Leaving Your Computer On? - is this good for it?

[styfer 0]

I have read a theory about everytime u turn on the mains to your computer, there is this sudden surge of electricity going from your mains to your computer. This sudden surge can be harmful. That is one reason y some recommend to keep your computers on 24/7btw for those who do not want to get hacked when running your computers 24/7 you can always set a script asking your computer to renew its IP address every few hours? (ISP dependent of course)

[-[Nero]- 0]

I wouldn't on my comp 24/7. My hard-disk heats up easily and dmg easily. Also, my internet security is very vulnarable to virus attacks if i on my comp 24/7

[bioqzs 0]

i dont think so..thats be dangerous...it's ok for 48hours...

[Nekroun 0]

is leaving your computer on 24/7 good for it?

I agree with the other people who posted that turning off the computer at least once a day is helpful. This statement is especially true if your using Microsoft Windows, because The way the OS is written, when programs are stopped, The OS doesn't always 'reclaim' the ram that it was using to run the programs. There is also an error in the earlier Microsoft OS's that if run for 47 straight days, the OS will barf. I don't feel that the energy usage is really a problem though, because of the Engery Star compliant equipment that is out on the market nowdays. The real damage to the computer comes into play in the design of the modern computers. An example of this is, like my ex-girlfriends HP computer, in size, it is a little tiny box, with not much space for air-flow, with only one fan, and the unit is a metal box covered by a plastic box ... What happens is that as the machine runs the components build up heat which has no where to go & the heat degrades the components quicker. Shortly after it was bought I had to replace the CD-Rom drive for her because the heat built up in the machine and fried the piece! To work around this type of problem, I hand built my own computer. I used a large metal box, with no plastic covering. It also has a fan for the power supply, but I didn't stop there ... I attached a fan to my larger Hard Drive and I put a fan in the box itself. My computer is designed to run continually - like a server, but even I turn it off once a day!
Edited January 12, 2007 by Nekroun (see edit history)

[TeeCee06 0]

Everyone that I know says that you should turn off your computer and all of that stuff but I NEVER turn mine off. Im only 16 years old and I have had two computers, including this one, I have never had any problems with them. The only reason I even got a new computer was because the old one was outdated and slow because of the small amount of RAM. If I ever ran into any problems due to the fact I leave my computer on I might start turning it off. The only reason I dont turn it off is because I hate waiting for it to load up everything.

[korin 0]

I leave my computer on for a few days at a time, but I always give it a breather. The only thing I'd worry about my computer is with dust. I have a laptop and after a while it does need a good fan cleaning. I just shut it off, go get the shop-vac, set it to blow, and blow out the fans a little. I did the same for my desktop, although that machine isn't the best designed air system. I clean that out like every two months or so cuz it attracts so much.

[Galahad 0]

Ok, here is my pesonal record, set a few hours ago...

 

System uptime: 912h 11m 23s (~38.0 days)... It would have been longer, I'm sure, but we had power outage, so, my comp kind of reset itself

 

Anyways, there's nothing wrong with leaving your computer on... It's turning it on and off, that damages mechanical parts in it, like fans, hard drives, etc... Ofcourse, they do have they're operating hours, but that's measured in thousands od hours...

 

I'm gonna try, and go for 1K hours uptime

[Spyda 0]

No its not good because your computr heats up and then something horrid will most likely occur to your computer thingy magigy because of your inexplisive nonesene! Anyway, just turn that baby off, and when you need it tutn that baby on

[intmun 0]

Apart from the fact that i'm sure it can;t be as good as turning it off, should we really ignore the effects of the environment that leaving your computer on 24/7 365 days/year can cause! Surely for the environemt it is better to turn it off. Plus..you can;t use it in your sleep can you!!!

[korin 0]

You could use it in your sleep if your running torrents or some other download or something. Or if you are running a website or ftp site locally on your box.

[csgaming 0]

Well if you have good ventiliation system on your pc, then yeah it's not bad for your pc... But if you really don't then yeah, it can heat up and restart or stuff... By the way what's the point of holding your pc 24/7 if you're running a server or downloading smth big ? It could be bad for your health because of the radiation... So think about it

[crayolabox 0]

I take pity in my PC so I let in rest once in a while. They get tired too, you know. And turning it off makes newly installed application run faster. Im just not comfortable with the idea of my computer running 24/7. For me, the refrigerator is the only thing in the house that deserves to run for 24/7, not even the TV.

[ewcreator 0]

i think it bad for pcbut if you leaving it on 24/7 you should just restat pc sometime a day just make program you running work properly

[farsiscript 0]

OMG , my notebook is on 24/7 but i programming in my free time , in some case i see movie and design web projects

[jtmcpherson 0]

if you want to leave your computer on for extended periods of time i would reccomend that you have a decent cooling system because if it is not properly cooled your components will fry and you're computer will be ruined. however, if you're computer is sufficiently cooled and you turn it off to remove dust ( so that it wont jam a fan and have it overheat) and make sure that all the fans are operational i don't see how it could be an issue.