[fanfan]

Thanks for the ping.

I used to do SETI, but was told I would wear down my hard drive, or in some way shorten the ultimate life time of my computer.

Can you explain why that wouldn't happen?

[Wheee The People]

I used to do SETI, but was told I would wear down my hard drive, or in some way shorten the ultimate life time of my computer.

I can't think of anything, and there are some ultra geeks who "fold" and would highlight the dangers if they were there. If you aren't overclocking your computer and it's clean, there is no reason that your cpu should overheat. And it uses the harddrive so little it's not worth any concern. In a strange sense if you run F@H on your computer 24/7 it will be healthier than turning it on and off.

[ken in texas]

I used to do SETI, but was told I would wear down my hard drive, or in some way shorten the ultimate life time of my computer.

And did this person tell you what facts were used to develop that opinion??

I suppose we could take the extremist view and say that even checking email and surfing Free Republic shortens the life of your computer. :-) However, as long as your hardware is in good condition and has adequate cooling / ventilation, all should be fine. Folding uses the processor as much as it can, you can always throttle it back a bit if you want it to use less. Checkpoints are written to the hard drive every 20-30 minutes or so.

[Alexander Rubin]

Were you using a Pentium? I can't remember which model, but one specific make of (I think it was) Pentium II, but maybe III had a finite life span, measured (roughly) in usage, due to a design flaw. Of course, that was quickly fixed in the newer models once discovered. The circuits had been too close together, and generated heat which damaged the comp with high usage.

Desktop computers normally don't have a finite lifetime, beyond becoming obsolete in terms of system prereqs. I have a Mac plus from the mid or late 1980s in my house that I still use for kicks and giggles sometimes. Laptops too, assuming you take proper care of the battery (running it down and reloading it when you should; my comp sci friends tell me once a month is more than adequate).

This shouldn't affect the (non-existent) lifespan of your comp in any way, as far as I know. But ask a hardcore tech-geek here, and you can get a better answer, if that doesn't satisfy you. ;)