Computer on forever good?

[Mexplorer1906]

How long can I keep the computer on before it melts down, frys down
breaks down, runs out of memory, runs out of ram, etc.?

Is it good for the computer if I keep it on from this moment on unti
I necessarily have to disconnect it from the wall? Is it better t
turn it off after every use

 

[John Doe]

How long can I keep the computer on before it melts down, frys
down, breaks down, runs out of memory, runs out of ram, etc.?

Runs out of memory? If you haven't paid your personal computer user
dues recently, upgrade to Windows XP.

Is it good for the computer if I keep it on from this moment on
until I necessarily have to disconnect it from the wall? Is it
better to turn it off after every use?

If you're going to be away from your computer for more than an hour
or two, turn off your monitor. If you spend eight hours or more away
from your computer like at nighttime, turn off the whole thing.
Forget about Windows power management, set everything to Never. Like
most Microsoft utilities, it never was.

Otherwise, go with your feelings.

 

[Conor]

How long can I keep the computer on before it melts down, frys down,
breaks down, runs out of memory, runs out of ram, etc.?

Windows 9x - 47 days then it'lll run out of RAM.

Windows 2k/XP/Linux, indefinitely. The fans will probably pack in
first.

Is it good for the computer if I keep it on from this moment on until
I necessarily have to disconnect it from the wall? Is it better to
turn it off after every use?

Leave it switched on at the wall.

 

[Mike T.]

How long can I keep the computer on before it melts down, frys down,
breaks down, runs out of memory, runs out of ram, etc.?

Is it good for the computer if I keep it on from this moment on until
I necessarily have to disconnect it from the wall? Is it better to
turn it off after every use?

You can keep it on as long as you want. Windows will need to be rebooted at
least once a day. But that doesn't necessarily require powering down the
computer. Just two things you need to keep in mind . . .

1) Use a screen saver (free ones are included with windows). This will
prevent burn-in of images on your monitor. Most newer monitors shouldn't be
prone to burn-in, but use a screen saver anyway.

2) You should always disconnect the computer's power cord from the wall
anytime that there are thunderstorms in the area.

Other than that, just be aware that your computer's power supply is going to
draw about 100W or so (steady) while it is on. But if the electricity use
doesn't bother you, this isn't a problem. -Dave

 

[Marcel Overweel]

You can keep it on as long as you want. Windows will need to be rebooted at
least once a day. But that doesn't necessarily require powering down the
computer. Just two things you need to keep in mind . . .

(snip)

"Windows will need to be rebooted at least once a day."

Why?
I have to agree, Windows has it's problems, but doing normal applications
and even games, any good configured computer can run for weeks without
problems.
Just don't use the explorer too often, lol...

regards,
Marcel

 

[Michael Cecil]

You can keep it on as long as you want. Windows will need to be rebooted at
least once a day.

Perhaps Windows 3.1. I typically go weeks or months between reboots.

1) Use a screen saver (free ones are included with windows). This will
prevent burn-in of images on your monitor. Most newer monitors shouldn't be
prone to burn-in, but use a screen saver anyway.

How about just setting the screen to go off altogether? That will save a
bit of energy and stop any possible burn in.

 

[mayayana]

Why waste electricity? Just because it takes
45 seconds for it to boot? I guess you're lucky
it doesn't run on gasoline.

 

[Mike T.]

1) Use a screen saver (free ones are included with windows). This will

How about just setting the screen to go off altogether? That will save a
bit of energy and stop any possible burn in.

Well, it's personal preference. If you don't care about the electricity to
run the computer, the extra electricity to run the monitor isn't going to
matter much. I'd rather have the monitor on, so that I have a visual
reminder that the computer is running. The systems I build are pretty
quiet, and don't have a lot of flashy lights and shit, so if the monitor
goes blank, it's easy for me to assume that the computer is off. I'd rather
have SOMETHING on the monitor when the computer is running. But then, I
don't typically leave the computer on all the time. -Dave

 

[Dave (from the UK)]

How long can I keep the computer on before it melts down, frys down,
breaks down, runs out of memory, runs out of ram, etc.?

