After you have successfully installed your Windows Operating System such as Windows XP, most settings are placed on default. Normally included in this would be the auto shut off options for your hard disk and your video card. Depending on your preference, they can be good power savers and can help a lot in reducing the stress of computer parts concerned when you happen to leave your desktop or laptop idle for some time.
But overall, they are meant to help safeguard you computer as far as leaving it open for quite some time. The computer parts such as your video card and your hard drive are taking heat when they are operational. Unless you are the type that needs the computer to be operational most of the time due to instances such as long hour downloading of large files like videos, it would be wise to save on the wear and tear as well as the energy you are consuming. Energy in the sense that we are all aware of the fast dilapidating of our energy sources and each small help counts a lot.
For the techie freaks these days, many would turn these options off for their own reason. One is that they don’t want to go through the trouble of having to tap a key on their keyboards which may take some time to refresh and function as well. Besides, for these people, if one of the two, the hard disk or the video card, conks out, getting a new one of higher specs can be pretty much rewarding.