Would it hurt to leave your computer on 24 hrs a day?

[RD]

A friend of mine is leaving her computer on 24hrs a day is this good or bad?

[rtyp3]

This will most likely not cause any permanent damage. I leave mine on 24-7, and have done that for a long time. No probs. The worst I can think of would be the constant sucking of power, but you can put the computer in standby mode to help this. I really don't think it will hurt it, or I wouldn't be doing it. Many computers like servers and things are always on. If anyone knows different, I'd like to know too.

[hd581]

Hang on there's a link here somewhere...

Previous discussion on same topic (http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/006257.html)

Welcome to Sysopt, RD.

[This message has been edited by hd581 (edited 05-23-2000).]

[Wendy21]

Lets answer your question this way.
If u scoured the entire net for months and gathered all the info on this suject u could find, and asked all the experts in the world, u might have a 50-50 split, does that answer your question.

Also so far no computer has been around long enough to test this theory out.

I just recently threw out my 6 yr old computer because it was just slow, and outdated, I ran it 24/7 and it never had a problem, it grew old before I could have sufficiently answered your question myself.

Inother words, worry about something more important than how long should I leave my computer on. DUH

-------- EDIT ---------
"DUH" yourself, Wendy. Any and all questions are welcomed here. Please try not to disrespect others if it would not be too much trouble for you.
-Scott

-------- /EDIT ---------

[This message has been edited by SysOpt (edited 05-27-2000).]

[RD]

Hmmm, I thought this was a computer forum for computer questions DUH,,.If you can't contribute anything positive then don't contribute.

[akaBruno]

3 cheers for Wendy.

[SysOpt]

It is not bad. I have left all of my systems on for months at a time. No big deal. It's likely more wear and tear to turn them off and on every day. Schools leave lab systems on all the time, companies leave servers and workstations on all the time, etc. Almost everyone participating in the RC5 effort (http://www.sysopt.com/rc5team.html) leaves their systems on 24/7.

Scott

[RD]

Scott would you close out this thread, not worth the time and trouble for the type of answeres that are recieved. There are a few that try but it is the few that don't that make a difference.

[akaBruno]

First Rule:

Dont' criticize good advice.

Second Rule?

If ya don't like it, move on...

[RD]

akabruno might want to practice what you preach. Try growing up and moving out. Your answeres reflect your maturity. I asked a pretty good question and I do not need to get slammed for it. If you can't contribute something useful then don't contribute.

[Mr. Mojo Risin]

The only problem I see with having your computer on 24-7 would be if you were using an "always on" connection with the internet such as a Cable Modem or DSL. The best firewall known to man is to pull the plug when your not using it, heh

Other than that, I have always left my pc's on constantly, this way your computer can do things for you such as defragment your hard drive and scan for viruses while you are at work or sleeping.

All in all I think it's a personal preferance to keep in on or off when not in use, and I have never heard of a problem that resulted from it.

just my $0.02

[Missing the point]

I see absolytly nothing wrong with this thread..................

I leave all my computers ion 24/7, and none of them have ver had anything wronmg with them. My mom had a 486SX, that was left on 24/7, for 10 years, and nothing went wrong with it. So I dont think anything is wrong with leaving a computer on 24/7. Does that answer it?

[RD]

Thanks for all of the response. A friend of mine in Canada was worried about leaving hers on 24 hrs a day. Since I have never done that I was just curious to see if anyone had any problems. I believe my question has been answered. Sorry if the question was not sastifying to a few others. Nice to know there are people on here that will help.

[SysOpt]

No need to close the thread. There are a few decent replies and the thread will eventually scroll off and be searchable for others.

[Susan]

RD - leaving a system on 24/7 won't hurt anything except your electric bill, IMO.

As SysOpt says, turning them on and off can actually cause more wear and tear as the surge of power to the system at start up each time can take it's toll.

[hd581]

I think that like overclocking, it'll become outdated long before it ever shows any kind of wear.

[mgordon99]

Mine runs 24/7 except during T-storms. Here is a link to a similar thread I started a while back:
http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/005465.html

http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[SysOpt]

Yeah if you do leave it on all the time, might want to pick up an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). I have three, one for each comp. APC makes some good ones.

[Carlos Kerr]

Why not...The only reason I can think of that might be detrimental to leaving mine on is dust intake. I figure if the fans are constanly on I'll build up a layer of dust alot faster than if I only run them when I need them. I am aware of filters etc. but if it isn't running then it isn't sucking in so much dust. Especially when you are housecleaning and such. Just my 2 cents worth. I thought it was a decent question though.

