My Pictures Screensaver

I have 1663 files in 11 folders totalling 130 Mbs rolling around on My Pictures Screensaver. XP automatically enlarges the small ones, but some are hi res family pics of 500 K or more. I just throw anything that catches my eye into one of the folders- family stuff, maps and flags, historical sites, music logos, artwork, leatherwork, plants and flowers...etc I shut it off for scanning, defragging and any diagnostic app I run.

My question is: Am I harming my computer by leaving it on all day with this monster file as the screensaver? I kinda enjoy the variety and surprise of the pics (they change every 6 seconds). The pics are all stored on my second partition. I know screensavers are not needed anymore to protect the monitor, but I like the eye candy! Am I overworking the processor? I appreciate all opinions.

Johanna

 

Johanna wrote:

• "Am I overworking the processor? "

I would say "No ", as there's nothing mechanical about the processor (just a bunch of electrons chasing around), and the screensaver is in use only when you're not doing anything else on the computer. As long as you have sufficient cooling, I don't see a problem.

Computer users are divided into two schools of thought ... those who insist that the computer should be shut down when not in use, and those who insist that it's better to run 24/7. When I ran Win9x, I agreed with the former point of view (I was always rebooting, anyway) but, since moving to XP, I frequently leave my system on for days at a time. If I expect to be away for more than, say, 24 hours, I'll shut down, but otherwise, why bother? You probably cause more wear and tear on your hard drives by turning the computer on and off than by letting it run constantly.

Just my opinion, you understand.

 

Hi Johanna,

I have a slide show set up the way do as well. In the winter, do what you do, leave on all day. In the summer, 15 minutes and power down because of the heat.

There are varying opinions about whether leaving the monitor on does harm. My guess is that as long as no overheating, ok.

Same for the rest of the system, summer shut it down when not in use.

Saw a thread on this on another forum, trying to track it down.

Regards - Charles

 

I have gone days without shutting down all the way (becasue I used to schedule maintanance at night) but I do restart a few times a day (when in doubt, reboot!) Lately, I have gotten into the habit of shutting down at night. Temp isn't an issue- 120 F consistently on the CPU and 90 F on the Mobo. My house has CH & A ,so weather is not a factor.

Jim,

This has been my usual habit since XP, too. I don't know why I've been shutting down at night, other than to give my husband the clear signal I am READY for bed! LOL But if I don't shut down, the screensaver rolls on...and grows bigger every day...

Johanna

 

7x24 for both my wife & I.

I don't like screen saver thingys (just me) but she does and has a huge number of great ones. Never seen a problem that I could attribute to her liking for lots of big, fancy pics on screen.

If you aren't having problems, I'd say it's fine. If you are having problems, that probably isn't the source.

 

Charlesvar wrote:

• "In the summer, 15 minutes and power down because of the heat. "

What!? Joisey gets hot in the summer?

My motherboard and CPU run within a degree or two of the same temps (34°C/93°F and 50°C/122°F, respectively, as measured by Aida32) year 'round.

Johanna, you're a piker! My image folder has 338 subfolders containing 8,545 image files, some of which are over 30,000 KB in size. I use XP's My Pictures Slideshow when I want surprises but, otherwise, I use another slideshow program (with some very nice features but no longer available, unfortunately) with a dedicated slideshow album of pictures of places around the world where I've traveled.

 

Hey, Jim, got any good pics you'd like to share? I have some great OHIO stuff, if you're interested!

Newt, Do you mean when you go fishing, and the house is empty, you leave your computer on?

Charles, Did you mean shut down for 15 minutes periodically in hot weather?

Johanna

 

Hi Jim,

*What!? Joisey gets hot in the summer?*

What, it doesn't get hot in "The Guyland "?

Actually, not this summer, just wet. Had to go down to SC to experience summer this year.

The computer is in a upstairs bedroom cum office. Nice and toasty in the winter though.

Johanna,

No, shut down after 15 minutes if idle time. Although, as I wrote above, this past summer was just not hot, so mostly kept the system up during the day, and shut down at night. The monitor, the biggest heat source, that I set to power down after 15 minutes of idle time.

Regards - Charles

 

Hey Johanna, I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

 

Newt, Do you mean when you go fishing, and the house is empty, you leave your computer on?

Sure. Why not?

7x24. Monitor is set to go dark after an hour (I hate screen savers) but otherwise, 7x24. Started when I first got Win95 and have continued. Good UPS though.