[Crystal211]

I have a G4 PowerBook Titanium. I am a student and I take my computer to school -- I was told I should shut it down when taking it places because moving the computer when it's on creates holes in the hard drive (is this possible?). I've also been told that there's no reason to shut it down ever.
Anyone have advice/articles that can help me figure this out?

[WebFusion]

This raises an intriguing technical point.
Is the Hard Drive search head locked either during shut down or sleep?
The HD is not spinning, in both instances.
I carry my powerbook all the time when it's sleeping (and I'm sure most everyone else does, too).
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/sbbod.html talks about the 'standby' issue in relation to the SBBOD (which is maybe tangenital to what you are asking)

and

I/O See this technical article for a review of the bus controllers
I'm sure some really knowledgable mac techies can add to this discussion, which is beyond my fundamental understanding.
I just assumed that carrying a sleeping powerbook is Standard Operating Procedure.

[moose_n_squirrel]

Carrying a sleeping Powerbook is quite safe. There isn't really any need to shut it down. Sleeping it is very popular, especially through airports where you can get through security faster if you don't have to wait for a full startup. I restart oh, about once a week or whenever Apple has an update that requires a restart. I use Macaroni so as to not worry about manual maintenance ever.
My understanding is that the hard drive heads are safely parked during sleep. I know it's been a long time since I lost any data to sleep. The biggest danger really is if you let it sleep too long and the battery runs down then you lose all unsaved data but as long as it's charged there is no problem.

[Nobody]

sleeping the computer does indeed park the hard drive heads, so there's no need to shut down.

[Crystal211]

Awesome, thanks for all the information!

[Ott_Phenotne]

So there's no issue with heat build up in a sleeping powerbook inside a bag?

[moose_n_squirrel]

In reply to:

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So there's no issue with heat build up in a sleeping powerbook inside a bag?

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No. If heat was building up, it would mean it wasn't sleeping. Heat = energy being expended. By definition sleep is a minimal energy mode which is why the battery in sleep can go on for many more hours after an operating Powerbook's battery would have died. Minmal energy expended = no heat.
You can get heat if the latch pops open while it's in there. Then it's running, then there's heat, then that's bad news all around. Corollary: Never attempt to keep the laptop running in a bag.

[jcmount]

My two TiBooks never get shut down, I only restart them when a software update requries it. My TiBook has had 78 days of up time. I'll be at work in middle of stuff, downloads Photoshop render etc... slap the lid down, disconnect the network and head home, pop it open connect too my wireless and start right back where it left off.