To leave on or Turn Off???

[The Kamer]

Ive heard alot of ppl say its better to leave your comp. on all the time,that it helps not shutting it down all the time n stuff. but it also makes the comp. and the room which its in real hot (which happens to be my samll bedroom) and i also noticed it begins to run slower so what is better? on all the time or shutting down

[bailey]

what I would do is turn it off,
but the best thing you could would be to invest in better air circulation or a small air cond, if the computer is enough to heat up the room, I must assume that you have a fast cpu and some good hardware in it, and realy useing some wattage from you power supply, or you have a amd cpu, in which case the air cond would be the better choice.
if you can't find a better way to get rid of the heat generated by the system.
in the heat of the summer weather you could run into a real problem.

[morriswindgate]

It makes no differance in the life of the machine. I turn mine off so that I do not become a target of a hacker, no point in giving them the time they need to get around my security by leaving it on all the time.
And as to wear and tear on the parts, the drives spin up and spin down all the time and that it where they wear.

[fred]

I agree ( it makes no difference).In theory you would think it would, but, like a car, most damage is done when you first start the engine! ( Albeit for different reasons! Thermal, electrical and mechanical stresses are greater when you first turn a PC on. ) I have had MANY conversations with manufacturers about this and overall, it works out about the same turning it off and leaving it on. That is not generally true of monitors though, which do seem to fall over faster if you leave them on all the time.
BUT! my vote would be to turn it off and save the planet. After all, if we all left them on, that would add up to a lot of watts.

[HAL9000]

I disagree. I used to turn my systems off all the time and found that things like fans didn't last worth a damn (it's quite dusty around here) and that leaving it on, they lasted much longer. Even the businesses that I deal with have less hard drive and monitor failures when leaving everything on. It's an endless debate like AMD/Intel though, it's going to come down to a personal preference.

[Hpro]

I also disagree - the biggest wear down any electrical component will take is by switching on and off.. PSU for a instance will take up to 10 Amps load when freshly started . Hard disk will need about three times as much Torque to get the Platter motor stated - Once the run - power consumption will go down by 60 % for the Motor drive controllor on the drive controller Board - this is that printed cirquit board attached to the hard drive -

Just as example have you ever saw a light bulb getting out when already on - this will count for only 5 % of all failures of light bulbs - not talking about neon lights..- Light bulbs will blow when flipping the switch from off to on..

As HAL9000 stated - Fans are the most ones which will die by switching on and of..

As for the first poster whose computer heats as it is on standby or alike - if you have a Throttle adjustment in the Power Management the reduce throtttle to 1/3 when in stand by...this will take less power for the CPU and reduce heat - the Xeon Server I use here as soon set on standby the fans will turn off after a few minutes almost no power needed to keep the server in standby...

And Morris if you afraid of hackers - they can't hack in on a disabled modem or DSL or ADSL or whatever.. Lock it up..

My computer is on for 3 months at times unless we get power fails in the city or it has to be cleaned out..

Constant temperature is another thing to keep devices in good shape -
I have a special Soldering Equipment where the head oof it cost about 30 USD - this is a very fine NEEDLE PIN HEAD and it's Ceramic.. if I unplug this one and replug it ever morning at my working table then the head is screwed within 3 monts of time.. it will have burned holes into it on the side recuing the heat so good soldering is impossible.. the only thing is to replace the head with a new one - but leave i plugged in then it lasts up to 8 months .. and this solder iron is running on 20 Watts only .. and has to be kept hot at the same level to do good soldering ... ask toaster he sure will agree with this..

when you have your computer on then just make sure that there are no CDROMS in the tray - as leaving the HEAD LASER ON is a bad thing as it will burn in the lens..

My opinion on this matter...

[fred]

Oh oh! This looks like a "go on forever" thread.

But, I still agree with MW!!! :D

Although I am no expert in fans and soldering irons, I can say that I was involved in an investigation that included a number of design engineers from Western Digital and IBM. They concluded, given average circumstances ( non-harsh environments and a working day of 8 hours), that leaving the pc on all the time or switching it on in the morning and off at night had no discernable impact on the MTBF of the drives.

Now, okay, I am prepared to admit that with other devices you might get different results, but a drive is almost a small PC in itself, with bearings, windings, chips. I would guess what applies to drives applies to the bulk of the pc.

Course there are exceptions. If you only use a pc for an hour a day, I would say definately turn it off! If you use one for 16 hours a day, well, then perhaps leave it on. And if it is a dusty environment..and..and...I think there are lots of factors...

