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Thread ID: 127048	2012-10-01 18:47:00	Does Windows cause more wear than *nix based OS's?	Myth (110)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1304410	2012-10-01 18:47:00	I have just run updates on my Win 7 computer, done the restart; and all is good. Then I get another message advising me that another important update has been installed and I need to reboot again... With my debian computer, I know that you download a whole bunch of updates, and reboot once (if its a kernel update for example). Without trolling .. in your opinion; do you think Windows is harder on hardware with all the restarts etc? This is something that has often crossed my mind especially when doing a new install of Windows - with all the restarts (noted especially with Vista and 7) Addition: wouldn't you know it; I have just been advised of another important update :horrified	Myth (110)
1304411	2012-10-01 19:47:00	Set up a friends laptop yesterday Win7 it installed 60 updates rebooted once and was good to go. Don't know about Linux as never used it for long enough	gary67 (56)
1304412	2012-10-01 19:56:00	The thing with windows, is some of the updates need a previous update (or the original install first). Before it'll install the next update. Or it wont install at all. That's why you have to reboot so many times. ie: The .net framework installs. If you use any programs, that need or use them. Same as Gary, I haven't really used any version of Linux, long enough	Speedy Gonzales (78)
1304413	2012-10-01 20:03:00	So far Windows 8 has installed just one update for itself :p	pcuser42 (130)
1304414	2012-10-01 20:31:00	I'm more concerned with drive wear through constant read/write activities. Even when idle Windows has a history of constantly accessing the disc. That's not so bad if it's a read, but those using SSDs don't need constant writing or overwriting of bytes.	Paul.Cov (425)
1304415	2012-10-01 20:46:00	I don't think anyone's done a real comparison on those terms so it's just guesswork on our part. I suspect though whatever the difference is it's not significant enough to worry about. An average home user running windows on a SSD should expect it to last more than 10 years easily based on the MTBF and read/write cycle specifications, I've seen this mentioned on several SSD reviews. Yes they wear out faster than mechanical HDDs on average which seems backwards, but they should still last plenty long enough to become obsolete before failing. How many of you are using a 10 year old HDD as your boot drive? Anyway the point is, whether it's harder on the hardware or not it will not shorten the lifespan of hardware enough to worry about.	dugimodo (138)
1304416	2012-10-01 22:34:00	Generally, Linux package managers are very efficient at working out what needs to be done. In general reboots are only necessary with Kernel level updates. Also updates are done across the distro, so package managers don't differentiate between OS level and applications. If you choose to do all the updates available on the repos, then the package managers (Apt, YUM, Zypper etc) work it all out and no matter how many pieces of software are updated, for the most part only one reboot will be necessary for the Kernel stuff. Conceivably then, because windows uses an individual package update procedure then the number of read/writes to an ssd would be far higher, so yes I think that would have to be a consideration when using an SSD based device.	Yorick (8120)
1304417	2012-10-01 23:01:00	That is one thing that drives me insane with Windows. Years ago I installed MS Office Business edition for someone and it took seven reboots.:annoyed:	mikebartnz (21)
1304418	2012-10-01 23:03:00	That is one thing that drives me insane with Windows. Years ago I installed MS Office Business edition for someone and it took seven reboots.:annoyed: +1. when my brother set up his computer it took 11 reboots. I'd have been expecting a couple due to updates, but 11!	Nick G (16709)
1304419	2012-10-01 23:40:00	+1. when my brother set up his computer it took 11 reboots. I'd have been expecting a couple due to updates, but 11! My grandparents' Toshiba laptop did the same thing, though its setup program had an annoying habit of rebooting each time it installed a program that needed it, rather than waiting and doing it all at once.	pcuser42 (130)
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