# "Pause" Mode **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 14, 2000, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pause-mode/41105 "2000-11-14T03:12:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pause-mode/41105/1 "2000-11-14T03:12:26Z")
Am I causing any damage to my cassette deck or CD player, by leaving them in “pause” mode overnight? ---
**Author:** ![lesa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/34f0e0/32.png) [@lesa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lesa)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pause-mode/41105/2 "2000-11-14T05:06:34Z")
I’m just going to guess. We’ll need one of the electronics equipment experts to give a real answer. Leaving your CD player on pause will not hurt the CD. It won’t harm the player, but since it will keep spinning all night it might wear out sooner. I don’t think leaving your tape player on pause will hurt the player. But I was always told it would stretch out the tape. Is there a specific reason why you’re doing this? ---
**Author:** ![peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peace)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pause-mode/41105/3 "2000-11-14T05:15:06Z")
Why do you leave it on Pause? If there is no Stop button, incompletely press any button and turn the Power off. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pause-mode/41105/4 "2000-11-14T14:36:51Z")
**Lesa** is basically correct. A CD player left on pause will not harm the disc, but it will wear out the spindle motor & laser faster. It’s the same thing as having the unit left on continuous playback, the only part of the unit that isn’t being worked (very much) in pause is the radial tracking motor/mechanism (the part that tracks the laser across the disc). In my experience, the spindle motors are the first things to wear out, especially in newer product (they just don’t make 'em like they used to), and _especially_ in portable players. I’d say that every night you leave your CD player in play/pause, you are cutting the lifespan of the unit down by two or three days. Audio cassette decks in pause mode will usually leave the tape in contact with the heads, but there will be no relative motion between the two and therefore no wear & tear on either the tape or the heads. Some brands will leave the capstan motor running in pause mode, so you have some wear & tear on the motor & belts. Some brands leave the capstan motor running even in _stop_ mode, so again it’s different between brands, and sometimes even different between models of the _same brand_. Recently made VCRs will not stay in pause mode for more than a few minutes to prevent wear & tear on the heads. * * * The artist formerly known as **opus** ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pause-mode/41105/5 "2000-11-14T14:57:04Z")
bad idea. Why would you do it? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pause-mode/41105/6 "2000-11-14T15:15:25Z")
Just anecdotal, but I left my CD player on Pause all day (forgot and left the house) and the next day it stopped reading CDs correctly. Could have been its time to die anyway, but you never know. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pause-mode/41105/7 "2000-11-14T15:24:23Z")
sailor- I don’t think it’s an intentional kind of thing. It’s just easy to forget you left it on pause, especially if it’s plugged in, and doesn’t make any noise. Then you come back 4 days later and notice it’s on, and start wondering exactly how bad this is for the player… ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pause-mode/41105/8 "2000-11-14T17:40:20Z")
**Attrayant** is correct about CD players. A tape deck, on the other hand, depending on how pause is implemented, may leave idler wheels in strange positions when pause is pressed, causing them to develop flat spots. I once had to replace an idler in my tape deck (admittedly, this was close to 20 years ago) because I had a habit of leaving it in pause mode for long periods of time. You can also make an indentation in the tape (although this is minor and probably will go away once the tape is rewound a couple of times).