KnifeMissile

Where I come from, there's a saying.

The worst thing you can do to your computer is turn it off. The second worst thing you can do to your computer is leave it on.

Anyway, I've actually met someone who turns their computer off when they're not on it and I was wondering how prevelant this behaviour is.

To me, my computer is like a refrigerator. Why on earth would I ever turn it off?

Mephex

Unless I'm moving/cleaning it, it's on.

I fear the lightbulb affect, how many times have you seen a light bulb burn out when it's on ? How many have you seen burn out as you flip the switch ?

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SecretMethod70

I rarely ever turn mine off. It really depends most on how often you use it what is the best for you. Turning it off and on stresses the hard drives. However, if you're going to be gone for the weekend for example and not using your computer, it's best to turn it off because 3 days of no stress at all besides turning it on when you get back is better than three days of continuous but minor stress.

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Le temps détruit tout

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phredgreen

my machine remains on unless i'm leaving town overnight... it's just easier that way. it's a pretty stable machine for being as old as it is, so there's no reason to constantly bring it back up and down and up and down again.

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Slayer

I leave my pc on all day long except when I go to sleep at around 1 am, then I turn it off.

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sandeep

Mine goes off at night because it's pretty loud (in the process of replacing fans though...).

I just leave it on if I can handle it though. Seeing people turn their computers off when they're not using them kinda weirds me out. I have friends that do it, and I know it's good to turn off appliances when not in use... but I'm just so used to having computers always on.

nukeu666

i cant turn off my comp...it hosts my college's forums

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Scorpion23

I leave mine on 24/7 even when I leave town since I host a private FTP on it. Just in case I need some files off it while I'm gone

As long as you have a good power supply you should be fine.

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sailor

Mine stays on 24/7, unless they are closing the dorms, in which case, they come around and make sure that you have nothing electical running, so I dont have a choice.

My server at home stays on all the time.

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God of Thunder

My server is on 24/7. My main workstation is not up right now (Going through an upgrade), but it is also on 24/7 when it is operable.

My laptop is the only thing that gets shut down, but only at night. And that is only when I remember to do it.

I've been doing that for about five years now and have not seen a problem.

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CinnamonGirl

I turn mine off every few days or so. I've been turning crack's computer off the last couple nights, though...the fan is loud and annoying.

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heyal256

I usually turn my pc off overnight, usually so that it has a chance to cool off and save some electricity.
I think that I've read that unless you are constantly turning your pc on and off, there isn't much of a difference except for electricty usage.

Destrox

Which is very true, I've tested this my self with a voltage reader.

The only time the computer actually uses any noticable amount of juice is when you turn it on. Otherwise the amount of juice so EXTREEMLY low.

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SecretMethod70

Well, you should turn your monitor off at least. The amount of electricity they use isn't quite so "extremely low"

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

Pragma

I'm not sure what you mean by "off" - I'm sort of confused.

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bltzkriegmcanon

Off is a blasphemous term when it comes to my computer.

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Zello

Meh leaving my computer on feels odd. It's like leaving a light on when you go to bed.

Also I guess I am used to rebooting constantly in 98 to have the most resources.

My final excuse, my new computer's case fans are horribly loud and I live in a dorm (aka a box).

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sandeep

^ when I ran win98, I'd reboot at least daily if I wanted the machine on for long. It was only after I started using 2000 that I learned that the computer could be on for more than 12-15 hours without bogging down.

Destrox

Got me there, but that uses its own power source, so really it didnt interfeer with my test. :P

And yes i do turn that off, fucker is bright at 4am

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ChrisJericho

I turn my comp and my monitor off when I go to bed.

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Dilbert1234567

i ran my last computer fora year straight (except when i added a hard drive it had a total of 22 horu down time, including power outages)

my current computer is on most of the time, it is to loud for me to sleep with it on, i have the power on fuction bound to 9:30 so it wakes me up in the morning.

ther is notint wrong with running a system 24/7, just reset it every once in a while to clean up the memory.

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Prince

Mine's on 24/7, unless I am moving it to another room or doing hardware maintenance.

