When electricity goes off suddenly does it damage my windows XP installation?

[dev]

Over Xmas when we've been doing alot of high temperature cooking for some
reason it has been tripping the
electricity alot, and the power has gone off many times suddenly, Does this
damage my new computer or my new XP system at all?

 

[Jim Macklin]

It can if the hard drive is stopped with the read/write head
over an area of the platter not safe to stop the head.

The reason that cooking causes the electricity to fail is
that using electrons to heat uses a lot of electrons and
your house power system is under-sized.

Your best bet is to get a UPS to keep the power flowing
properly to your computer and shut it down automatically in
case of a power failure.

A qualified electrician or engineer can survey and advise
what changes in your power service should be made to allow
use of the appliances and equipment in your home. Modern
homes now have many more devices, used more often and in
combination than in years past. Kitchens are electric, even
if gas is used for heat, there are microwave ovens, can
openers, lots of lights, there is often a TV and game
console in all the rooms and outdoor Christmas lights also
draw power.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


| Over Xmas when we've been doing alot of high temperature
cooking for some
| reason it has been tripping the
| electricity alot, and the power has gone off many times
suddenly, Does this
| damage my new computer or my new XP system at all?
|
|

 

[Steve N.]

Over Xmas when we've been doing alot of high temperature cooking for some
reason it has been tripping the
electricity alot, and the power has gone off many times suddenly, Does this
damage my new computer or my new XP system at all?

Power failures can cause file system errors. Logged in with admin rights
do a Start, Run, type in

chkdsk /f

press enter, answer Y, then restart the system. A disk check will run
and then another reboot. If you want to see the results of chkdsk then
right click My Computer, Manage, event Viewer, Application, and look at
the Winlogon results.

To help prevent power failures to the PC under these conditions connect
the PC AC supply to a different circuit than what's powering the
kitchen. You could also invest in a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply)
for less than $100 if it's a recurring problem.

Steve

 

[Steve N.]

It can if the hard drive is stopped with the read/write head
over an area of the platter not safe to stop the head.

Not likely. There hasn't been a hard drive manufactured in many, many
years that doesn't auto-park the r/w heads as the drive spins down after
losing power.

Steve

 

[Guest]

Because of the sudden loss of power. Can the surge do a bit-flip. Kinda like
OS can't be found.

 

[Bob I]

Let's just say it's not a good thing to do to a PC. If this is going to
be an ongoing concern, I would suggest an UPS.( uninteruptable power supply)

 

[Al Smith]

Over Xmas when we've been doing alot of high temperature cooking for some

reason it has been tripping the
electricity alot, and the power has gone off many times suddenly, Does this
damage my new computer or my new XP system at all?

I've had the power fail on me dozens of time on six different
computers over the years, and never once has it caused even the
smallest problem.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Over Xmas when we've been doing alot of high temperature
cooking for
some reason it has been tripping the
electricity alot, and the power has gone off many times
suddenly,
Does this damage my new computer or my new XP system at all?

I wouldn't be particularly concerned about physical damage, but
it's always possible that a non-orderly shudown like that can
damage data, applications, or the operating system,

Buy a UPS. They are very inexpensive these days, and almost
eliminate the risk completely.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I've had the power fail on me dozens of time on six different
computers over the years, and never once has it caused even the
smallest problem.

I've ridden in cars without a seatbelt thousands of times over
the years, and never once has it caused even the smallest
problem.

Nevertheless, it's far safer to ride with a seatbelt, just as
it's far safer to use a UPS. Riding without a seatbelt doesn't
guarantee an accident that kills you, it just increases the risk.
Similarly using a computer without a UPS (especially in a
situation when you know the power is likely to fail) doesn't
guarantee a problem, it just increases the risk.

 

[Dev]

It can if the hard drive is stopped with the read/write head
over an area of the platter not safe to stop the head.

The reason that cooking causes the electricity to fail is
that using electrons to heat uses a lot of electrons and
your house power system is under-sized.

Your best bet is to get a UPS to keep the power flowing
properly to your computer and shut it down automatically in
case of a power failure.

A qualified electrician or engineer can survey and advise
what changes in your power service should be made to allow
use of the appliances and equipment in your home. Modern
homes now have many more devices, used more often and in
combination than in years past. Kitchens are electric, even
if gas is used for heat, there are microwave ovens, can
openers, lots of lights, there is often a TV and game
console in all the rooms and outdoor Christmas lights also
draw power.