[Computer Hobbyist]

I have noticed that my network server, which is up 24/7, has never had a problem, but my workstations, which are turned off and on routinely, have lost fans, harddrives and other components. It might just be a coincidence, but I doubt it. What do all the network administrators think?

CH

[Kassia]

I don't have anything worth hacking into on my computer, but isn't a cable modem connected to the internet all the time? Is it possible to access a computer on a cable modem even when it's shut down? And if you don't shut it down, how can you protect yourself?

BTW: I shut down my computer all the time...and I just had to replace a fan.

[freptide]

I have a good example for why you should keep it always on:
My friend owns a store and the computer has been on for 5 years without power down! Its a pentiium 150mhz and I jjust opened it up to dust it out. If youre going to leave your computer on I reccommend the APC 350V BackupTh. Not only will it stay on and protect from surges, but it also protects it from voltage fluctuations and spikes that can shorten the life and performance of a computer.
Its about 50 bucks $US.

[archie]

As for protection from hackers, if a PC is left on, it could always be protected with a software firewall ... ie zonealarm.
The question of leaving it on or turning it off is one that is still not overly clear to me. It's not so bad when you have just one or half a dozen computers ... how about organizations that have hundreds? Leaving computers on all the time does increase the noise level, add heat to a room, use electricity, etc.
It does make a difference on how often the PC is used IMO. I have some PCs that are used often that I leave turned on all the time, some that are used every 2nd or 3rd day for only a couple of hours at a time and not again that day ... so these will be turned off. Another is used throughout the day that gets turned on in the morning and turned off at night. The ones that stay on all the time have not had to have parts replaced in the last year whereas one of the PC that is turned off at night has had a power supply 'blow up' during bootup [that could be a coincidence]. As for the tip by Hpro about the CD-ROM, I'd never heard of it before and until I hear otherwise, will remove the CDs from the drives ... it seems to make sense.
When a PC is used for 2 hours, then not again on the same day for another 3 hours, keeping it on for the whole day should be considered. If a windows PC is left on all the time, it may be worth considering rebooting at least once a day though ... for backup of the registry and to 'reset' the computer.

[dave1rr]

My only experence is with my first computer, which I used for 3-1/2 yr until a few weeks ago, and it was on 24/7 and down only about 24 hr total.
I'll be leaving my new computer on all the time also.

edit: using cable modem and ZoneAlarm too.

[Hpro]

If a windows PC is left on all the time, it may be worth considering rebooting at least once a day though ... for backup of the registry and to 'reset' the computer.
Backups will be made automatically even if the PC is left on as soon the date changes - as it isn't SCANREG which makes the backup but SCANREGW.EXE instead -

[HAL9000]

PC's that run the Win9x kernel do benefit with a reboot. I run 24/7 and use the task scheduler to schedule a reboot every morning.

[highrisemech]

Make sure your smoke alarms work if you go to bed with
these things on. Computers have caused house fires all be it from a faulty part.
It is best to play it safe.

[HAL9000]

Actually, that is something for a person to consider. While I do run quality parts, I also do have a smoke detector in my computer room. If one were to fry to the point of starting a fire, I want as much time as possible to get out.

[archie]

Backups will be made automatically even if the PC is left on as soon the date changes
Thanks Hpro, I thought the registry was only backed up on a reboot for some reason.

[Hpro]

Highrise and also Hal - sorry but I have to disagree - I agree with that having a smoke detector is a good thing to have - but I can not agree on highrises - if the computer goes up in smoke.. or likewise - because it will not..

Todays powersupply are very sophisticated - the most can happen is that the fuse blows - if the computer is open and you have a huge gas tank besides it then OK = but who does this has to be a real lamer...not to call stupid..!

With covered side panels there ain't no way to get a fire in the box and todays houses have brakers and fuses - no sorry that one is far way out of becoming true..

A good powersupply will

Shut down if the fan fails to turn
Shut down if the HEAT crosses a preset level
Shut down if extraordinary Amp levels are drawn from it.

The Fuse in it will blow if

Either the main Rectifying stage is short or
The main Regulater has been shorted
Exessive power is drwan from the line (wall outlet)

I do not have a smoke detector - and my comp is on since I build it - it is off for cleaning and for maintenance or when we get a pwoer failure - which here is quite often night times - drunks driving against the power poles etc..

Sorry to have to disagree..

[highrisemech]

Hpro, as much as I respect your opinion.
You can disagree all you want.
There was a fire in my area where the fire marshall
determined that the computer caused it.
I'm not about to argue the specifics
I stand behind my post.

