick hard drives make, the long travel of keys on that old keyboard with a slightly sticky shift (gotta be from that coffee I spilled in '97).
Game speed too.