Hi Jim

Thats depressing news!! So that means that anybody who sufferes a power
outage can severely damage their computer as well. I didn't realise this.

Regards the power tripping, it trips only when the main oven is turned on
and we have the power turned up to a high level.

Are you saying that this is because we need a bigger powersupply or
something? Perhaps it is that we have a sensitive trip? It is fine after we
turn the trip back on but just so inconvenient when using the computer.

Especially now I'm the proud owner of a dell computer

 

[Dev]

Not likely. There hasn't been a hard drive manufactured in many, many
years that doesn't auto-park the r/w heads as the drive spins down after
losing power.

Steve

Oh gr8, now I am not so worried about damaging my PC. Thanks!!

 

[Dev]

Power failures can cause file system errors. Logged in with admin rights
do a Start, Run, type in

chkdsk /f

press enter, answer Y, then restart the system. A disk check will run and
then another reboot. If you want to see the results of chkdsk then right
click My Computer, Manage, event Viewer, Application, and look at the
Winlogon results.

To help prevent power failures to the PC under these conditions connect
the PC AC supply to a different circuit than what's powering the kitchen.
You could also invest in a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) for less
than $100 if it's a recurring problem.

Steve

Hi Steve

You seem a technical whiz, well if it is possible just to say that its
nothing permanent thats damaged then it is
no problem, if the worst comes to the worst I can always do a XP reinstall.

Thanks again. and Happy New Year

 

[Dev]

Let's just say it's not a good thing to do to a PC. If this is going to be
an ongoing concern, I would suggest an UPS.( uninteruptable power supply)

It only tends to happen once or twice a week, and it happened alot over Xmas
due to the unusually large amount of cooking.

I used to have to turn the power on and off alot on my old Pentium 2 with
Windows 98SE when the blue screen of death constantly became a feature of my
working day. It didn't destroy that computer. And I was turning it on and
off by the power at least once or twice a day.

 

[Dev]

I've had the power fail on me dozens of time on six different computers
over the years, and never once has it caused even the smallest problem.

Interesting point, I have just got my first new computer a Dell 4700 and
previous to this I had a pentium 2 running Windows 98 SE and to be honest I
had to turn it on and off manually quite often as the system constantly
seized up as I am a power user and tend to use quite a few large/chunky
programs. It is still running ok

 

[Dev]

In


I wouldn't be particularly concerned about physical damage, but it's
always possible that a non-orderly shudown like that can damage data,
applications, or the operating system,

Buy a UPS. They are very inexpensive these days, and almost eliminate the
risk completely.

Hi Ken

Actually I have never looked into the idea of a UPS but as I'm a power user
I should look into it. I have got a surge protecter at least

 

[NobodyMan]

Please reply to the existing thread instead of starting one of your
own. That keeps the conversation in one place instead of fragmenting
it into half a dozen different discussions.

 

[Santa]

Hi Jim

Thats depressing news!! So that means that anybody who sufferes a power
outage can severely damage their computer as well. I didn't realise this.

Thats How you Get Bad Sectors on your HARD DRIVE !!!

 

[Al Smith]

I've had the power fail on me dozens of time on six different

I've ridden in cars without a seatbelt thousands of times over
the years, and never once has it caused even the smallest
problem.

Aww, come on, Ken. Take a risk. Ride without a seatbelt, and next
time, put the top down.

Seriously, though, the only risk I can see is the risk of data
loss if you are working on a project when the power fails, and you
haven't saved to the harddrive recently. I've never had even a
problem with rebooting or reloading a program after a power
failure, not even if the power stutters on and off a few times, as
sometimes happens.

 

[David Candy]

It depends on what is tripping. Modern houses have two types of circuit breakers. Thermal/Magnetic to protect against too much power being used and Earth Leakage to protect against electric shock.

If it is the thermal (to protect against too many things plugged in) / magnetic (protect against a faulty appliances causing fires and some causes of electrocution with earthed appliances) breaker tripping then you have too much plugged in. If it's the ELCB (aka core balanced or safety switch - protects against electrocution and fire) then you have a faulty appliance that is leaking electricity.

Moisture generating appliances tend to trip safety switches, like freezers and jugs.

 

[David Candy]

You will one day.