True of False?? Downloading

[SDP2006]

True or False.

Downloading programs for your computer is good/bad for your computer. I've wondered about this. I like to download programs such as winamp, etc. programs like that but Is it healthy for my computer??

Thanks

[liorean]

Well, each program you install will make additional cruft in your registry, in other system files, in system settings, and take up space on your harddrive. Sometimes, the funcitonality is worth it. Sometimes not. After half a year, I find that my win2k is getting hogged by loads of useless stuff. And, some functionality that usually exists just refuses to work even if you reset everything in the registry, delete the program, etc.

So, generally, it's not good for your computer. However, don't you want to run those programs?

[SDP2006]

any other opinions?

[oracleguy]

What your asking doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I mean installing programs is what your supposed to do to your computer so you can get use out of it.

[Caffeine]

Using a disk is also bad for the discs, IDE-discs get worn out much faster than SCSI-discs(found on servers mostly) or so I've heard. But I guess that depends on the workload, a regular user should not feel afraid to use the discs, but people having private servers running 24/7 on a regular computer should. I've had a few friends whos servers broke down due to harddrive failures.

[Roy Sinclair]

Originally posted by Caffeine
Using a disk is also bad for the discs, IDE-discs get worn out much faster than SCSI-discs(found on servers mostly) or so I've heard. But I guess that depends on the workload, a regular user should not feel afraid to use the discs, but people having private servers running 24/7 on a regular computer should. I've had a few friends whos servers broke down due to harddrive failures.

IDE disks are much cheaper than SCSI disks but that's because the SCSI disks usually are made using the cutting edge technology while the IDE disks use the older, more mainstream stuff. The difference between cutting edge and older though is less than a years time and the interface itself (IDE vs SCSI) is in the electronics used to talk to the compter and not in the hardware or electronics used the access the data so I wouldn't say that IDE disks are less reliable.

[SDP2006]

Originally posted by oracleguy
What your asking doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I mean installing programs is what your supposed to do to your computer so you can get use out of it.

I had been told before that downloading a lot of programs is not good for your computer. This is what I am speaking of....

[Roy Sinclair]

Downloading programs covers a lot of territory, if you're just talking about downloading and installing/running programs from reputable vendors and sites then you're no more at risk than installing software that you purchased at a store. If you're thinking about downloading and installing/running programs you find in warez locations then you are definitely running a risk of getting a virus or trojan.

[Caffeine]

I don't know about the different techniques in depth, but I do know that SCSI is faster than IDE and also requires way less CPU to read and write files, therefore SCSI do not face the same heat as IDE-discs usually do. As some might know, heat is a big factor when it comes to the lifespan of most computer hardware.

Generally speaking, only install what you need, you don't need the rest :)

[liorean]

Hmm, harddrives are special since they contain both magnetic and moving parts. Magnetic parts are best preserved in cold, while the moving parts are hurt by cold far more than by heat. As for the technology, IDE is really a subset of SCSI made is such way that it is not ambiguos. It also sports it's own set of non-SCSI operations.

The hardware is roughly the same except that state-of-the-art technology is far more likely to be put into a SCSI hardware piece than an IDE piece, while the IDE standard and hardware itself is far more reliable than the SCSI standard and hardware. SCSI is a slowly fading away technology (slowly because it is still VERY present in the network side hardware but far from common in the user side), even though it provides far superior mechanisms of I/O transfer than IDE.

[Spudhead]

I had been told before that downloading a lot of programs is not good for your computer.

Downloading files of any kind will cause more mechanical wear on your hard drive than, say, leaving it in the box. However, a hard drive in a box is, essentially, from a technical viewpoint, a box; your computer will function significantly better, regardless of how many files you download, if your hard drive is not still in its box.

Installing software on your computer will affect its performance; over time, your computer will become slower, more buggy and more prone to fatal errors. This is known as "Windows". It's an accepted... feature... of modern computing, and the best - and only true - fix is to periodically reformat the hard drive and reinstall everything. This should not do any lasting damage to your computer.

So to summarise in a more succinct fashion: yes, but no.