I think you should ask yourself how long *should* you keep it on.

Do you mean how long it can be left powered on, or left before a reboot?

Is it good for the computer if I keep it on from this moment on until
I necessarily have to disconnect it from the wall? Is it better to
turn it off after every use?

If it is a general purpose machine on the Internet, I would suggest not
too long before you reboot it. A week or so perhaps. You should be
patching it pretty often and security patches often need reboots.

As you can see, my web server (a SPARC running Solaris) has been 'up' 74
days. That is since its last reboot. I doubt it has been powered off for
a couple of years.

main-webserver # uptime
2:50pm up 74 day(s), 16:09, 2 users, load average: 1.02, 0.34, 0.25

But I should perhaps check if any patches have been released which have
significant security implications. If a security patch has been released
for the kernel (core bit of the OS if you like), then it would be wise
to install it and reboot.

I've seen machine running more than two years without a reboot, but I am
not sure it is wish, even on a UNIX system. For Windoze, definately not.
--
Dave K MCSE.

MCSE = Minefield Consultant and Solitaire Expert.

Please note my email address changes periodically to avoid spam.
It is always of the form: month-year@domain. Hitting reply will work
for a couple of months only. Later set it manually.

 

[Larry Roberts]

All this talk about how long to leave a system on. I usually
power down my system regularly, but to give ya'll an idea of how
unpredictable cheap parts can be in this situation. Most would say
never use a cheap PSU in a system for intermediate use much less 24/7.
Back in 2000, I built a Celeron PC, and used a cheap $20.00
case off eBay that housed a 300W no-name PSU. I kept it a year, then
past it to my brother's family. Since then, the only time that PC was
ever actually powered down, was when I changed parts, or power just
went down. My brother's family never turns it off. It's now a Celeron
1.1Ghz running WinXP Pro for the kids. My brother's main PC is my old
Athlon XP 1900+ with a 650W PSU. It's done burned through a 400W,
450W, and a 550W PSU. The 650W is holding steady for 8 months.
However, the kids' 6yr old 300W PSU is still running 24/7.

 

[Mike T.]

All this talk about how long to leave a system on. I usually
power down my system regularly, but to give ya'll an idea of how
unpredictable cheap parts can be in this situation. Most would say
never use a cheap PSU in a system for intermediate use much less 24/7.
Back in 2000, I built a Celeron PC, and used a cheap $20.00
case off eBay that housed a 300W no-name PSU. I kept it a year, then
past it to my brother's family. Since then, the only time that PC was
ever actually powered down, was when I changed parts, or power just
went down. My brother's family never turns it off. It's now a Celeron
1.1Ghz running WinXP Pro for the kids. My brother's main PC is my old
Athlon XP 1900+ with a 650W PSU. It's done burned through a 400W,
450W, and a 550W PSU. The 650W is holding steady for 8 months.
However, the kids' 6yr old 300W PSU is still running 24/7.

Yeah, many old-timers will tell you about the COLOR TV they bought 20 or 30
years ago that they've left on 24 hours a day, and it hasn't given them a
bit of trouble in decades, still has a good picture, etc.

Electronics circuits act somewhat like the filaments in incandescent light
bulbs. As they are used, they expand and contract, due to heating and
cooling. Eventually, this expanding/contracting causes circuits to not run
as efficiently as they were designed. In a TV, this might mean that picture
and/or sound quality degrade. Eventually, these circuits fail completely.
Considering that there can be many thousands of electronics circuits in a TV
or computer, the problem is multiplied.

Everybody knows what happens to the incandescent light bulb if you turn it
on and off frequently.

But leave a TV (for example) on all the time, and you have virtually
eliminated the cycle of wear/tear caused by heating and cooling (expanding
and contracting).