[Hpro]

You see the fact that there was a fire cause by a computer I personally agree with you..! but the reasons behind there - is as I stated above -
so the house wiring was fused to strong it didn't blew the fuses out instead of letting get the computer up in smoke - there are always two sided of the coin -
I give you a chance to prove at your home what I just have typed above - just a really small example - use a old PSU turn it on and then hold the fan of it for a short time - may it will take some time till the PSU responds , some of them taking longer or some of them taking less time to respond - but the PSU will shutdown..!!!

Then use this very same PSU, switch it on and create a short cirquit at the output of it - across the outlet of it - place a piece of solder wire between the RED or Yellow and Black wire - PSU will shut down iimediately .. and the fuse will not blow - because the SHORT was created on the SECONDARY low Voltage Side of the PSU ..

If a house goes up in smoke because of a computer then the house owner should be put into prison including the Electrician which setup the wiring in the house.. This and only this will prevent fires because of Bad wiring over fused Cirquits etc..
This is my opinion on this - and may also you go ask the Fire marshall what excatly happen - where the fire broke out - in the computer or at Wire levels.. this would be interesting to know..

[HAL9000]

I understand your point as well, but at the same time would rather be safe than sorry.

[lil Jimmie]

24/7 here, unless I go out of town. :p

[Hpro]

If I would setup a SMOKE detector here in my Envirorement - I ouwld have the Fire Department 24 hours around my place - havin two noodle shops just besides my place then a pork shop which is grilling his pork from early in the morning to late night - and I live in a hot country I have to have windows open all the time to get "Fresh smoked air.."LOL
So there for all the ELECTRICS here in my private rooms as well in the shop and also in the Repair Section of my business - are TOP - Highspeed fused and separated for each repair table.. even my Repair section looks like it had been hit Worldwar 3 (Ask Peter653) he was here not too long ago - but electricity maintaining is is GRADE 1.!!!

So in my opinion - I go safe - and I love my wife and kids - I don't like to loose my stuff because of Ridiculous reasons..

[DFastLane]

You could make a point for not leaving on anything in the house while you're away or asleep. A computer is just like any other appliance. I have a gas heater that worries me much more than any PC.

I leave mine on for sheer convenience. I don't want to have to wait for a boot every time I need to sit down and use the PC - especially first thing in the morning when I'm cranky enough already.

Plus I have to reboot stuff enough during the day when troubleshooting or fixing. It's nice to come home and sit down to a nice working, booted PC...

[Paul Victorey]

I keep mine on 24/7 most of the time, I shut it off on the nights insomnia makes the fan noise unbearable.

I do agree that any 9x kernel machine needs a daily reboot; there are a lot of applications with miniscule resource leaks. But because two of the system resources (User and GDI heaps) are, for win3.1 compatibility, 16-bit, these are each only 64K of memory which every program running must share. If one program fails to play nice, it's not hard to burn 64 kilobytes and run out of system resources.

2000 and XP are, like NT 4, fully 32-bit, with no 16-bit addressed memory spaces, so for a resource leak to really matter, it would have to be quite huge. I'm running 2K now, I can probably get by with never rebooting except for when I shut down the machine to transport it somewhere, or rebooting for program installations.

I've had NT4 machines running 24/7 for more than 6 months without a reboot, or any problems at all.

[morriswindgate]

The never ending saga continues:

As to Zone Alarm, I know a site right now where you can go get the code, if so inclined, to add to a Trojan/virus which not only will disable ZA, but replace the icon with one that looks like it is working.

As to fire dangers, the fire danger in a PC is not the Power supply, it's the Monitor. A CRT will store enough energy that even if you unplug it, a short can cause a fire for up to 24 hours after the electricity is removed. This goes for Televisions or for that matter anything with large capacitors.

As to mechanical devices such as fans, the main cause of failure is the bearings and bearing have a definite life based upon the type of bearing, type of lubrication and quality, and the amount of vibration. Therefore running 24/7 causes heat which breaks down lubrication and introduces contamination and dirt build-up which sets up vibration and uneven loading on the bearings.

As to electronic devices heat cycling is more detrimental that electrical current in-rush. Whereas a motor in a fan has to overcome friction and gravity to start rotating (The value of the voltage supplied drops at starting, there fore the amperage increases dramaticallyfor a short period of time) the voltage in electronics just starts flowing (this is why a top notch power supply is so important as electronics is sensitive to voltage drops). Surge protectors are designed to prevent sudden high voltage conditions of the power supplied to the power supply, such as lightning strikes or sudden fluctuations caused by say a large generation station tripping off line.

