Do computers ever wear out?

[ExcuseMyIgnorance]

I'm still rockin' a ThinkPad from 2007ish. It still runs fine. A friend told me that computer components don't really wear out. There's only some mild stress on them in startup. I'm wondering how long this computer can last me then. I hate spending money lol.

[Nutria]

I'm still rockin' a ThinkPad from 2007ish. It still runs fine. A friend told me that computer components don't really wear out. There's only some mild stress on them in startup. I'm wondering how long this computer can last me then. I hate spending money lol.

Everything that's mechanical eventually wears out or off. Electronics failure rates usually follows a bathtub curve.

What can fail, or cause the computer to not be as useful are:

• key switches
• ink fading on the keys
• batteries that won't hold a charge anymore
• cooling fan bushings will wear out, causing overheating
• the motors in the HDD will eventually die
• the HDD motor lubricant will eventually fail
• LCD bits will burn out
• the microscopic transistors that make up the chips will eventually start leaking too many electrons
• electrolytes in capacitors on the motherboard will eventually leak

I'm sure there are other failure modes.

[elessar78]

If you're just don't basic stuff like Word and surfing the Internet then it probably won't get you. But software updates and such might not be compatible with your machine.

My big concern would be security if you're not updating software. So, if you're doing Internet banking there may be some risk but, I think you'd need to be specifically targeted.

[97guns]

my hard drives would always go out, it only lasted 4 months on the last computer i bought. now i only buy machines with solid state hard drives, my last 2 computers were sshd and non windows machines and they've been great

[feh]

I'm still rockin' a ThinkPad from 2007ish. It still runs fine. A friend told me that computer components don't really wear out. There's only some mild stress on them in startup. I'm wondering how long this computer can last me then. I hate spending money lol.

As 97guns says, it's the components with moving parts that tend to fail (hard disk drives, CD drives).

SSDs (solid state drives) are becoming more common, and they don't have any moving parts.

[ua_guy]

As 97guns says, it's the components with moving parts that tend to fail (hard disk drives, CD drives).

SSDs (solid state drives) are becoming more common, and they don't have any moving parts.

Solid state drives / flash memory will also fail over time...nothing escapes entropy. They can only be written and re-written so many times. Operating System software can now do some pretty good SSD management, but they do wear out as they get old.

[feh]

Solid state drives / flash memory will also fail over time...nothing escapes entropy. They can only be written and re-written so many times. Operating System software can now do some pretty good SSD management, but they do wear out as they get old.

True. But I think it's a safe assumption that an average SSD will last longer than an average HDD.

I wouldn't expect to replace an SSD in a household computer before it became so outdated that it was effectively useless.

[ExcuseMyIgnorance]

my hard drives would always go out, it only lasted 4 months on the last computer i bought. now i only buy machines with solid state hard drives, my last 2 computers were sshd and non windows machines and they've been great

I knew SSD's were faster. Now I have another reason to get one.

[Tabs]

While hard drives are more mechanically prone to failure (very fast spinning platters with delicate needles floating just barely above its surface), they are actually quite reliable nowadays. The technology is decades old, is tried-and-true, and modern hard drives usually last anywhere from 5 to 10 years.

If you want, you can even spend extra money on higher model hard drives that are purported to be even less likely to fail.

Fourth months doesn't sound right at all. It's possible that it was operating under poor conditions, such as exposure to pet hair, dust, excessive heat, poor airflow, etc. Think of all the server rooms in the world that are still using mechanical hard drives, not SSDs.

Now, SSDs have no moving parts and generate less heat, so yes, they are inherently more reliable. However, that also depends on its application. Flash memory will degrade much more quickly than hard drives in write operations. (SSD is said to write as much as 100,000 times before experiencing failure, but that's peanuts compared to millions of writes for hard drives.) Therefore, in a mostly read-only environments such as your MP3 player, then yes, they are extremely reliable. However, in a high write environment (such as your PC browser's cache), then it's going to fail sooner rather than later.

There are ways around it though, I suppose. For example, most top brand SSDs will come with software that specialize in minimizing the write operations, but it may hinder certain operations in your computer.

Another option is to use an SSD in conjunction with a hard drive. What does that mean? My current PC uses a SSD for the operating system, and a hard drive for storing user data. That way, you get the benefit of the SSD's speed in boot-up, and still have space for your stuff as they tend to be lower capacity.

Some manufactures sell these hybrid drives where they combine the two for you, into a single physical case for ease of use. (That is, you install one drive, but the computer will show two drives.)

When it's all said and done, yes, I agree that SSDs are generally superior. I also believe that, as time goes by, they will continue to become even better and better, until one day, hard drives truly become extinct. However, the demise of the venerable hard drive have been long predicted, and so far, it has beaten the every expectations from every doomsayer. And for good reasons.

Bottom line, trust the hard drive. Given reasonable conditions, it will serve you well for years and years to come.

[maryadavies]

Also depending on the age of the pc, I can tell you right now; Transistors themselves can wear out.

One company tried to steal another company's secrets a while back which made transistors that bulge/can actually fail. I found that out with a 5-10 year old pc I had before I got my brother to build me a custom.

The only way to know is to open up the computer and check for such. It isn't pretty. I THINK my first pc would still work but last time I tried, I couldn't get it to boot up..