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Your Computer, Leave it On? Or Turn It Off? Written by: Dan Daily
Hi Gang! Today, we're going to talk about what seems to be the eternal question: Should you leave your computer on? Or shut it off. I wasn't going to write this column, I didn't think I had to, but many of you have asked for one. So here it is. .
Leave It On Myths The heating up, and cooling down are bad for your computer. It uses more power to power up, then it does to just let it run. Sleep features were invented for this reason.
Let's go one at a time starting with the last:
Sleep Features Yes, sleep features were invented to save power thereby getting an energy star rating. They weren't invented specifically to allow you to keep your computer on 24 hrs a day. Typically, even using sleep features that power down the monitor and hard drive; you will waste 100.00 a year in power costs. Also, have you ever tried to run a defrag with this crap active? It doesn't work. Any change in the system causes a restart on the defrag; with Windows constantly checking to see if you're using your computer, a defrag becomes an endless loop. I have all this stuff disabled PERMANENTLY! Actually, all sleep features really do, is keep your battery from draining in your Laptop. Which, believe me, is a good thing!
Uses more power at power up This is a myth; a typical computer uses exactly the same amount of power either way. With this exception: At boot up, your floppy drives, and CD Rom drives flash on and off. That's the only difference.
Heating up Cooling Down This is bull. There was a time about 10 years ago, that this was true with Hard Drives. (And sleeping software would only exacerbate this kind of problem, not help it.) This is not true today, quite the contrary: Today's drives spin at between 5,400 to 7,200 rpm's; do you want that thing sitting in there spinning that fast without doing anything? Besides, if this were really a problem, why don't we hear about computers dropping dead all the time? Your computer will be obsolete WAY before it's useful life is over. If motherboards are prone to this problem, then I don't want the cheap piece of garbage! Even E-Machines don't have these problems. Do you run your TV 24hrs? It has a motherboard very similar to your computer's.
Reasons To Shut It Off How many would you like? Let's say you're on the computer 4 hrs a day, (I wish) and use the normal 300 watts of power. That would typically waste about 220.00 a year by leaving it on 24hrs. And if everyone left it on; California wouldn't be the only State with power problems, believe me. I think that pretty much says it all!
Heat Problems Yes, this can be a problem after all; but not in the way you think: Inside your computer, you have at least two cooling fans; one for the power supply, and one for your processor. If either one of these goes out, and you're not there, big trouble. Power supply's could actually start on fire. If you're there and the processor starts to get hot, you'll notice it, the computer will get erratic on you. If you're not there, poof! All gone. A good cleaning every six months is highly recommended just for this reason!
Windows Itself Your computer must be rebooted at least once a day anyway. If it's constantly on, the programs will leak resources and run the computer out of them. Ever do an all nighter with it, to download a huge file while you're in bed? Notice how slow it is in the morning? That's why.
Reasons Why It Must Stay On Yes, there are a couple of these: If your computer is hooked to a company LAN, and is updated at night, it must stay on. If your computer acts as an Internet Server, it must stay on. If you like to check your email at 2am on your way from the bathroom and don't want to wait for a boot up, yes, by all means, leave it on if it's worth 200 buck a year to you.
My Rules I treat my computer just as I do my Television: That's a good way to do it. If I'm going to be gone for 15 to 20 minutes, I leave it on. An hour? I shut it off. If you do this, you won't have any problems gang. Today's computer's are a hearty lot. Shut It Off!!! LOL I hope this helps you on your road. Your Road? Yes, your road to Computer Sanity Danny
Dear
Danny: As I sat with fingers poised over the keyboard, Nancy's mother thought a minute, then responded, "How is Aunt Helen feeling?"
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