Is the CD still spinning when PC is idle running Knoppix?

[buenafe]

Sorry for such a simpleton question. I am wondering if CD is still spinning if Knoppix (CD live version) is running on PC when PC is not being used? And if this spinning of the CD reduces the life of the CD device?

[Cuddles]

buenafe,

From what I know...

CD-ROM devices usually "power-down" after a short time of "idle" -=- not sure if this is the case with the Knoppix CD, or how the OS handles hardware...

As for this causing a drive to fail quicker, it could... Most "computer" hardware; hard drives, CD-ROM drives, etc... are measured in MTBF ( Mean Time Before Failure ) and usually refers to the read/write aspects of the hardware, but considering that the devices "spin" motor is in question here, it could fail just as much as the "heads"... Any "computer" hardware will eventually fail - due to either "planned obsolesence", or just the simple fact that anything "man-made" can not be perfect, or last forever...

Hope this helps,
Ms. Cuddles