you lose any information you might have been working on, if you don’t save it.

Likewise, in any large, complex system, you can’t just pull the plug- provision has to be made for shutting things down in sequence, or there’s hell to pay. Some systems even have separate processors and systems that constantly update the memory- a Fanuc robot, for instance, if disconnected from power, will power up exactly where it left off and keep doing what it was doing as if it had never been interrupted.

Not all systems are like this, and the more complex they become the more disastrous to shut them down. In “2001 a Space oddysey” Dave has to disconnect the higher (and most dangerous!) functions of Hal without disrupting life support, navigation, etc.