"to turn off or not to turn off...that is the question.

[errolo]

I've been having this discussion with other like minded folks and thought that this site would be a great place for this discussion. Hopefully, the hardware section is also the right place to post.

Anyway. Considering problems of creep and boot/reboot problems, is it better to turn off a pc when not in use, in particular over night or anytime that the pc will be off for more than a couple of hour.

If the pc goes into some heavy sleep mode, is this almost the same when it awakens as a reboot (as far as the hardware anyway).

What do most of the admins do, off overnight and reboot in the morning or do you just leave it on all the time with periodic reboots for clean-up?

errolo

[zipulrich]

"Considering problems of creep..."

Yeah, I call my PC a creep from time to time........

What works for me, I leave my PC's on 24/7. Unless I need to reboot. Or a tornado is predicted to come through the area.

This discussion has been done many times on many boards, with brilliant minds never coming to agreement. A lot depends on a lot of things......bottom line being try both methods, and see which you (or your computer) like best.

[errolo]

Ah, sorry if it's been done to death here before, I'm still fairly new to this board, although I must admit I am here a lot more as time goes on. Reading about other's problems and fixes provide much more insight than most anything else I've read.

PS: I have much better names for my pc than creep, just can't post them on a "civilized" board such as this.

[Spider]

If a question has been asked before that doesn't mean it can't
ever be asked again. zip was using that statement to point out
that users are on both sides, and always have been.

As far as What do most of the admins do is concerned;

When you say "admins" your referring to commerce systems and no
administrator would ever have a need to shut anything down. As a
matter of fact you'd probably get fired if you shut things down and
went home.

The networks need to be up 24/7 for other reasons that hardware
longevity. Remote access and backup routines would be a couple
of reasons.

If one has a chemistry or engineering background then your probably
into 24/7 ups.
If one has belief in Web rumors about pixel-burn, being hacked while
asleep, burning components because of constant use, or they just
think the electricity bill will be too high, then they enable sleep mode,
screen savers, shut downs and the likes.

<sigh> I thought I was going to be unbiased about this but I'm afraid I've
failed miserably

[errolo]

Originally posted by Spider
If a question has been asked before that doesn't mean it can't
ever be asked again. zip was using that statement to point out
that users are on both sides, and always have been.

As far as What do most of the admins do is concerned;

(snip)

<sigh> I thought I was going to be unbiased about this but I'm afraid I've
failed miserably

Hey, no problem w/ zip.

"Admins" was was a poor choice of words. Understand about networks and such needing to remain on. I was more concerned about home systems. Was really looking for opinions from the "moderators" from this forum.

And no need to try to be unbiased, when looking for opinions, I should expect bias (just goes with the opinion).

thanks!

[Spider]

Originally posted by errolo
I was more concerned about home systems

When in doubt about anything, not just computers, mimic the
professionals. If my auto mechanic changes their oil every 2000
miles on their car, then that's what I do. The tough part with that
theory is we all know that some auto mechanics don't change
their oil much. As a rule though, if you ask enough auto mechanics
you'll see a pattern develop.

[striderider]

Hey, just thoguht i would add my opinion. I usually leave my computer on all night all day at school all the time! I see no affects of it slowing up due to the long times up. However, when i do restart for some purpose, or just because I feel it could use some cooling down. It seems to run better the next time i open it, for a little while. Maybe that is just superstition. But that is my 2 cents worth

Striderider

[drunkmestupid]

hello... figured i'd dump in my $0.02...

at home, everything (2 windows 2000 workstations, 1 windows 2000 server) is always on... unless being worked on.

at my old work (before layoffs )... of course the servers are always on, but what i recommended to the users in the company was to reboot when they left for the day (m-f) and to shut down for when they were gone for the weekend.

in other words... the workstation is off. monday morning they would turn it on. when they left for the day they would choose to restart so when they got there the next morning it was ready to go. then on friday, they would choose shut down...
BTW- those machines were using windows 95.

[zipulrich]

Originally posted by errolo
Hey, no problem w/ zip.

I'm gonna get that tattooed....somewhere.......................

[Spider]

Originally posted by zipulrich
tattooed....somewhere

[Pondlife]

I leave my work (2k) and home (XP) systems running 24/7. They're either being used or running SETI@Home when idle. I do like to reboot though every now and again when I remember, as it seems to help their memory load somewhat.

[mickb]

Things like to run steady in electronics. Sudden surges are what kill components not long steady runs. Just like the light bulb that blows, the instant you switch it on.I'm new to computers not to electronics but components will die anyway. but if you keep them cool, dust free and don't keep hitting the switches they will last longer.
Michael.

[errolo]

Thanks everyone.

Seems like the answer I receive most (not just from this board) is to leave the pc on with a reboot every so often.

Oh, and one answer to get tattooed.:rock: