I'm wondering what would happen if Flynn's computer (or any computer running the Grid) was turned off?  Would the programs and users simply die?
122939
At the end of the movie, Sam Flynn      does a download of the data on the server to an SD card and hangs it around his neck. Presumably in remembrance of his father.   He then seems to      turn off the mainframe which was running the Grid all these years.   Does this mean the Grid is      shutdown and gone?
85007
The machines are keeping humans alive for their body heat, right? But they also have nuclear fusion reactors, and (while I haven't run the numbers) I'd be willing to bet that a single fusion reactor would generate more net energy in an hour than all the humans on today’s Earth would in a day.  I have one more additional doubt:  Why people, instead of animals that don't need a computer simulation to keep their brains entertained?  Why do the machines keep humans alive if they have nuclear reactors?
29205
When the corporation R&amp;D is empty the corporation loses.  What happens when the Runner's stack is empty?    I think that: He must finish the game with only the cards on the table.  or  I doubt that: He reshuffles the heap into a new stack.
17822
Can anyone suggest a way of asking Windows to shut down after it has finished doing something? For example it would be handy sometimes if burning a DVD or copying a lot of files to be able to set it off at the end of the day and just say "hey Windows, when you've finished doing this, shut down."  At the moment the best alternative I've found is to use a commandline shutdown and guess at a time but particularly with things like file operations windows can make it a trifle difficult to predict how long they will take so you have to be very conservative in your guesswork and probably leave the computer running for much longer than necessary in most cases or risk the job not being finished.
35455
When you undervolt or overlock an CPU, when it passes a certain limit it starts to make the system unstable, reboot, etc. But these are the effects of it.  What I'm curious about is what happens on the CPU. What happens? It gives wrong answers to instructions? Bits on cache flip?
23305
I recently bought a Cyclone II FPGA .  I have been able to program it with a USB Blaster cable and the Altera Quartus Software.  The problem is that when I disconnect power, I lose the program.  How do I program it so it will continue its operation after power is lost?  Note: this question is similar to  one, but the name of the question made it hard to search for, so I agree with "The Photon" that this one should be kept open.
24085
When I first started using computers, law of the land in computer class was never bring magnets near anything computer related, lest you lose all your data or screw up your monitor.  Now I am pretty sure magnets will still royally mess up a standard hard drive, and I know for a fact they screw up a CRT monitor.  Though I am also pretty sure they do not screw up a LCD monitor?  Now I have my phone which uses magnets to determine if it's docked, and it made me wonder.  Is it the power of the magnet preventing data loss or the sheer fact that whatever memory type in the phone is immune to it?  What about ear buds, as I know those have tiny magnets in them. Are those capable of damaging any electronic device currently in use?  I'm wondering if I'm being paranoid, but I really am not sure what magnets will damage and what they won't!  Is there a list, or rule of thumb for determining what will be hurt by magnets and what won't be?
49760
Since there is no electricity, wouldn't all the nuclear reactors around the country be down and already released radiation into the air? Why is there no sign of this?
52681
I was trying to shutdown my PC through SSH. I executed  sudo shutdown now  The user was logged-out and Ubuntu starting turning off, but it froze at the last screen with the Ubuntu logo and the loading dots. Any idea where the problem might be?  Also, what's the difference between shutdown and halt? What other similar commands are there?
31154
I was running NotePad and Chrome when my computer suddenly shuts down.  After reboot, chrome was able to "restore" itself such that I didn't lose any data.  However, how do we "restore" notepad.exe?
45242
Some times my laptop gets stuck due to excessive usage of RAM when I open bulky applications. So if it does not respond I shut down the laptop using the power button. Does this damage Ubuntu in any way? Can it give rise to security problems or vulnerabilities?
118613
I've purchased a Line Interactive UPS 1200VA. It's supposed to give 8~20min backup (as written in the manual). This UPS has transfer time &lt; 10ms. It works fine when the mains is active.  But the problem is that when the power went off, the PC also went off for a fraction of a second and started rebooting.   The strangest thing though is that it has to be a proper power failure by the service supplier. If I just turn off the power at the wall plug, the UPS kicks in immediately and the PC carries on working fine.  What's the solution of that? What should I do?  My hard drive was physically damaged because of improper shut down &amp; restart. I've 5~8 times power outage in my country so I badly need an UPS.
98123
In the power management, I selected the option called "suspend when I close the lid". If I close the lid, the computer is not suspending. It keep itself on. How can I solve this problem?
8213
I have data and files on my system, running Windows, and want to make sure that I don't lose all the data or information when it gets toasted, either by a power surge or corrupted medium.  I've heard that I should look into some kind of archive tool.  What should I be looking into here in a backup program?
61162
A guy I work with just came by to ask me about a damaged thumb drive/USB flash drive.  Apparently his son dropped it on a hard surface and it won't power up anymore.  They've tried plugging it into multiple machines without success, even though each port they tried was able to power other USB devices.  He knows it's not a lost cause because a local tech store is offering to recover the data for $500, but he says they're not worth that much.  I figured someone on SU would have an idea about this; he doesn't care about using the drive in the future, just wants to salvage a few files that would be a pain to recreate.  Is this possible without advanced equipment, and if so, how?  He said he already tried the advice on the Internet about typing in different drive letters and such, but that failed because there was no power going to the drive.  He also said that he opened the case up at one point, but I'm not sure what, if anything, he did inside.
92894
My computer is taking a very long time to shutdown.   How can I identify the culprit? I don't want to wait minutes for my computer to shutdown...  Is there a program I can use to track how long it takes to shutdown?
24616
In , the second episode of the Hunger Games trilogy, one of the characters (Beetee) proposes a plan to kill some of the remaining tributes. He proposes wrapping a special wire that he has designed to withstand the vast energy of lightning around a tall tree and running it down to a salt water lake. Then when lightening strikes the tree (which it does predictably every twelve hours) anyone in the lake will be killed. (N.B. This is not Beetee's real plan, but it is the one he wants his allies to believe.)  I don't think his plan would work at all. Assuming that his wire can carry the enormous current delivered by a lightening strike (this is fiction after all) surely the current would short to ground through the salt water rather than taking a path through anyone standing or swimming in the water. The analogy I have in mind is that of birds standing untroubled on live electricity wires. They are unharmed because they do not provide a path to earth. But another analogy might be dropping a mains electric heater into a bath when you are in it. I think that kills you (though I'm not sure why.)