Leaving the power supply on all the time will likely increase it's MTBF
(longevity). But it'll cost electricity to do so, so it's probably better
to shut the system down when not used for several hours. -Dave

 

[Phisherman]

How long can I keep the computer on before it melts down, frys down,
breaks down, runs out of memory, runs out of ram, etc.?

Is it good for the computer if I keep it on from this moment on until
I necessarily have to disconnect it from the wall? Is it better to
turn it off after every use?

There are conflicting viewpoints about this. Turning a computer on
and off puts a lot of wear and tear on the components. I have two
computers that I leave ON all the time, one is a proxy server that is
running Linux, non-stop for 14 months. My WinXP computer gets powered
down at the end of the day, then re-booted every morning. Some time
ago, I spoke with an IBM representative who advised to keep the
computer continuously ON. The downside keeping the computer ON is the
use of electricity. I turn my monitor OFF if it won't be used during
the next 3-4 hours. It's good practice to unplug everything during an
electrical storm.

 

[johns]

Lots of old superstitions about that. None of them are right.
This is right:
1. Steady dc current through a connection will generate
a plating action leaving a resistive deposit in the connection
and ruining it. First to go .. ram. Repairing color tvs was
big business because of this. Lifetime of a computer left
on is about 1 year, and then it becomes flakey. Ram reads
skyrocket, and bad spots develop on the hard drive.
2. Temperature change hurts a computer ??? There is much
more temp change while using a computer than when just
turning it on and off ... in a normal room kept at room temp.
Those temp changes would unseat digital ics when they
were mounted in sockets. Not any more.
3. Turning a power supply on stresses the circuits due to big
voltage surges ?? Not any more. Psupplies are designed
to slow start, and they are left in idle-warm mode when off.
4. Electricity is cheap ?? Not if you leave your computer on
all the time. It is more than $1 a day, and there goes your
$300 video card right in some Arabs pocket.
5. Hard drive bearings wear out with use. Leave the thing on,
and you'll reduce its lifetime by half or more. Fan lifetime
is very short when left on like that. And modern boxes will
fill up with dust and ruin every fan in it ... esp your $300
video card.

Teach your PC to hibernate at 45 minutes idle time. That means
total power down, and restart from hitting the power switch.
Restart on my PC from hibernate takes about 15 seconds
all the way back to my desktop with the app I was using
open and ready to go. All of my PCs in my engineering labs
are set to hibernate at 45 minutes. That means I only have
to do dust blowouts once a semester, and when the AC
fails, my PCs are protected .... 41 PCs in a non-AC room
will send the temp over 100 degrees and ruin them.

johns

 

[Chris Hill]

There are conflicting viewpoints about this. Turning a computer on
and off puts a lot of wear and tear on the components. I have two
computers that I leave ON all the time, one is a proxy server that is
running Linux, non-stop for 14 months. My WinXP computer gets powered
down at the end of the day, then re-booted every morning. Some time
ago, I spoke with an IBM representative who advised to keep the
computer continuously ON.

That isn't the only downside. If a fan starts to fail in an always on
system, you probably won't notice it. When you power on and hear the
rattle, you know you have a fan going out.

 

[JAD]

Lots of old superstitions about that. None of them are right.
This is right:
1. Steady dc current through a connection will generate
a plating action leaving a resistive deposit in the connection
and ruining it. First to go .. ram. Repairing color tvs was
big business because of this.

Lifetime of a computer left

on is about 1 year, and then it becomes flakey.

This is utter fiction.

Ram reads

skyrocket, and bad spots develop on the hard drive.

You didn't expect to hear this?:

Tell that to my PIII 700 juke box.....been running 20/7 on average for 5
years. Using win9x!

