Dookie,

The worst that can happen is that you'll just have to "Rebuild the Desktop File" or run Disk First Aid on some occasions. Shutting off the power from the switch on the back of a Mac Plus or Mac SE/30 isn't harmful to the boot of the computer. What does become a concern, is if you shut the computer off while working on a document or any like work. This could cause you to lose your work. I'm not sure about System 6.0.x, but in System 7.5.x and later, you will get a dialog box that will say "Your Mac was shutdown improperly...etc, etc," and will run Disk First Aid to make sure the disk wasn't damaged. There is an invisible file on the boot disk called "Shutdown Check". Normally, the OS will modify this invisible file to indicate proper shutdown. But if you just turn the power switch in the back of your Mac to off, the next time you boot up your Mac, it will display that dialog box and run Disk First Aid automatically. You can prevent the alert from popping up every time by going into the General Control Panel (under System 7.5.x and later) and uncheck the option to alert you of improper shutdown. Frankly, why rub it in my face when I know I didn't shutdown the Mac properly?

Once your Mac is back up and running, it will do the following:

Below is an excerpt from "Macworld Mac Secrets, 5th Edition by David Pogue and Joseph Schorr":

ANSWER MAN
Return of the Rescued Items

Ever wonder about the strange Rescued Items

folder that periodically appears in the Trash?

Usually this folder shows up when you restart

your Mac after a crash or freeze. It contains,

believe it or not, all the files that were in the

invisible Temporary Items folder when you

crashed.

When you finish using a program and use the

Quit command, the program is supposed to

neatly purge the Temporary Items folder. But if

your system crashes, the program never gets a

chance to empty the Temporary Items folder.

Then, when you restart and your Mac notices

that you still have files left over in the Temporary

Items folder, the System automatically creates a

new Rescued Items folder in the Trash and

moves the files there; it’s the Mac’s last-ditch

effort to salvage your unsaved work. Every now

and then, you can actually recover some of your

work by poking into the rescued temp files.

Click to expand...

So, there you are. I hope that helps.

73s de Phreakout.