Turning off a PC through a light switch

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Anoos

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Apr 6, 2014
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Someone turned off my PC through a light switch..Could that really damage my computer? Only once? More than once? Dozens of times?

Disclaimer: Some idiot who lives with me did that, so I eventually put duct tape all over that thing. Its not moving up or down now.

This is probably why I am having problems with windows, I have some corrupt OS files, and I need to do a clean install today. I was just curious what may have caused it. My hard drive, and everything else seems fine. I had some artificats while gaming...but I was playing BF4 on a laggy server so I guess there really isn't much of an issue. (It occurred only once)
 
Solution
ABagOfFritos
I'm guessing the light switch was also a switch for the outlet your computer was plugged into.

A computer being shut down this way can become damaged, it can take one shutdown, it can take 1000 shutdowns. The damage could be minimal and it could be really serious. My PC was power cycled multiple times not too long ago by idiots who didn't know how to use a breaker board, and I ended up having to replace my MB, CPU, and two HDDs because of it. Oftentimes it may only be software issues, and a reinstall of whatever OS you are running will get things back up and running. Most of the time, there will be no damage at all.

TL;DR: Shut down your machine properly and try not to let this happen. If you can, plug into a different outlet...
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ABagOfFritos

ABagOfFritos

Honorable
Jan 19, 2013
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I'm guessing the light switch was also a switch for the outlet your computer was plugged into.

A computer being shut down this way can become damaged, it can take one shutdown, it can take 1000 shutdowns. The damage could be minimal and it could be really serious. My PC was power cycled multiple times not too long ago by idiots who didn't know how to use a breaker board, and I ended up having to replace my MB, CPU, and two HDDs because of it. Oftentimes it may only be software issues, and a reinstall of whatever OS you are running will get things back up and running. Most of the time, there will be no damage at all.

TL;DR: Shut down your machine properly and try not to let this happen. If you can, plug into a different outlet that is not managed by a light switch.
 
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S

sizzling

Titan
Oct 18, 2006
27,231
3,301
112,240
Do you mean wall switch? A light switch should be no where near your PC as its not designed to be switching that sort of current.

Switching you PC off at the wall without shutting down properly is not good for it, it can cause problems with Windows. However sometimes a hard reset is unavoidable if the machine crashes. Dont do it more than you absolutely have too
 
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