Leaving Computers on for a long time

  • Thread starter Thread starter Frank
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Frank

i was just wondering if it was a good or bad thing to
leave your computer on for a long period of time (like
not turn it off for months). or does it not make any
difference at all?

cheers
 
There should be no reason why you cant leave your
computer on for months. It will however bring the life
expectancy of some components to wear out sooner than
average. If you are going to leave it on for months i
would suggest turning the computer off at least every two
months and giving the inside of it a clean. And also keep
up a regular maintenence of the programs with disk
defragmenter and scan disk.
 
Frank,

This question has been around for some time. The lines of argument are as
follows.
Turning the power on and off creates thermal stresses on the integrated
circuitry of the processor
and components of the computer. This thermal fatigue can cause separation
of wire bonds and other
failures within these integrated circuits over time. Therefore, leaving the
computer on is supposedly better
for the electronics, as the temperature of the circuitry is held somewhat
constant.

Counter to this argument, is that the continued spinning of the disk drive
and other rotating components,
such as the fan can cause mechanical wear and eventual failure. Therefore,
turning the computer off is better
for these components. Also, static displays on a cathode ray tube can cause
eventual burning of the phosphors leading to the
well known burned images that interfere with normal viewing.

However, there has been substantial improvement in the robustness of
integrated circuitry and electronics in general.
Electronic failures are unusual, if not rare. Newer operating systems and
hardware allow disk drives to "spin down" when
not accessed for a period of time. Chassis fans are often temperature
driven, so they only run as necessary (the processor fan
is likely to run continuously, however). Screen savers and more durable
phosphors make screen burning an
unecessary worry in most cases.

All of these improvements would seem to render the durability arguments
moot. There is one factor that hasn't been eliminated
from concern, though. Energy consumption has been reduced substantially by
new systems, when they are inactive. CRT monitors go into
standby mode when they loose their synchronization signals and computers
will go into standby, if so directed by the
operating system ("advanced power management settings"). While these steps
reduce the energy consumption remarkably,
they do not eliminate it. So unless there is no other overriding concern
(such as impatience during boot), I fall on the
"Turn it off" side of the discussion.

Good luck in making your decision,

Joe Burba
 
Joe said:
Frank,

This question has been around for some time. The lines of argument are as
follows.
Turning the power on and off creates thermal stresses on the integrated
circuitry of the processor
and components of the computer. This thermal fatigue can cause separation
of wire bonds and other
failures within these integrated circuits over time. Therefore, leaving the
computer on is supposedly better
for the electronics, as the temperature of the circuitry is held somewhat
constant.

Counter to this argument, is that the continued spinning of the disk drive
and other rotating components,
such as the fan can cause mechanical wear and eventual failure. Therefore,
turning the computer off is better
for these components. Also, static displays on a cathode ray tube can cause
eventual burning of the phosphors leading to the
well known burned images that interfere with normal viewing.

However, there has been substantial improvement in the robustness of
integrated circuitry and electronics in general.
Electronic failures are unusual, if not rare. Newer operating systems and
hardware allow disk drives to "spin down" when
not accessed for a period of time. Chassis fans are often temperature
driven, so they only run as necessary (the processor fan
is likely to run continuously, however). Screen savers and more durable
phosphors make screen burning an
unecessary worry in most cases.

All of these improvements would seem to render the durability arguments
moot. There is one factor that hasn't been eliminated
from concern, though. Energy consumption has been reduced substantially by
new systems, when they are inactive. CRT monitors go into
standby mode when they loose their synchronization signals and computers
will go into standby, if so directed by the
operating system ("advanced power management settings"). While these steps
reduce the energy consumption remarkably,
they do not eliminate it. So unless there is no other overriding concern
(such as impatience during boot), I fall on the
"Turn it off" side of the discussion.

Good luck in making your decision,

Joe Burba
Click to expand...

I agree with Joe! I have been around computers since the Commodore 64
and now the Amd 64 and I turn the computer on when I want to use it
and Off when I am finished. I have NEVER had a computer failure.
Remember heat is the gretest failure of your computer and its parts. So
if it is off, it is cool! Man! :-)
 
I might add that I used my old Compaq Presario, turning it on and off
sometimes several times a day, for nine years and NEVER had a hardware or
software failure with it. It has been passed on to my son-in-law, who
continues to enjoy good service from it.
 
Frank, I have had my PC on for over 5 years. The only time it is powered
down is to make hardware upgrades, I think that the technology expires
before the machine does.

Just my observation


-------
James DeMoss
(e-mail address removed)



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