Bloatware which use a lot of system resources can cause a computer CPU, RAM, and hard drive to work harder which can cause overheating, and wear and tear on mechanical parts like hard drives, cooling fans which spin faster when the PC gets hot.
Computer hardware on computers with many bloatware/prebundled software break faster?
- Thread starter froggyboy604
- Start date
This is interesting, I'm sure that hard drives could wear out quicker, but as far as everything else goes, I don't think that would be the case. With that said, some software could make some computers act like there a harddwarefailture but really it not.
One thing I can say that it would make your computer slower though.
One thing I can say that it would make your computer slower though.
Cheaper brands usually do that because they're cheaper, and the trial versions of software they put could make people buy the software, either because it gives a split to the hardware manufacturer, or just bundle the software because they get paid for it by software developers.
But I don't think bloatware and/or pre-bundled software is the main cause for hardware failures, even though it makes brand new PCs unworkable as shit.
As a Linux user, I usually install Linux on a new laptop before it even boots up into the pre-installed OS.
And if I compare it to the same PC others bought and left the software as is, I don't think there's really as much difference in terms of lifespan (unless of course I compare it to someone who just can't treat hardware with respect at all).
Another fact is that Windows by itself is already bloated.
Even with a clean install of Windows, my Surface Pro 3 tablet will overheat way sooner than the exact same tablet with a clean install of Linux.
Even at work I sometimes laugh at how certain dev-related tasks on PCs of colleagues with way better hardware on Windows takes so much more time to do every single time compared to my rather worse hardware on Ubuntu.
But at least my colleagues agree with me, since one is a Linux user himself too but only uses Windows because he at the same time needs to act as a sysadmin too, and one other is a macOS user in her private life and only uses Windows because she uses it at school too.
But I don't think bloatware and/or pre-bundled software is the main cause for hardware failures, even though it makes brand new PCs unworkable as shit.
As a Linux user, I usually install Linux on a new laptop before it even boots up into the pre-installed OS.
And if I compare it to the same PC others bought and left the software as is, I don't think there's really as much difference in terms of lifespan (unless of course I compare it to someone who just can't treat hardware with respect at all).
Another fact is that Windows by itself is already bloated.
Even with a clean install of Windows, my Surface Pro 3 tablet will overheat way sooner than the exact same tablet with a clean install of Linux.
Even at work I sometimes laugh at how certain dev-related tasks on PCs of colleagues with way better hardware on Windows takes so much more time to do every single time compared to my rather worse hardware on Ubuntu.
But at least my colleagues agree with me, since one is a Linux user himself too but only uses Windows because he at the same time needs to act as a sysadmin too, and one other is a macOS user in her private life and only uses Windows because she uses it at school too.
Parts like laptop batteries may stop working as well if the bloatware causes your laptop's battery to discharge faster, so you need to charge them more often. I think batteries have a limited amount of charge cycles, and they may break sooner if your laptop heats up a lot which causes the battery to heat up as well.
RAM, SSDs, and other computer chips maybe more likely to break because of the heat especially when the cooling fans start to fail after spinning up a lot because of increase system resources which the bloatware may use up.
Some bloatware may contain serious security holes/vulnerabilities which may lead to the BIOS, UEFI, and other firmware from getting infected by a virus which infected your computer through an insecure bloatware software like a bundled web browser or software which connects to the internet. It can be more difficult to remove viruses from the BIOS, and firmware, so the hardware repair maybe not worth it for most people to disinfect a BIOS virus. The hard drive's Master Boot Record can also get infected, but it is less difficult to remove a virus in the Master Boot Record.
RAM, SSDs, and other computer chips maybe more likely to break because of the heat especially when the cooling fans start to fail after spinning up a lot because of increase system resources which the bloatware may use up.
Some bloatware may contain serious security holes/vulnerabilities which may lead to the BIOS, UEFI, and other firmware from getting infected by a virus which infected your computer through an insecure bloatware software like a bundled web browser or software which connects to the internet. It can be more difficult to remove viruses from the BIOS, and firmware, so the hardware repair maybe not worth it for most people to disinfect a BIOS virus. The hard drive's Master Boot Record can also get infected, but it is less difficult to remove a virus in the Master Boot Record.
If the PC is extremely cheap then yes it could be possible but not to a point that it would ever be a concern for the consumer.
I agree, the average consumer may not be concern if bloatware would shorten the life of their computer hardware because of bloatware making their hardware run at it maximum speed. A lot of consumers don't expect their cheap computers to last very long, so some consumers may not bother investigating if Bloatware is causing their computer to heat up when running.