by Andrew Freyne

Created on: January 05, 2009

The article title for this piece of writing probably sounds absurd! Surely, if you want to move a computer from one position to another position then you go ahead and do it! Well, unfortunately it's not advisable to do this if your computer is turned on! I will explain why, there are some golden rules that you must follow when deciding to reposition your pc. Before I explain this I will first mention something about the hard drive within your computer. The humble hard drive is a very sensitive piece of equipment! Inside, you have a set of platters or disks stacked very close together and they are constantly spinning at high speed and there is something called an actuator arm which has a read/write head at the end. The read/write head moves very close across the disks when in operation and doesn't actually make contact with them I might add, and this is where your potential problem lies! Ok, sorry if I was getting too technical there! I will now go on to explain how you can move your computer safely without causing undue damage!

What happens if you move your computer whilst it is operational? There is the potential risk of damage to your internal hard drive, sometimes known as a hard drive crash! Returning to the technical aspect of your hard drive you remember that I mentioned the actuator arm and the read/write heads? Well, if you move your computer whilst these read/write heads are manoeuvring across the disks then it's likely that the read/write heads will touch the surface and thereby cause a hard drive crash! It's likely your hard drive will become unusable and there's also the potential for data loss. This sounds like an absolute disaster I know, treat this as a golden rule! Never ever move your computer whilst it is switched on. There is another potential problem that I will tell you about! If you have your computer or system unit securely positioned underneath your desk then this also poses a risk, the same risk as described above! There may have been times in the past when you accidentally bumped your computer with your knees! If your computer was on and you did this then this also poses a risk to your internal hard drive. It would be a good thing not to position your computer underneath your desk, anywhere but under the desk!

You think the world of your computer and you want to treat it right, my computer is like family to me! Anyway, let's get to the heart of the matter. You have been working on your pc and you have decided that you want to move it to another position in your home! Whatever you do, don't move it until you have shut down your computer completely! Don't leave your computer on standby or anything like that, shut it right down and disconnect the power. Then you can safely move your computer and set it up how you like it. What a story! It seems like a lot but the steps as listed above are very important, do this and you can have a wonderful relationship with your computer for many years to come! Good luck.

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