Usually that's good advice. But not always. If it's still working, you can take preventive steps before an easy-to-fix issue causes impossible-to-fix damage.
Silicon does degrade (and fails). But in my experience, most issues fall in 2 categories:
1) "Mechanical" problems. Connector problems, loose solder joints, corrosion, cracks in pcb traces, etc.
2) Power supply issues. Electrolytic capacitors are suspect #1 there (and they may not respond well to being powered after a looong time in storage).
Rules I apply:
a) If unsure how a machine looks inside (condition, mods etc): inspect internals before powering up.
b) Check that a machine is working before modifying it in any way. If not working: minimize steps to get to a working state.
c) Do mods in small incremental steps.
That way you can always backtrack to last working state.
Silicon does degrade (and fails). But in my experience, most issues fall in 2 categories:
1) "Mechanical" problems. Connector problems, loose solder joints, corrosion, cracks in pcb traces, etc.
2) Power supply issues. Electrolytic capacitors are suspect #1 there (and they may not respond well to being powered after a looong time in storage).
Rules I apply:
a) If unsure how a machine looks inside (condition, mods etc): inspect internals before powering up.
b) Check that a machine is working before modifying it in any way. If not working: minimize steps to get to a working state.
c) Do mods in small incremental steps.
That way you can always backtrack to last working state.