When you're not using your computer...

[Actor]

..

[Angus]

I've taken the advice of the IT geeks at work...that its not too good for the machine to keep turning it off and rebooting...even overnight it is rarely unused for longer than 6 hours since many nights it sits encoding DVD's from when we go to bed.

I usually periodically restart it though...just to let Windows blow its nose, so to speak.

When we go away for more than one night we do tend to shut it down completely, unless its recording TV or radio programmes (rare since I got a DVD recorder).

At work we have some 400 PC's....almost every one is left on 24/7 except during school holidays.

Laptop is set to go to sleep 10 mins after its lid is shut, even if its on the mains power.

[mattias]

true it's better both for the hardware (less stress) and the software (maintenance time) if you keep it running. the hard drive doesn't like it as much as the rest, but it should go to sleep when needed anyway.

/matt

[Uppsala BildTeknik]

I let all my 5 computers run 24/7... often one or two of them has enconding work to do at night.

[Angus]

I think currently the main PC has been running for 6 days without a reeboot.

It was last acually shut down two weeks ago when we spent two nights away from home.

[mattias]

apple forces me to reboot every 50 days or so because of system updates. my last uptime was 48 days and ended yesterday.

/matt

[DriveIn]

There were reasons to not cycle a computer on and off in the distant past, but that is not an issue with current hardware. The facts of the past have become a myth in the present as they do not apply to modern hardware. Actually, running the hardware for the hours when it is not necessary shortens the life of most components. Most hardware has a time based lifespan, and leaving them on all the time shortens that lifespan. Laser Diodes are just one of the many components that still has a limited lifespan, so every hour your computer is left on is one less hour of life in your CD or DVD recorder.

Besides, you never know what the computers might be up to when you're not around.... http://www.xs4all.nl/~jvdkuyp/flash/see.htm

[mattias]

Actually, running the hardware for the hours when it is not necessary shortens the life of most components.

well, another improvement in today's technology is power management so no components are running when not necessary, certainly not things like cd and hard drives. i think you're right about the on and off thing being a myth, but i leave mine on mainly for software reasons anyway. all unix systems do a great job cleaning up and optimizing the system when not in use, not sure about windows though.

/matt

[Bolex Collector]

Well, I turn it off whenever I leave the house for any considerable length...

I recently had a fan become disconnected on my video card. Obviously, the GPU overheated. It got so hot that it began to melt the plastic fan blades and some of the wiring.

Fortunately I was at home, and the smell of an electrical fire got my attention. (and the smell lasted a day). I don't think it would've burned the house down, but you never know.

(why the fan on the graphics card fell out, I don't know. Nvidia GT 6600.. it was less than a year old)

[freddiesykes]

(why the fan on the graphics card fell out, I don't know. Nvidia GT 6600.. it was less than a year old)

Same thing happened to my MSI 6600GT.. ended up getting a replacement fan in vain because the card ended up dying two weeks later.

I always turn my computer off when not using it to conserve power.

[Evan Kubota]

my last uptime was 48 days and ended yesterday.

Yeah, mine are about 30 days on average... I usually put the computer to sleep when I do, but sometimes not (if processes are running). If I'm at school or out of the house for a while it will be put to sleep. Otherwise it stays on.

I can't imagine returning to the bad old days when internet connections had to be re-established for each session...

[gianni1]

I've had window machine meltdowns too, but mine have all been DIY kits using the absolute cheapest components... Once an external firewire drive container went bad and it's powersupply started melting in the powerstrip.. lucky I was there but it was a bitch unplugging the soft AC adaptor. Remarkably the hard disk survived.

Now only the Apple Macs stay on unattended, set to sleep when not in use. We power down things when we leave the hobbit hole for trips around the shire.

Gianni 8O

[VideoFred]

I have four computers. I always turn them off when not using them.
I even turn of the 220V power supply.
I just do not trust it... to leave them several hours unattended (fire).
The computer power supply is always working, right?

Yes, they all must boot at least once a day.
I have had only one HD crash so far...
With a brandnew computer.. :roll:

Fred.

[mattias]

The computer power supply is always working, right?

no, it's shut off too. it still has voltage though, so a shortcut or similar can cause a fire, which isn't as likely if you switch it off.

anyway, we forget the most important aspect: who the hell has time to wait for a computer to boot? when i have to i start checking my email on the cell meanwhile, out of pure frustration. ;-)

/matt

[flatwood]

For years I was of the school that leaves all gear on all the time. Class A audio gear especially like my mixing console never powered down. Problems usually ony occur on power up, but that was left over from the analogue days when you didnt want paper caps to get damp from humidity or have solder joints crack from the expansion and contraction.

The computer in the office with the internet connection has been on for about two years only shutting down to move it and when the power occasionally goes off but in my little "studio" I turn them off (three) at night and power up first thing in the morning since I can go to work in my pajamas now.