As to power supples, A fuse is a short circuit device, and if a fuse blows in a power supply, this is an indication of problems within the power supply circuitry and it should be replaced (Not the fuse but the power supply). For overloads circuit breakers or overloads are used, which are timed heat devices that only trip after a condition exists for a period of time based upon the build up of heat in the tripping circuit. However since a power supply acts as an isolation device (Transformers cannot pass an electrical fault) it is possible for a fire due to a short to start on the board without blowing the power supply fuse. Luckily most electronics failures are in the form of open circuits and not shorts.

As to CPUs, RAM, Hard Drives, and other cards. When a computer is on these devices are constantly being polled, and therefore are working then idling which is wear and tear. This happens anytime they are on, plus there is constant heating and cooling when this takes place, and if heat is good, then there would be no discussions in this forum about Heatsinks, case fans, card coolers and Arctic silver.

The good thing is, that for the most part it doesn't matter if you turn it off or leave it on. The difference in life and failure is very little. And for the most part the history of the PC has shown that they will outlive their useful and practical computing life before failing a high percentage of the time.

[pcoopers]

Several mentions here about windows slowing down after computer has been on for hours. Or days, whatever.

That was severe problem here on P-1 machine, still noticeable on 550. I went searching for answers to that problem. I won't even try to give a technical answer, but it relates to memory management. Using the FREE program, Ramidle, has solved that problem. Other programs, shareware and freeware, address the problem, but none of them solved it, so Ramidle is installed on all my machines. If they are on for 2 weeks, performance doesn't degrade noticeably.

I won't argue about turning machines off, but thanks for the tip about removing CD from tray Hpro. That one makes sense to me!!

[mike breck]

This is always an interesting debate.

My view is, don't bother about wear and tear - switch it off and be damned.
You'll probably be itching to upgrade long before the components wear out.

To use Fred's analogy with a car in a different way, if we use the wear and tear arguement, we should really leave our cars running 24/7. After all, a car is a much more expensive piece of machinery than a PC. But we don't.

The PC is just a machine and is there to serve us. However, being PC enthusiasts, the danger is, we can sometimes take it too far and end up serving the machine.

To the Kamer: Do what you feel happiest with and don't worry too much about wear and tear.

[Jade]

I'll read it all next time, but as for turn off shortens the lifespan. I would say the more important\expensive parts are the HD, CD-R, and CPU (which like to be cooled off).

[alan]

I usually leave my Server PC on 24/7 except for times i know I will be busy for extended periods. For example i knew I would be going out with friends on Friday and a hockey game on saturday. Even though I would be home I didn't see any time in using the PC all weekend. I turned off my PC on Thursday night before I went to bed.

One more things. Is it prudent to reboot your server every now and then? Especially if you leave it on 24/7

[archie]

For servers, it depends partly on which network OS is used. A Novell server can stay on for quite a while and TTBOMK, will operate more efficiently after running for a certain time ... having it go for a few months without a reboot is not considered out of the ordinary. Usually, Novell servers are only downed for a software upgrade or when absolutely necessary due to an 'abend'.

[azscary]

I work for a very large ISP and we literally have hundreds of computers in our office. There are 8 other offices nationwide as large or larger than ours. ALL of our computers stay on even during holidays and vacations. The general concensus is that:

1. The power consumption cost is negligible to the cost of constantly replacing parts due to start up/shut down stress.

2. If any antivirus updates are ran the machine must be on to receive them.

3. If any Network updates are necessary the machines must be on to receive them.

4. Automatic backups are not performed if the system is off.

5. It REALLY pisses off the Network and LAN admin guys when they want to do something to your machine REAL QUICK and have to wait for it to boot!

All of our machines have the screen saver enabled and we ARE required to log off (Windows 2000 boxes) at the end of our shift. FAT32 machines really benefit from a restart EVERY DAY and more often if using memory or cache intensive apps. I use Windows 2000 with the NTFS and still restart mine every day. My home computer stays on 24/7 and I have DSL always on access. When I test my connection I am invisible on the internet. The IP address that shows up is that of my ISP and not mine. You can test your internet presence here

https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

[cobra]

I prefer to leave mine on all of the time, unless I will be out of town for more than a day.
Better safe than sorry

[highrisemech]

I see it like a TV. I shut it off when I'm done.