Turn off, Leave on?

New computer with Sleep Mode. To revisit an old question, is it best to leave it on at night in Sleep Mode or to turn it off on a nightly basis?

 

My computers are shut off when I am away or sleeping. After watching my power supply turn into a plasma cutter while sitting next to it I won't trust it by leaving it on.

 

Thanks. I'll definitely turn it off at night. What about during the day when both my wife and I am away for an eight hour stretch?

 

Whiskeyman - just so you don't feel alone in this regard - I had the same thing happen to me about 4-5 years ago. One of my machines had been resting comfortably for an hour plus (power still on) and all of a sudden - the fireworks started. Would never have believed it possible if I hadn't been there to witness it firsthand.

 

Plasma cutter?

Wow! I've never heard of this happening before. I've always left my pc on and in sleep mode at night or when at work. If I go away for more than a day I power it off.

PeteC - so even if you "shut down" and the machine powers off the PSU and mobo are still hot? I didn't know that either. In the "good old days" when I had a CRT I used to have this square, flat power strip with 5 lighted switches that sat under the monitor. When I was done using the pc I would shut down thru windows and then hit the switches to power off the pc, monitor, speakers and printer. Maybe I need to find another one of these things to better protect myself.

 

What about wear and tear on the HD, from start/stop?
I've always heard the HD life is extended by just leaving the thing on.

 

Chas, take a minute and read this article:

http://www.howstuffworks.com/question328.htm/printable

 

Thx James, that was interesting, though another article had a bit of a different slant. See http://www.howstuffworks.com/framed...w.pcguide.com/care/care/gen/powerOnOff-c.html

 

On my Win XP computers I always shut down. On my Vista machine, I originally treated it the same, but wanted to find out why it has the prominent Sleep button and hides the Shut Down selection. In Vista, they advise you to use Sleep unless you are not using the computer for a few days. I started trying the Sleep mode. For my computer (Abit motherboard), it sends the machine into the same state as "Power Off ", the power supply turns off, the LEDS on the motherboard register the same as power-off, the power LED is off, the fans have stopped, but when I push the power button, the computer wakes up with all programs still running as soon as the monitor warms up. In Sleep, there is no way I can distinguish that it is not powered off.

The mode of Sleep will depend on the capabilities of the motherboard. For some motherboards the Power LED will flash when it is asleep (I have not checked the state of the motherboard LEDs or if the PSU appears to be in Shut Down mode on those models.)

In Vista you can make various settings to the power controls of most (all?) the different hardware.

I don't shut down my Vista computer unless I am going away for a few days. As I said, the Win XP computers, I always shut those down when I have finished using them.

Matt

 

I have working hard drives that are 8+ years old that were in my old PCs. Those machines were constantly shutdown when not in use.

 

And, putting my 6 of 1, half dozen of the other card on the table, - I do not shut down. My stuff runs 24/7. One exception - I have one machine I haven't fired up for over three months. I was going to make a change re: video cards and just haven't gotten around to it.

 

Hi
I also run mine 24/7 (WindowsXP) and have never had a problem, I even play a on-line raido station at night when going to sleep.

Had this machine for 5 or 6 years and though I reboot every so often I never shut it down.

Geri

 

This is pretty much how I've done it too.
I reboot roughly every wk to clear the cache, and speed things up.
And BTW, I'm running XP Pro.

The polls are still open so let's keep voting!

 

From what I've read, it's not so much a case of whether or not it will damage our systems as to whether or not it is an environmentally prudent thing to do. Given the fact that it consumes energy (as stated in the much more recent article I posted earlier) and that during these times we all should be looking for ways and means to conserve energy (as well as save some money for ourselves), it only seems reasonable to turn the computer off when it is not being used for longer periods of time (i.e. overnight, while we are at work). Certainly on those occasions when we wish to run a virus scan, do a defrag or get an update, I would agree that leaving it on during that time would probably be fine. Just my two cents. I guess we each must decide for ourselves and having had the input of several here who are far more experienced than I, I'll go with their suggestions. Thanks for all the advice.

 

Sure can't argue w/ that, James.

 

I'm running 24/7 as well.

I recently read somewhere that using Vista, with it's default power saving setup, is comparable to taking 1 vehicle off the road per year in greenhouse gas production from power usage. That's noteable IMO.