I was told around '99 or so that it's more exhausting on the hard drive to start than to run non-stop, which makes sense.

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Speed_Gibson

the very notion of placing "off/powered down" and "computer" strikes me as completely foreign. I always log off and kill my 15" LCD and the 21" CRT monitors, but the three systems themselves near my desk are only off if I will be gone for at least 2-3 days. My server has been up 24x7 for the past three years at least unless
0) it is being moved
1) there is power outage, which has happened three or four time in the past year due to road work in the area
2) or I will be gone for at least a week or long enough where it seems worthy to shut it down.

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santafe5000

I turn my laptop off when i'm not actually using it. I can't say as i've ever really figured if it was harmful. Just saves a little juice.

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Kaos

I never shut my computer down. I do turn off the monitor whenever I leave for an extended period of time (couple hours, going to bed etc)

I have friends who will turn on the computer, use it, shut it down, turn it on again when they come back, repeat as many times during the day as necessary. It drives me crazy

punx1325

I currently turn my computer off when I go to bed. There is no physical evidence that has been presented to me yet, regarding if it is good or bad to leave your pc running. I figure until I find something that proves it is bad to turn your pc off at night, I'll do the enviroment a favor and run a little less juice.

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SiN

Electricity is so damn expensive here that I turn mine off when I sleep, and if I'm going to be out of the house for a few hours.

If it was 'cheap' US electricity, I'd prooly leave it on...keep it always doing something most likely.

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WarWagon

I'll turn it off when I go out of town, but thats it.

Date the Banana

I don't turn it off, but I do put it on standby if I'm not doing anything for a couple hours. pops right back on in 5 seconds and it's nice and quiet!

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arch13

The high pitch of the monitor is not something many can hear, but for those of us with hearing capable of being bothered by cathod tube whine (about 3% of the population), you understand why we turn our machines off.

It's bad enough i hear it all day long from TV's and computers, but i can't get a wink with a cathod tube turned on.

Now i own a 17" lcd and leave it on in powersave, but the computer gets taken down at the end of everyday. My sleep is more important than taking a couple hours off my computers life cycle. Those fans would keep me up all night!

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AgentInsect

I used to leave mine on until the 'sleep' function started malfunctioning. I quickly learned that if my computer isn't sleeping, neither am I.

Replacing the fan with a quiter one seems like a good idea at this juncture.

MahlerIsGod

I have a question to all of you who leave their computers on: did you monkey or alter any of the power settings (Control Panel under Screen Saver) on your computer? Do you leave your monitor on all the time? Do you leave your hard-drives on 24/7 or do you turn them off after a certain amount of time? Thanks

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KnifeMissile

Yes, I did "monkey" with my power settings. I turn my monitor off after 25 minutes and my hard-drives off after 45 minutes. However, I don't use the "system standby" mode because one of the systems it shuts down is the USB but all my input devices are on the USB! You see my dilemma...

merkerguitars

I never turn off my machine unless I'm going on vacation and I never turn off my FTP no matter what. Ocassionally I have to reboot my machine to plug a hard drive in for scanning or when windows starts to act funky. And with my power setting I only turn off my monitor. I never have anything else turn off otherwise my computer acts funny.

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cartmen34

I usually just leave mine on standby when I'm not going to be needing it for an extended period of time, (like while I'm sleeping), or when I know I'm not going to need it for 3 or 4 days. However, if I haven't shut my computer down in a 2-3 week period I'll usually take a minute and reboot it just to clear all my resources.

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Charlatan

I turn my laptop off all the time otherwise the batteries wear out while I am in transit.

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Polyphobic

I leave it on. My wife turns it off. Annoying. At work, every server and workstation stays on 24/7. Unless we have a power outage and our generator runs out of fuel.

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LNCPapa

I have 20+ machines - they all stay on. In fact, I only allow a few of them to sleep the hard drives at all.

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redarrow

Mine is on all the time unless I want to play a game then I reboot to get that extra speed.

viper11885

My main computer gets turned off every night. Usually stays on for most of the day though.

For my laptop, I turn it off everytime I don't use it for a few hours. Don't have much use in leaving it on when I don't do anything on it as it's mostly for school use.