monitor turns off but computer still running

Issues can range anywhere from data corruption to total malfunction. Solid-state drives can also suffer catastrophic damage from sudden power cuts. This sudden movement can cause tiny imperfections that accumulate over time, increasing the likelihood of a “head crash” (a malfunction that occurs when the head touches and scrapes the platter surfaces, effectively destroying the hard drive). The read-and-write head, which hovers over the spinning platters during operation, snaps back into its original position upon power loss. Suppose the file being written was a system file necessary for the booting process? Now that file is corrupted and you cannot boot up your computer without going through an involved recovery procedure.įurthermore, frequent power outages can reduce a hard drive’s physical lifespan. Consider what happens when a hard drive is writing data to the disk but suddenly shuts down in the middle of it. A sudden loss of electricity can interrupt important threads and leave your computer in an inoperable state. The real danger of blackouts, brownouts, and using the computer’s power switch is the 'unexpected computer shutdown.' Operating systems are complex and they must go through a “shutdown sequence” to make sure all running processes have correctly terminated before powering off. Remember that there are many processes running in the background all the time, and using the power switch does not allow the graceful shutdown of your computer. While the system is on, files are in use even if you are not doing anything. Simply turning the power off with the power switch can cause serious file system damage. Do not turn off your computer with that physical power button. That is only a power-on button. It is very important that you shut down your system properly.

Monitor turns off but computer still running