2. Temperature change hurts a computer ??? There is much
more temp change while using a computer than when just
turning it on and off ... in a normal room kept at room temp.
Those temp changes would unseat digital ics when they
were mounted in sockets. Not any more.
3. Turning a power supply on stresses the circuits due to big
voltage surges ?? Not any more. Psupplies are designed
to slow start, and they are left in idle-warm mode when off.

Providing everything is in top working order.

4. Electricity is cheap ?? Not if you leave your computer on
all the time. It is more than $1 a day, and there goes your
$300 video card right in some Arabs pocket.

buck a day? nah....maybe 20 a month, providing the monitor is off during
non-use time

5. Hard drive bearings wear out with use. Leave the thing on,
and you'll reduce its lifetime by half or more. Fan lifetime
is very short when left on like that. And modern boxes will
fill up with dust and ruin every fan in it ... esp your $300
video card.

I suppose...seeing how the colorado cut the grand canyon....i didn't noticed
if he said that he shuts off the harddrives after so much down time. Wearing
the bearings is like saying don't use paper towels on your monitor cause
your wear the anti refective film off.....yeah maybe in a coons age.

Teach your PC to hibernate at 45 minutes idle time.

worst possible sceneario, as hardware drivers for average rigs (*other than
laptops) have a hard time waking up from Hibernation.

That means

total power down, and restart from hitting the power switch.
Restart on my PC from hibernate takes about 15 seconds
all the way back to my desktop with the app I was using
open and ready to go. All of my PCs in my engineering labs
are set to hibernate at 45 minutes.

That leaves out the average machine with average hardware

That means I only have

to do dust blowouts once a semester, and when the AC
fails, my PCs are protected ....

41 PCs in a non-AC room

will send the temp over 100 degrees

This was needed to say?

and ruin them.

would that be all 41 at once, or one at a time until the temp dropped?

 

[Conor]

Windows will need to be rebooted at
least once a day.

Bullshit.

 

[Conor]

1. Steady dc current through a connection will generate
a plating action leaving a resistive deposit in the connection
and ruining it.

WRONG. It is usually thermal creep that causes such connection issues.

Teach your PC to hibernate at 45 minutes idle time.

What the **** for?

41 PCs in a non-AC room
will send the temp over 100 degrees and ruin them.

You should learn to build them properly then.

 

[johns]

See what I'm saying. Here comes the bullshit. I
don't care. I buy $100,000 worth of computers
on a regular basis, and then I get to fix them.
I've got the stats to prove what I say, and you
are basing your poop on one computer that you
have been hacking for a coons age. Load
something serious on it, and see what happens.
Keep track of the crc errors that you never get
to see, and you'll start listening to your elders

johns

 

[philo]

How long can I keep the computer on before it melts down, frys down,
breaks down, runs out of memory, runs out of ram, etc.?

Is it good for the computer if I keep it on from this moment on until
I necessarily have to disconnect it from the wall? Is it better to
turn it off after every use?

I always have been turning my computers overnight...
and have had no problems with them.

A few years back I built a machine for a local photographer...and he kept it
on 24/7.

In the first 2 years he lost 4 harddrives (various majot brands)
I told him to just turn the thing off when not using it...
and in the last 2 years the machine has been running fine without any
failures.

also:
I'd keep the machine on a UPS or else unplug it from the wall during
thunderstorms!

 

[JAD]

See what I'm saying. Here comes the bullshit. I
don't care. I buy $100,000 worth of computers
on a regular basis, and then I get to fix them.
I've got the stats to prove what I say, and you
are basing your poop on one computer that you
have been hacking for a coons age. Load
something serious on it, and see what happens.
Keep track of the crc errors that you never get
to see, and you'll start listening to your elders

johns

I used 1 example....would you like to here every single one....yours is the
bullshit. See what I'm saying, there's the age thing. bet I'm twice
your age along with 8 grandkids.....my first machine was an 8088 640 care
to post your ID birth date? Keep your OPINIONS to yourself if your going to
try and pass them as fact.....

better yet - Next time you have a thought.........let it go!