Computer - Leave it always on , or turm it off off sometimes?

N/A ^ | Jan. 3, 2002 | Capt. Tom

[Capt. Tom]

This question could be answered on a computer board somewhere on the Internet, but I value the opinion of Freepers in all matters so I will ask it here,since everyone has a computer and undoubtably an opinion and may be interested in the answers.

I turn my computer off if I am going to be away from it more than 8 hours. Friends of mine leave the computer on 24/7. The reasons I turn mine off is in case of a power surge or outage when I am not using it. I have a Virus program but do not have a fire wall and figure it is less time a hacker has to get into my computer. Also I can hear things running (FAN etc.)inside my computer and figure that it's less wear and tear on the machine.

Since I started turning my PC down each night years ago things may have changed inside computers that we have today. Maybe starting it up each morning is more detrimental to the computer than just letting it run all the time.

There are undoubtably a lot of factors involved since chips like AMD are in common usage today and run hotter than Intel chips thus requiring more cooling. I have an intel chip in a 200 mhz NEC.

Comparing my shutdown method to my friends, it doesn't appear to me to make much of a difference. If it doesn't, I might just get a firewall system in my next computer and leave it on all the time.

[VA Advogado]

Remember, once you install Zone Alarm, you essentially can never remove it.

[Cachelot]

From a pure hardware reliability standpoint, electronics will last longer if you turn it on and leave it on

I run all my boxes 24/7. Some power drain of course, but then it keeps my bunker warm :). Have had halfway serious failures (shot controller, disk turning screechy, that sort of thing) roughly every three years.

[TommyDale]

Depending on the room temperature where the computer is located, you might want to shut down if you will be away for a long period of time. If the computer is in a colder area, the hard drive could actually contract in cold temperatures, and cause problems (or even failure) on reboot.

I personally like to leave my systems on, unless a thunderstorm occurs, at which time I shut down and disconnect all wires from the wall, including phone/cable connections. The only failure I have experienced is losing a hard drive when booting up while cold. Keeping a constant temperature is most important to the health of a PC.

[Lee'sGhost]

You have some good info. Can anyone tell me why my Compaq Presario (AMD) has such bad memory leak? It's something like a 900 megabites, 20 meg HD, 192 ram, and Windows ME. If I leave the damn thing on for a little while it starts flashing "not enough memory" messages at tme. Balderdash!!! I reboot and clears the junk out OK, but why should I have to do that with so much horsepower? I had a Gateway with half the ponies and it never had that problem.

[John Farson]

Sometimes a 3rd-party program will cause the memory leak. There are some registry hacks to unload programs after you exit them. Do a Google search on "DLL unload", it will conserve memory a bit. Also, one of your memory chips may be bad or your motherboard may have more memory than it can handle.

[Lee'sGhost]

"There are some registry hacks to unload programs after you exit them."

LMAO!!! What the heck does that mean? And thanks!

[Frohickey]

I put mine to sleep when I'm not using it. Then to use it, I just wake it up by click on the one and only mouse button or pressing on the keyboard, and its up in like 15 seconds.

[Psycho_Bunny]

A very general rule is: if you aren't going to use a computer for more than three days, turn it off. Otherwise, leave it on, unless: you don't have a UPS, you don't have a power savings compliant system, or you have a static line to the internet without a dependable firewall.

[Capt. Tom]

I do have a surge protector. It is a Belkin Surgemaster II. It had more joules and was more expensive than some of the others Iv'e seen. -Tom

[Redcloak]

We leave ours running 24/7. (Unless we will be away for more than a day.) Yes, that consumes energy, but we don't like the idea of thermal shocking the parts. Keeping the boxes on keeps them warm and toasty. We have them both on surge protectors and they both have Zone Alarm and Norton Anti-virus running. Another utility that keeps them happy is MaxMem from AnalogX. This little program watches memory usage and chases out the junk that doesn't belong. Stuff that's not in use gets moved out of RAM and onto the hard drive. This frees up memory without having to re-boot over and over again.

[lawdude]

"You are going to run the components down faster by keeping it on"

What components "run down"? Actually most electronic component failures occur during power-up cycles. The only negative I can think of is that you are consuming power during on-time but that is a reasonable trade to some. I have 2 computers, three radio transceivers, and other electronic equipment running generally 24/7. I do shut them down when I am going on vacation or long weekends.

Either is acceptable and no one can fault your decision in any event. YMMV

[kenholm3]

Beware Zone Alarm!

I have had nothing but problems with Zone Alarm. I used ZA on several PCs. All PCs were up to date Win98, chips were different though (Intel and AMD).

If you need firewall protection, a good solution is Watch Guard Firebox SOHO.

The price is reasonable for a small network. Very nice.

I leave the CPUs on and turn the monitors off. Thanks...

[The Westerner]

At least 65% of the time, I cannot run ZoneAlarm at high security, only medium. The ISP is "routing" and won't allow it. So what's the use of having it? On medium security, ZA doesn't catch many pings.

[KevinB]

I have had my computer in the trunk of my car using it as an MP3 player (12,000 songs in my car - very cool!) for about a year and a half. It has lived through countless jolts, many subfreezing days, many 90+ degree days and literally thousands of power-ons and power-offs via a power switch installed on my dash. It has had no problems whatsoever. These machines are not as fragile as people think. Turn them off and save on the electricity bill.

[fjsva]

I've got 7 computers on a home network here. One..an old Pentium 200 class is used as the home NT server. Its on 24/7 (w/ occasional reboots) for several years without any failures.

The kids computer...2 years old and turned off/on daily... just blew the power supply.

Generally, I leave them on unless I won't be using them for a couple of days. I always turn the monitors off when not using them. Cycling on/off frequently seems to cause problems.

[FAB]

Most of the suggestions here are very good. I would like to suggest a couple of others.
At least once a week, depending on usage, disconnect power from the computer. This is especially true for the newer machines. When you press the power button on the newer machines, it does not actually disconnect power. The machine may still supply power to the memory chips. SO, they never get cleared.
Also, there is a program called Cacheman which will recover unused memory.
I hope this helps.

[fjsva]

Did you clear out all the junk Compaq loads each time the computer starts. I bought a Compaq 5838 that would suck resources dry just booting it. I boosted RAM to 256 MB and disabled all the junk loaded at startup...all the compaq tools and diagnostics are unnecesary. Made a big difference.

Also, NT/2000 handles memory much better 98/ME. Noticed a big difference when I switched.

[Lee'sGhost]

"Also, there is a program called Cacheman which will recover unused memory"

Is this shareware or off the shelf?

[PushinTin]

As you have read by now there are advantages to leaving your computer on all the time. Heating and cooling causes expansion and contraction, which will cause wear and tear all though very minor. What hasn't been mentioned yet is what I usually find inside a computer that is left on all the time. DUST, HAIR, Mystic Fuzz, you name it; if you leave it on all the time it will eventually get sucked in there. You have to be VERY diligent in your cleaning routine if you plan to leave it on all the time. The gunk will stick to your fan blades and jam up your heat sink (I smell something burning??). If you leave it on be sure and pop the case open regularly and flush it out...

[Lee'sGhost]

I dumped most of it, but can't tell what all of it is. I scared to switch to a new software platform for fear of compatibility problems. I still have my Windows 98 disk from the Gateway . . .