shut down pc?

[memento27oasis]

I was wondering if you should shut down windows every night, befor you go to bed. Or, should I just turn off the monitor? Is it bad leaving your pc on constantly?

[Atomic]

Well I leave mine on 24/7. The hard drive will wear out faster since its always spinning, as will the monitor if you leave it on all the time, which I recommend turning off every night.

[Luke2004]

It's always best to leave computers turned off, this reduces the risk of fire too.

[memento27oasis]

It's always best to leave computers turned off, this reduces the risk of fire too.

sounds like my Dad talking.

 

 

[Lynk]

I only leave mine on if it needs to be on, but I leave it on most of the time if I go out.

 

Pc running its cycle in the middle of the night isnt something nice to wake up to either.

[Wolf68k]

You could always put it into Sleep Mode. The system is basicly up and will take a lot less time starting up the next time.

You can also use the Power Management system to automaticly make the system sleep after a set amount of time.

[segosa]

There's a good article about this subject here:

 

http://www.pcguide.com/care/care/gen/powerOnOff-c.html

 

Basically it sums it up by saying that leaving the PC on all the time will increase its lifetime, but monitors should always be turned off.

 

 

Thermal Stress: After your PC has been off for many hours the components will be at room temperature. When the PC is turned on, the components will heat up, sometimes to much higher temperatures than 70 degrees F, causing them to expand. Then when you turn off the PC they cool down again, and contract. This cycle of heating and cooling causes thermal stress in the components that make up the PC, and is a leading cause of system failure (this is also what normally causes light bulbs to fail, which is why they usually pop when you turn them on, and not out of the blue). Leaving the PC on all the time greatly reduces thermal stress, which can lead to increased life for the system. Strange as it may seem, most components last longer if you leave then running 24 hours a day for years than if you leave them off for 22 hours a day and on for only 2

 

 

I can tell you from experience that this is true. Our family has always kept our PCs on 24/7. My parents' is 7 years old and has always been left on overnight for those 7 years, and it's still running fine. (500MHz, though it's now my sister's)

 

My grandad's is even older (200MHz) and it still runs fine, the hardware has never had to be replaced for those 7+ years.

 

Mine is always on too, and I've not had any hardware issues or anything for the last three years. Plus, rebooting is a hassle. I have programs running, doing stuff, etc. Shutting down every night would be a nightmare.

 

The only issue would be the cost of electricity, but that's your decision...

[vALKYR]

I only leave it on when neccesary. Which most of the time, is not the case. I don't care whether it survives longer than 6,643 years or whatever if you leave it on.

 

I'm going to sell it anyways after 3 years and buy myself a new one.

 

(not to mention I pay my own electric bills )

[ilikensrs]

I leave mine on all the time. It's not protected by the firewall or router when it's off.

[boobtronic]

I leave mine on all the time. It's not protected by the firewall or router when it's off.

But...it's also not connected to the internet. And how exactly does your router protect it?

[Tornado Rex]

I honestly can't sleep as well without my computer fans running.

[MiNdLeSs]

24/7/365 unless when i'm gonna be gone for a few days. i have my pc folding when it's idle, so it's on for a good reason.

[Grandthefter]

I never turn my PC off anymore, its too crap to turn off for some reason. It takes like 5 minutes to turn off so i just turn my screen off and my speakers incase it makes a random noise during the night and wakes me up.