Here are a few of my Disciples in the usual church garb:
Posted on 11/28/2008 2:22:46 AM PST by CE2949BB
Q. Sometimes a day or two can pass without anyone using our desktop computer. Should we leave it on or turn it off? Do we extend the life of the hard drive when the PC is turned off?
A. There are two issues involved: power consumption and component wear. On both counts, I think it's better to leave your computer on.
Computers don't require much energy, particularly when they're inactive. On a PC, you can set your screen to darken and your disk drive to stop spinning when the computer has been idle a certain number of minutes. You can find these settings under Power Options in the Control Panel.
Computers also tend to suffer less wear and tear if you leave them on. Turning a computer on and off creates tiny power surges which eventually can damage electronic components. You can also reduce wear by using the automatic disk drive power-saving option mentioned above.
Another benefit to leaving your PC on is that programs that run automatically, such as antivirus scanning software, aren't interrupted. For more about whether to leave the PC on, see http://www.5starsupport.com/tutorial/on-off.htm.
(Excerpt) Read more at physorg.com ...
4 computers here that see use daily, one is a linux box. None of them get turned off because they are always in use (We run a business from home)
Other than upgrades or vacations (when we will be away for more than a few hours.. they never get turned off. Been working like this for years and never had a problem.
I found I had MORE problems with components breaking when I turned them on and off all the time.. but that might be just me.
Turn off an idle computer, or leave it running?
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Thanks, I needed that!!! I had just been wondering!
So, we should leave an idol computer on?
If you chooses to leave a PC running, then I suggest keeping the CPU working.
Visit the Folding@Home Project and download one of the applications.
The application will work at the lowest priority. This means should any other application need CPU resources, the folding process will yield to what you are doing. The default is 100%, meaning when other activities don't have demands on the CPU, Folding will do its thing at the rate you decide.
Hold down Cont-ALT-Delete and bring up the TaskManager, Click on the Performance Tab and observe if your computer is really working. Go back to the processes tab, look for the CPU column and see what is working now. My experience is allowing Folding@home to work at 100% keeps the PC working to capacity. Another question is whether you want Folding@Home to work as a service. Electing this will automatically, load and run the app each time your PC comes on. You also want to join a team, so enter 36120
Turning up the speed - and join the team -
The following is a portion of a post from Texas Booster
"Folding@Home FAQ for new users: "What is Folding@Home? A Stanford University project to find out how proteins fold. "Why it's important: Proteins folding wrong causes all kinds of diseases, like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and forms of cancer. Folding@Home uses novel computational methods and large scale distributed computing, to simulate timescales thousands to millions of times longer than previously achieved.
Through Folding@home, scientists now have the horsepower to study the mechanics of protein folding. With its ability to share the workload among hundred of thousands of computers economically, Folding@home can help scientists understand how proteins snap, or don't, into their predestined shapes - and may help to explain the origins of diseases such as Alzheimer's and apparently unrelated diseases. We're fueling research that could end all that. "How does it work?: You download a safe, tested program (see link below) that is certified by Stanford University. It gets work from Stanford, runs calculations using your spare computer power, and sends the results back to the University. "Is it safe? Yes! Folding@Home rarely effects computer performance in any way and won't compromise your privacy in any way. It only uses the computing power you aren't using so it doesn't slow down other programs. "How do I get started folding for Team FreeRepublic?:
1.) Download the folding program from Stanford University's folding download page (Folding@home Client Download). Type in your desired user-name.
2.) Type in 36120 for the team number. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - if you get the number wrong, you won't be folding for team FreeRepublic!
3.) The third question asks, "Launch automatically at machine startup, installing this as a service?" - We recommend you answer YES. Otherwise you will have to manually start the program after every reboot. "How can my computer help? Even if they were given exclusive access to all of the world's supercomputers, Stanford still wouldn't have as much processing power as they get from the supercluster of people's desktop systems Folding@home relies on. Modern supercomputers are essentially a cluster of hundreds of processors linked by fast networking. But Stanford needed the power of hundreds of thousands of processors, not just hundreds. "There's no reason to not get involved! It's free, easy, and you can know you're helping every minute without lifting a finger."
So if you decide to leave your computer on, now you have extra justification for your choice.
That's assuming that someone who plays a CD continually for 23+ years has any sanity to keep..... :^)
Must be the same guy that figured out that you could sync "Dark Side" with "The Wizard of Oz"... maybe he has that on an endless loop, too?
Computers last approx 4 years at the most.????
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This one was built in 1997, still going strong. I turn it off anytime I am not using it. And, I use it several times a day every day of the year.
If your computers are only lasting 4 years, you need to quit buying junk.
If your computers are only lasting 4 years, you need to quit buying junk.
Or at least treating it better. lol. I am on the computer all the time especially Free Republic.
Same here. In fact, they are all in running order to this day. The only reason I replaced them was because of changing technology. Why run a Pentium III when a Core-Duo is sooo much faster?
From my standpoint, turning off the PC at night does it no harm. Besides, I'm a cheap bastid. I don't want to pay for the electricity.
Here are a few of my Disciples in the usual church garb:
They're called vestments, Brother Laz. Laz knows his own and they know him, in the biblical sense, one hopes.
Yeah pretty normal and sound tech advice.
Powering it on and off a lot is pointless, it can wear a pc out the way a car would be with its starter.
I have my monitor turn off automatically after 5mins of inactivity and am all set..It’s actually hard to sleep if i can’t hear the pc fan on but thats a nerd thing i guess.
:)
OK technogeeks, what is the probability (possibility) of a machine left on 24/7 being compromised by a hacker for spam, spyware, viruses, etc.?
Is he still doing updates?
Have you taken over the F@H list from texasbooster?
Idle computer? Anyone have any idea what they’re talking about?
On your knees disciples!
if something is going to fail, it's usually in the power up phase... leave it on.
The laser hasn’t burn through yet? LOL
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