On or Off

[Vic 970]

I,ve seen/heard a lot of split opinions about leaving the PC on all the time or switching off when not in use. Normally I shut mine down when not in use till the next evening, but usually leave it on over weekend or when using early the next day. I switch off the monitor & speakers & the hard drive switches down on its own after a period.
How does it all work, whats best for the machine? and what does it all cost.?

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Regards..,
Vic.

[sea69]

it depends on who you talk to really. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

For me- it's best to keep my machine on all the time. Thats because I'm always on it (probably online 18 hours a day)

If I wasn't going to be on it when I wake up, or know I'm going away for any extended period of time (more than 10 hours-) I probably would just turn it off.unless - I had a server up.

I go with the old saying that it's better to just let it run, than to keep starting up- less wear and tear spinning the drive on boot- but with most windows 9x OS, that doesn't make much difference as you need to re-boot now and then when things just plain stop working right. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif

love to hear what the others have to say on this one.

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*another 'toaster' bites the dust*

[tjaymadison]

The most comprehensive discussion I've seen is right here (http://pcguide.com/care/care/gen/power_OnOff.htm) in The PC Guide.

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"When I nod my head, hit it with the hammer."
(Moe, holding nail, to Curly, holding hammer)

[bassman]

Hi Vic,
The reason for so many different opinions is because there are a lot of factors involved. It really boils down to a personal preferance. My desktop machines I pretty much leave on all day once they have been turned on. My laptop I will put to stand by if I will come back to it within 1 to 2 hours. With the desktops, if I know they wont be used before bedtime at any point in the day, I will shut them down.
Savings wise, startup and shutdown several times a day is wear and tear on components. Leaving them run is energy consumption. You gotta weigh that one out for your self.
Not sure if I was any help http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif but at least you got one more opinion http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif .
Good luck

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They say to eat before you go to the grocery store so you don't buy so much. That doesn't work at the liquor store does it!

[kayden azagthoth]

I usually shut my system down before I go to bed. I figure my PC needs a nap too! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif The only times I leave it on overnight is if I am doing preventative maintenence on it or if I am downloading a large/several files.

I have a silly question though. After reading about leaving PCs on or off in the PC Guide section linked in this subject, I got confused about turning the monitor off. When I shut down my PC, I always assumed the monitor was off. Does the blinking LED light on the monitor casing mean that the monitor is still on? I realize its probably still drawing power, but does leaving the monitor in this state harm it in any way? Or is the monitor simply off?

Good idea to bring up this topic though! Can't wait to see more responses.



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And all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be.

-Pink Floyd

[sea69]

kayden

that was the only thing I neglected to mention.

I turn my monitor off at night, I don't use a screen saver at all.

everything in power management is 'never' -/ 'always on'.

Think of your monitor as a VERY expensive television set. You don't want to leave it on all the time when you're not watching it do you ?? http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

and NO, your monitor is ON until you turn it OFF. The light you see (usually amber) when your pc is off lets you know that it is still on. It just isnt getting a SIGNAL from any source to make it DISPLAY anything.

additionally, some monitors need to be unplugged to stop all current going to them.

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*another 'toaster' bites the dust*



[This message has been edited by sea69 (edited 04-14-2001).]

[Vic 970]

Well, All very interesting & informative. Thanks for the opinions.
From which I deduce that the monitor is the most expensive, most dangerous & most at (risk wear wise) to leave running. With which I would agree.

From some of your comments you may be interested in my power supply set up:

I have fitted a double SWITCHED electrical socket by my desk within easy reach. The PC is plugged into 1 of them, & the monitor & speakers into the other. I now only have to flick a switch & the monitor & speakers go off whilst leaving the PC running.

I used to have fancy screen savers (after 10 minutes) & monitor shut down (after 30 minutes) but I found that this caused problems when burning CDs so I disabled them. I still have power management running which shuts down the hard drive, but I'm thinking of dissabling that as well.

Does anyone have an idea of the comparison running cost of just the pc tower? obviously this will depend on the particular pc, but some idea will help to satisfy curiosity.

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Regards..,
Vic.

[BigBlue66]

Hey Howdy,

My two cents:

For over fifteen years, I have been shutting down my computers, both at home and work, every day. Have never had a problem doing it this way. Of course, if I am only planning to be away from the computer for an hour or two, I will throw it into standby. Otherwise, the whole thing goes nighty night. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Bassman said it pretty well. For every action, there is a reaction.

Cheers and Happy Easter!!!

Big Blue 66



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The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability that you'll get it wrong.

[sea69]

lol.. as I said.."it depends on who you ask".....

and your particular needs/habits, and which line of thought you go with . http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

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*another 'toaster' bites the dust*

[This message has been edited by sea69 (edited 04-15-2001).]

[Randy_tx]

My primary argument for turning it off ...In my case ...if gone more than 5 hr is with the newer HOTTER CPU's we are putting into computers these days, if the cpu fan fails.......bye bye cpu & mobo in most cases http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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Will XP save Me ?