[socalgal]

Mine are on 24/7 and on a UPS http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

They have to be... I crack RC5 (http://sysopt.earthweb.com/rc5team.html) for Team SysOpt! http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif

The only thing I find is that I'll need to reboot every couple of days due to low system resources which probably happens due to memory leakage when I leave my browser or certain apps on.

[This message has been edited by socalgal (edited 05-27-2000).]

[Prince]

I agree - a reboot every few days is necessary, but then even Bill admits NT servers should be rebooted daily!

The dust problem mentioned earlier - open up the case and remove any build-ups with a cloth (lint and static free is best) when you see dust around the power fan.

Not mentioned elsewhere - heat. Make sure the case is adequately ventilated and use Rain or something similar.

[orkboss]

Is it bad to leave your computer alone for 24hrs though. You know you have to have a play about with it sometime during the day.

[skywalker[TSG]]

all my comps are on 24/7

this is just because im lazy and i dont want to wait for the darn thing to boot up

[Brydon]

I also have three PC's on 24/7 cracking RC5 and have not had any issues apart from the wife complaining about the electricity bill http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif.

[Brangwen]

Hi.

I leave my machine on 24/7, only to reboot if I do something to freeze it. It's my business computer, and I rely on it to take my calls during the day and night.

Good luck.

Brangwen http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[codybear]

for anyone that does leave them on 24/7 they should consider at least not letting all that processing power go to waste and join the rc5 effort..the stats are fun to follow and you may even win $1000 and that would more that pay for the extra bill..all mine are on 24/7 and like many I have UPS's for them expecially living in Florida....

[zzzreyes]

actually its good to reboot at least once a week.
your system develops internal lag, and in theory this is due to bad prgramming, because people that program on C, sometimes don't close an object and it never closes, and just creates internal lag. Or something like that. It was explained to me at school a while ago.

[pickel]

Guess I'm on the other side of the fence.
Shut em down, start em up. Maybe on week ends let em go. Even though I have the monitor shutdown and Hdd suspend, don't like any electric running when not attended or out of the house. Guess my MOM has me brainwashed!!!

the pickel

[Richard_Cranium72]

The original shutdown issue (IMO) was brought up primarly due to stress to the motherboard during heat/cooling cycles.

This caused in some early units to have open circuits in sometimes random patterns, so troubleshooting was a nightmare.

Technology has improved on circuit board soldering where this issue is resolved.

The claim of excess wear on drives and other circuits during start-up has not been totally proven or disproven.

One proven item is rotational forces on the HD causes it to try to do like a gyrosocpe.
This contiually cycles forces around on the bearings, minor though it may be.

Everyone can afford to pay for the small amount of power that these machines use, but can the environment.

At 96watts for the monitor and 360watts for the Pewter and then figure in all 2.7 billion computers,
how much CO2 and TRI's (toxic release inventory) and global warming is created .

The toys we use, like computers, need fuel, limit the time on line to when you need it.

We need to conserve any place we can.

DrVette

[This message has been edited by Richard_Cranium72 (edited 10-21-2000).]

[ablang]

I left my 1st computer (386SX) on for five years straight. I then turned it off for a month, and you know what happened?

The power supply died! I pulled an old one from a 286 to get it to turn on.

[Inferior]

Ah yes, the age old question......

The belief I follow is to leave it on all the time... The reason I do this is kind of complex...

I do it because of expansion and contraction.... When you leave it on, the temperature doesn't change, but when you turn it off, it casues the expansion and contraction to occour do to the heat changes of the computer. Expansion and contraction is supposed to be harder on the chips and such than just leaving it warm, but at a stable temperature......

Scientific or what?

[krusty the klown]

And so if everyone left their computer on 24/7, we would likely need to build a new power station. Great, eh?

Of course one computer doesn't make much difference, nor does one person throwing their litter out of the car window, for example... but you get the point.

And if you don't, there are approx 60 million or so people in the UK. One power station generates (tons of toxic pollutants) about 600MW. So if the average per capita electricity consumption was reduced by 10 watts, one power station would be redundant.

What a breath of fresh air!

[Inferior]

Your kinda reading in to this question too much there.......

But that sure does give you something to think about doesn't it?

Inferior