If you are working on any files when things go bad, then at a minimum you will lose your unsaved work. Holding the power button down is no different than an actual power interruption as far as the computer is concerned. While your hardware will not generally be damaged during an unexpected power shutdown, the contents of your disk drive will most likely be damaged. These processes are not performed during the unexpected power termination (blackout, brownouts, and using the power switch. Send the ACPI shutdown signal (this is what turns the machine off).
Here are just a few examples of what happens when you request your computer to shut down: There are a lot of things happening during the shutdown process.
There is a lot of discussion on the internet and from 'computer advisors' that there is really no problem using the power switch to turn off your computer - they are wrong! This is why they are wrong. Let us look at what really happens during a normal shutdown.
