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

[krazygoddess 0]

I very rarely turn mine off, I never really have unless vacation or gonna be gone for a couple days. I have also done this for years and nothing has ever happened to any of my pc's once in a great while I will turn it off jsut to give it a break other than that this pc is on 24/7 actually we have 3 pc's in the house that are on 24/7, and nothing has ever happened to any of them.

[musicmaza 0]

I have never tried to leave my computer on for a such a long time.But one of my friend did that,first he had no problems but later his computer started working slow.According to me the computer need to be turned off so so that it also gets some relaxation time as we do that by having a nap.I would never try that,because I think the computer can get blown off and after that I am dead because my parents wouldn't like to have a blown off computer and also there is a risk to other household appliances.

[Csshih 0]

Whenever I leave my computer on for a long time, it always hangs when I try using it again, but aren't start/restart cycles bad for hardware?

[csp4.0 1]

it only puts thermal stress on the components, that is why it was cheaper for ENIAC to be kept on continuously. Although kepping components on reduces its lifetime, resarting cycles put a lot of thermal stress for many components (namely the CPU, the GPU and RAM) some cheaper components also get the chance of power surges when you turn them on...

[mm22 0]

I think leaving your computer on 24/7 without any specific reason is first of all a bad practice towards our planet! sure, a few tens/hundreds of watts don't mean much but... hang on, how many computers are there in the world? :lol:I don't want to be pathetic or say anything obvious but if there's no reason to have it on all the time, it should be switched off whenever we are not planning to use it for, say, a few hours... it's certainly no use to switch it off for a few minutes, lunch break or so on, but who among us only sleeps a few minutes a day...? if we really need to leave it on overnight (server usage, updates, etc.) we should at least switch off the monitor which will also spare us some electromagnetic fields :DI guess most 24/7 computers are to be found in places where the user does not directly pay the electricity bill (e.g. office, rented property, etc.) and often convenience is adducted as excuse for not switching it off... but come on how long does it take for the slowest Windows to reboot? 3-4 minutes? just the time to visit the restroom :DI'm not saying I have never left my computer on overnight, I surely have, just pointing out how this should not be simply a habit or something we do just because nobody tells us not to do it... believe me if i had to go through a lengthy 10 minutes active process (like closing each one process by hand...) I surely wouldn't do it! but I think 2 or 3 extra clicks won't spoil my day :Das for whether it is good or bad for the electronics inside the computer, I am not an expert but i believe most components should work just fine if powered on and off once or twice a day... besides Windows doesn't seem to be able to hold stable for much longer than a day in my experience :Dwhen using XP on a laptop I've actually made extensive use of "standby mode", which should only consume a fraction of the power and yet allow you to quickly resume your system, previously "frozen" into RAM... I was quite surprised when i could not locate that same function on Vista, where only a Sleep mode (not really sure what sleeps...) or Hibernate mode (dumps everything to disk and takes just about as long as a normal power off) are available... or maybe it's just the version I have used...ok, enough of this, I think i got my point across... hang on, how much precious power did I waste writing this comment??

[Stridr 0]

A few things to take note of. If you really wish to do that, please get a better internal fan for it, or even a water cooling system. If you are hosting or doing mission critical work, I suggest you have the aircon on as well. With all these costs, unless you have big business running on that computer that you cant be a minute late, its still best you let your PC rest. Cheers.

[blackcaps 0]

Noway...Leaving computer 24/7 will damage health of both, health of pc and the one who use it. Continues load is always harmful, rest is must in any case. Atleast we must keep pc off for few hours.You will start sweating, after looking electric bill at the end of month

[Albee1337 0]

No, for me leaving the computer online is a bad idea. Why? Because it causes blue screens and the CPU to overheat sometimes. I am afraid one day if I put it on for too long, it might cause a fire? But thats just a bizarre theory that I have. I'm not lazy to turn off the computer, its just that my computer doesn't always follow my instructions, as it can go slow at times due to so many programs being downloaded, or being used at once. Multi-tasking is something that I perform alot, which makes it go slow...,......

[kudmus 0]

Any machinery will last longer the less the usage when it doesn't need to be on.

I thought this was common knowledge. This is why I switch of my rig everyday. When I leave my desk.

[varalu 0]

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

I do not think so.
1. You are wasting energy if are not running something very important.
2. Computing Resource is being wasted for nothing.
3. Your computer ages and cannot be used for so many years. Wear and tear.

[hertonsils 0]

I don't personally do this because I really have no need or desire (plus it just racks the power bill up) but I know plenty of people that leave theirs on 24/7 and get away just fine with it.I don't think it's totally all that bad for it but then again it's definitely not good for it.

[Nabb 0]

I do not think so.1. You are wasting energy if are not running something very important.
2. Computing Resource is being wasted for nothing.
3. Your computer ages and cannot be used for so many years. Wear and tear.

Well, if you're running something like BOINC, then the energy can be used for something more useful (one or more of the many available distributed computing projects), making 1) and 2) possibly void.

I do like hibernating though, it helps me continue doing whatever I was doing the night before without needing to re-open the programs I was using! I do switch off my monitors (i.e. lower the laptop lid and turn off the external) when I'm going to have a short break, and standby works reasonably well for somewhat longer pauses.

If leaving a computer on overnight for other purposes (downloading a large file, burning a dvd (with a slow burner!)), most programs for these things have the option to shutdown your computer once the operation is finished, so that should be an option you're using (and if you can't have your computer turn off when a download finished, stop using the built-in IE downloader!)
Edited November 25, 2008 by Nabb (see edit history)

[sknsoftwares 0]

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

Strictly not suggestable. It will cause many problems to your pc like wearing and tearing of your components, high electricity billing charges, etc. So dont do that to your system. Even big servers are many a time switched off for some harware maintenences etc. More over if you are online then it will cause spying of your system etc. So no no no..... to your idea of 24/7 leaving a computer on.?

[iGuest 3]

I personally leave it on as much as possible. Apart from downloading and using it for distributed computing (Folding@Home), turning your comp off and on constantly damages all the chips. Much like roads, they expand when hot and contract when they cool down. As a result, over time this cycle can cause them to crack, just like the cracks you see on the road in places with extreme tempratures. This one is debatable but I have heard that your hard drives also last longer if you leave them on constantly. As drives around me have died after just a few years, mine has stayed alive for 5 years, even while constantly on (higher working hours). If you can afford the bill, turn off your monitor and leave the comp on.

[tatati 0]

No problem at all if it?s cool and clean (no dust around) and has nice memory management. the first computers weren?t allowed to shutdown because they had to work too much! cellphones are computers too and i hardly turn mine off.