[Old Blue 66]

I never turn the computer off....Good or bad? Does it matter?

[65gto69]

I have worked on a lot of computers and I can personally tell you that when a power supply fan stops running while the computer is left on, could spell smoke and possibly start a fire. I have seen the insides of computers melted do to PS fans not running while the computer was left on 24/7.

Another reason to turn your computer off is it clears the memory. Leaving it on all the time keeps the memory loaded which can cause your computer to perform way below standard.

Just a couple of reasons.

Mark

[David Holmberg]

I always turn mine off (for the last 20 years) every night. My Father bought a new laptop in 01 and never turned it off, just let it go to sleep when not in use.
When he passed away last Dec I found his computer, still on, and still working fine. So...

[fyrffytr1]

I turn mine off every night. They use a pretty fair amount of electric power and they put off heat.

[Jerry H.]

Just out of habit, I leave my desktop on 24/7 but always turn off the laptop. I guess I need to start turning off the desktop.

[bastard]

I set mine to "hibernate". It's almost as good as "off" power wise and takes a lot less time to restart. That way I can just walk away and not worry about melting it, as mentioned.

[Old Blue 66]

My computer takes sos long to start up that I just leave it on. I'm gonna kick it into hibernate. First thing I do when I get up in the morning is check my email to see if anyone is sending me money. I just cant wait that long in the morning.

[bastard]

I hit the "space" bar on the way to the head for the morning leak and the computer is fully booted after.

There is an very easy to use System Startup List editor in S&D as well. You can cut a lot of time off startups by not starting unnecessary programs when Windows first boots.
Start S&D > Advanced Mode > Tools > System Startup
The instructions are on the page.
And general instructions on the use of S&D are included in a tutorial in the Help section at the top, visible on every page of S&D.

[steve]

mark is correct. there was an old school thought that leaving them on was better. when disk media was different. now the machines need to be turned off not only to save energy but to re-boot the system from a fresh start. your computer and energy bill will thank you.

leaving it on is a waste.

Originally Posted by 65gto69

I have worked on a lot of computers and I can personally tell you that when a power supply fan stops running while the computer is left on, could spell smoke and possibly start a fire. I have seen the insides of computers melted do to PS fans not running while the computer was left on 24/7.

Another reason to turn your computer off is it clears the memory. Leaving it on all the time keeps the memory loaded which can cause your computer to perform way below standard.

Just a couple of reasons.

Mark

[Old Blue 66]

Ive been putting it t asleep at night and hitting the space bar (or any key) for the last couple of days. Working well.

I don't really think they use as much energy as we think. My electric bill for the last couple of months reached a high of $75 in July with the air on quite a bit and the comp on 24/7. I live in a townhouse with neighbors on both sides.

[Bjorn]

I turn mine off all the time, both office and home..... I know its small amounts , BUT when the entire office leaves them on, it does create extra heat that you need to cool....a/c...and it does draw ectra power, small amounts, but as you know , many little creeks become a big river...no need to waste energy...
Im not one of those "green" people , but why waste it?

[Rack776]

Call me wacky but I actually pull the plug every night, Last thing I want
is a bad surge or lightning strike to blow past my fuse box and melt the
computer, it happens, my brother in law lost everything electrical
a few years ago, I usually un plug the TV during a bad storm also.

My start up time is less than 1.5 to 2 min so I'm ok waiting,
The ones we have at work run all the time and I have to have
the video card swapped out twice now cause the cooling fans
burned out and the monitor went crazy.

Cheap Insurance is to pull the plug if its only used occasionallly any way.

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by Rack776

Call me wacky but I actually pull the plug every night, Last thing I want
is a bad surge or lightning strike to blow past my fuse box and melt the
computer, it happens, my brother in law lost everything electrical
a few years ago, I usually un plug the TV during a bad storm also.

My start up time is less than 1.5 to 2 min so I'm ok waiting,
The ones we have at work run all the time and I have to have
the video card swapped out twice now cause the cooling fans
burned out and the monitor went crazy.

Cheap Insurance is to pull the plug if its only used occasionallly any way.

wacky

[george kujanski]

I turn mine off when not in use. My son's room in the house is the farthest from the A/C and difficult to cool........he has his on at night and closes his door. In the morning his room is noticably warmer than the rest of the house. 200 or 300 watts makes a difference.

George

[Judas]

One the differences in new computers vs the old ones (where it was "ok" to leave them on) is the coolings fans. At the dawn of the PC era (yes, im that old at least) the CPU had no fan, and you had a much lower rated powersupply. These began to grow in terms of draw and chunks of aluminum (heat sinks) were added to the CPU's to keep them cool.

Fast forward to the present, and the "GTO" of computers comes with a huge heatsink+fan mounted on top for the CPU, a power supply thats drawing 700-1000 watts (w/fan), a big "pusher" fan at the front of the case, and another fan on the Vid Card. Thats a lot of fans and a lot of juice being spent all night long for nothing.

Turning mine off actually lowered my powerbill. Oh, and with all those fans, I have to "maintain" my computer by cracking open the case every 6 months to clean out all the dust. The pusher fan is like a vacume cleaner and some computers are coming with air filters now. I wonder when K&N will get into the act?

-J

[1967Clone]

I leave my desktop on 24/7, and have done so for the past 14 years or so, with all of my desktops since then. I close my laptop to put it to sleep, but leave it plugged in. The $2 a month isn't hurting me.

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by Old Blue 66

Ive been putting it t asleep at night and hitting the space bar (or any key) for the last couple of days. Working well.

I don't really think they use as much energy as we think. My electric bill for the last couple of months reached a high of $75 in July with the air on quite a bit and the comp on 24/7. I live in a townhouse with neighbors on both sides.

I cant believe the PC had much to do with it.

[Region Warrior]

Mines setup to hibernate.
Thats what the manual says if you use it dailey.
Been about 10 yrs now.

Same with our work computers(1 yr old).

[fiedlerh]

The more you leave them on the faster the insides get coated with dust. I'm in favor of shutting them off at the end of the day at home. At work because of the extensive network we leave them on, but log off at night and weekends. The insides get cleaned out a couple of times a year.

[cuz68]

I keep mine on 24-7, I do cut it off from time to time to get the dust out of it it needs that now, I also take my hand and rub over the fan to keep the dust in or out of it?