Proper time before restart?

[DoomsWord89]

Hello!
When I was younger I remember my parents warning me to wait 30-40 seconds before turning a computer back on after it has been shut-down otherwise risk damaging the computer.

So, after much thought.
How long should a person wait before powering a computer back on after it has been shutdown?

Does this age old rule still apply?
If so, why?

 

[TheScorpion]

yes , my laptop manual says that you must wait at least 10 sec before turning it back on to let the electrical components to dump there electrical charge

 

[Wampbit]

It was an old rule to ensure all of the capacitors had discharged before you restarted. This way the computer started from known conditions, and everything was below the threshold to actually reset. I doubt how relevant it is in modern computers.

 

[joelmartinez]

I don't wait to restart, haven't blown up anything yet

 

[ko888]

It had to do with allowing time for the hard disk drive's heads to return to its parked position and the platters to stop spinning.

Back then hard disk drives weren't as robust as today's drives and were sensitive to head crashes if you didn't allow time for the heads to retract into the parked position and you suddenly reapplied power when the heads were still positioned over the spinning platters.

The rule doesn't apply anymore because the hard disk drive technology has changed. The hard disk's heads now immediately park when power is removed.

 

[joelmartinez]

few I was worried I had screwed something up

 

[DoomsWord89]

Best answer selected by DoomsWord89.