Turning your computer on & off too often can actually be bad for your hardware, not good. It's not good on your CPU to have it heat up and cool down too often. It makes it brittle. But then again, an argument FOR this method is security... as the safest state a computer can possibly exist in is disconnected from the net/off. And also your electric bill (which Page hit on). But certainly, turn it off once in awhile is good for your hardware, and can extend it's life. How often (if ever) do you give your box an "off day" (or two)? I personally give mine 2 (consecutive) days off, once a month. Usually on a weekend I know I'll be outside most of the time anyway (i.e. fishing). And I yank the power cord out too so there's no energy even running into it at all.
Hi luciddream, Glad you got the poll working correctly. I voted for turning it off every night. Actually I just started doing so only about a month ago. (I am going to see if there is a noticeable change in my electric bill. I have read that it costs less than $1 per day per machine, which in itself can be substantial.) Before that, I was running two PCs 24 hours per day for days on end, until either the mem leak issue I used to have actually necessitated a reboot, or I did an install/upgrade that required one. If I leave for a day trip, the PCs get turned off. I think the jury is still very much out on the potential harm from turning the machines off and on. Current thinking (no pun intended) is that PC components are made to be turned off and on, much like television sets. However, I think that the articles advising PC owners that no harm is done by leaving them on can be matched by an equal number of articles advising folks to turn them off. So we are free to believe what we want to believe. I think that turning a box off for a day or two or (try to imagine) three days in a row... while you are still in close proximity to the box... is something to strive for, if for no other reason than to get away from the virtual environment more often.
Thanks for participating old friend Excellent point about the electric bill. Wasn't even thinking about that, just computer related stuff. I've added it to the OP. These are my first polls. I never used to come in here much, but it's growing on me.
I don't obey a routine. I usually shut it down when I'm not going to use it for a longer time (2 hours or more, for example), but sometimes I don't remember to shut it down. When I travel, I unplug everything in my room from the electrical outlet (I usually travel every other week, lol).
Mine see an occasional reboot or gets switched to another OS, but as for actually shutting it down, I don't. My PCs have always run 24/7 and I get 10+ years out of them. Power outages not included.
I reset it at windows updates, otherwise it is on 24/7. I also turn it off when I'm not at home for more than few days (vacation...).
Mine runs 24/7, things take place in the wee hours, backups, syncing to remote site and stuff. I do shutdown it we are going to be gone for more than a few days and no one will be home. Which rarely happens.
The electric bill is getting quite high here so i prefer to turn it off. You guys got tons of money man
I don't - but I do give myself plenty of days off the computer! This reminds me of techies I've heard of who genuinely believe that swearing at a computer makes the system more prone to crashes. Like a superstitious car mechanic that talking to it in kinder tones will make it run more smoothly.
Lol! In fact that´s true if were talking about a laptop and one punches the table at the same time his swearing!
Based on observations of my own equipment, the hardware lasts longer when it runs continuous. Not including keyboards, mice, CD and floppy drives, the only component failures I've seen in many years have been monitors. As for PCs themselves, I've had one motherboard fail, a Win 95 unit. The only hard drives I've had fail were equally old. All were 4GB or smaller. I've never had a power supply or RAM stick go bad. My hardware firewall, Smoothwall runs on an old P5-133mhz with 32MB RAM. Except for power outages, it's run 24/7 for the last 5 years. I've had similar results with external hardware. My external HD is an 80GB Western Digital, now 7 or 8 years old. I originally bought it for my first 98 unit. It's been in continuous use since and has never had a problem. There is a tradeoff here that is very dependent on how long you keep your hardware. The extra power consumed by leaving the hardware powered up is somewhat offset by longer component life. There's also the value of the time used to replace that hardware and to restore the data to the new device. The energy costs go beyond the power used by the device while it's installed on your system. There's also the power used in its manufacture, in shipping it, and disposal costs after it fails. IMO, there's too many variables involved to say if one is more economical than the other. Myself, I value reliability and consistency. I value a system that behaves the same, day after day, year after year. Maybe it's luck. Maybe it's from running 24/7. Maybe it's the stripped down, optimized systems I use. It's probably a little bit of all of these, but the result is that I've never lost data due to a hardware failure.
I don't have the 'luxury' of a desktop (I'm planning to get one). My primary machine is a laptop I bought in 2008...so it has been lasting for about 4 years now. I'd usually shut down the laptop each time I'm done using it. For those instances whereby I need to leave my laptop to do other things but still 'resume' working/accessing some content, I'd usually hibernate it.
I would've answered "Every night", but because a night doesn't count as an "off day", I had to say "Once a year"
Every 3 hours, according to CrystalDiskInfo, my HDD shows 2420 counts and 6595 hours powered on for about 2 years.
I didn't consider that angle. This poll was assuming a desktop. That would certainly explain the results, that many are in the same boat with you. If I was using a laptop as my primary computer, I too would only turn it on when I wanted to use it, and shut it down afterward. Because they're far more prone to over-heating. But with a desktop that's not nearly as much of an issue. And I agree with "noone", that is actually rougher on your hardware to turn it on/off a lot than to just keep it running. My experiences echo his. Though I do think the occasional day (or two) off is good for it and can increase it's lifespan.
I shut it off whenever it is not in use. The wear and tear of heating up and cooling down would take longer than I have ever owned any hardware. Since this thing sucks 300 watts idle (600 while gaming), it is much cheaper to turn it off.
Most people just put their laptops into sleep e.g. by putting the lid down. RAM stays powered +/- CPU depending on sleep state. Power draw is negligible. Far more convenient. My last desktop PC was an XP machine, so I was happy to shut it down given how 95/98/XP machines were notorious for getting slower over time. On a Windows 7 laptop, it's not such a big deal IME. I only restart or shutdown when I need to.
