[zergpc208]

How long can a computer be turn off before it will never work? The motherboard must need power?

The power goes out do to say a power lines down and all computers turn off do to no power.How long with the computer battery run to supply power to the chipsets and BIOS/CMOS? After that the computer is paper weight?

How long will the data stay in magnetic drives, optical drives and solid state drives with no power ? A 5 years or 10 years?


In the future do you think optical computers will fix those problems.?

They say CD,DVD and floppy only keeps the data for so long? What about using other storage options?

[Elvandil]

The battery helps the clock keep time. Everything else can last a very long time. I'd say much, much longer than 5-10 years under good conditions.

[Gulo Luseus]

As a follow on, the motherboard battery can die but the mobo will still be good, as the battery only keeps settings, without tit they will reset but can still be used. As for opticals, CDs from a few years ago tended to degrade in sunlight- I lost quite a few to this. Newer ones are hopefully more stable.
With regard to hard drives, we dug one out the other day that was last used around about 1991, and it worked fine! Thats 17 years, so I cant see too much of a problen with magnetic storage provided its looked after

[zergpc208]

With regard to hard drives, we dug one out the other day that was last used around about 1991, and it worked fine! Thats 17 years, so I cant see too much of a problen with magnetic storage provided its looked after

Wow . But what about solid state drives or DVD?

[zergpc208]

Or has there really bean scientific studies ?May be some one more into computer science could clear this up.

[AcaCandy]

This seems to be an "in theory" kind of a question.

Thanks for the pm, but, I don't have anything else to add.

I've had one turned off for YEARS and it started right up. I've had others turned off for 6 months, and it wouldn't start up. I'm sure humidity, the method of storing, etc. play into the factor.

[zergpc208]

Okay thanks , I just did not know what the computer battery was fore.I thought the battery was fore power to the BIOS and chipsets

I guess if the battery goes the computer will not turn on, but you can put a new battery in and it will work.

[jamesx121]

Originally Posted by AcaCandy

This seems to be an "in theory" kind of a question.

Thanks for the pm, but, I don't have anything else to add.

I've had one turned off for YEARS and it started right up. I've had others turned off for 6 months, and it wouldn't start up. I'm sure humidity, the method of storing, etc. play into the factor.

that's if you saved the whole computer tower as a whole.
put in storage.

I would think if you removed the harddrive from an old PII or PIII system running
windows 95 you would have trouble accessing the data with a modern computer.

I guess if you had the parts laying around you could build a old system and install
windows 98 on it.

would windows 2000 play nice with all of windows95 program files
or just some of them????
were you could at least read them???

would a modern motherboard and CPU be able to even read the old 5400rpm hardrive??
or does the harddrive speed matter???

it might not matter with IDE ribbons but I looked on this NewEgg page and 5400rpm isn't even listed.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...me=18GB+-+80GB

[zergpc208]

The OS may not support the CPU or motherboard .

And the OS may not support the old hard-drive or file system.Just like 32-bit hardware does not run on 64 bit hardware.

It is like putting in a HD movie in a non HD computer.Or looking at a HD movie with the CRT or LCD that is not HD.

[AcaCandy]

Originally Posted by zergpc208

Okay thanks , I just did not know what the computer battery was fore.I thought the battery was fore power to the BIOS and chipsets

I guess if the battery goes the computer will not turn on, but you can put a new battery in and it will work.

"USUALLY" the motherboard battery has nothing to do with the system starting.

It "REMEMBERS" stuff, like the time, date, the fact that there is a hard drive installed, etc.

[zergpc208]

Originally Posted by AcaCandy

"USUALLY" the motherboard battery has nothing to do with the system starting.

It "REMEMBERS" stuff, like the time, date, the fact that there is a hard drive installed, etc.

So are the capacitors on the motherboard that gives power to the BIOS and chipsets?

Well the battery just for setting? If you take computer and put it under your desk not hooked up to the wall the capacitors will drain over time.

[AcaCandy]

Not necessarily. The capacitors can expand and render the mobo unbootable. They can be replaced. Have seen it done in Mexico all the time, as they aren't a throw away society like the U.S. is.

Or a mobo can last forever. I've had old ones for years, and hooked them back up....and they work. There are no set rules or reasons.