Do you shut down your computer at night?

1. 73

   lorlie6posted 14 years ago

   I know this is a noobie sort of question, but bear with me-is it recommended to shut down your computer when you're done with the thing or do you simply let it 'sleep?'
   Thanks!

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   1. 91

      gracenotesposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I don't really know the answer to this, but personally I do shut my PC down at night.  I let it do the Windows Updates and then turn itself off.
      
      Frankly, one reason I shut mine down is that my office is located on the warm (south) side of my house.  The electronic equipment in this room generates enough heat to make it even warmer.  That's one reason why my computer gets shut down completely.
      
      When I had an IMac, I don't think I shut it down very much.

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   2. 71

      Cagsilposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hey Lorlie,
      
      With the new technology of power supply which are built into the computer nowadays, the consumption of electricity is minimal. You really don't save much on usage of electricity by shutting them off anymore.
      
      Much, much older machines, like the 80's machines, didn't have a power supply to conserve electricity, like now. So it's not a problem anymore.
      
      You can shut down your system, but then you shut off any schedule programs that need to run while you are sleeping, like a Virus scanner could run while you are sleeping, so you don't have to run it while you're awake.
      
      I use other programs that allow me to down load things 24/7, so my machine is constantly on.

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   3. 33

      nbbatt.composted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I prefer to shut down computer when I am done and not use computer more than 1 hours.
      and I keep it on or sleeping when taking rest around 30 to 60 minutes.

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2. 75

   Mighty Momposted 14 years ago

   I shut mine off. If I left it running I would probably find an excuse to get out of bed and jump back on it. At least this way the computer can get some much needed rest

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3. 79

   KCC Big Countryposted 14 years ago

   Every month or two I shut mine down.  It does go into a sleep mode at night and at some point the little blue light starts to flash.  That's rather annoying.  It's only been doing this since I took it into the shop to clean out the virus it had.

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4. 71

   Diane Insideposted 14 years ago

   We never shut our computer down, we only turn off the monitor every night. My husband has it set to shut itself down every so often to defragment.  When it does that we do have to turn it on and reboot. But that is very seldom.  We leave ours on as we use a magic jack for phone service, and must always have a internet connection.

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5. 0

   WizardOfOzposted 14 years ago

   I shut down.  Not that I am positively sure about the science of it but I believe shutting it down regularly should help it perform.  There are various caching mechanisms that reset and the moving parts stop moving, can't be bad.  I check for updates regularly and they all happen rather quickly, I see no need to leave the PC on.

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6. 73

   lorlie6posted 14 years ago

   So, what I gather is that it's a personal choice, essentially?

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7. 66

   Mishaposted 14 years ago

   Even if there was a consensus, and if you decided to go with consensus - wouldn't it be a personal choice, too?

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   1. 73

      lorlie6posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Ah, a logician I presume?    Misha-you are correct, I have seen the light!

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8. 61

   Money Glitchposted 14 years ago

   Hi lorlie6, I have to agree with Misha.  Over the years I've asked every IT person that I've met and or worked with.  And everyone has reasons why they do or why they don't shut it off.
   
   My poll results was about 50/50 and that's about the way it goes in my household.

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9. 83

   CMHypnoposted 14 years ago

   It is a personal choice thing - I shut down and unplug my laptop every time I go out, start doing something else and every night

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10. 60

    sid_candidposted 14 years ago

    Whether to shut down the computer or let it sleep is a personal choice but I do prefer to shut down my computer when I am done and not put it in sleep mode.

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11. 61

    andygrantposted 14 years ago

    I always shut down my computer every night before going to sleep.

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12. 0

    khmohsinposted 14 years ago

    my computer is running since 3 days.
    

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13. 61

    JP993posted 14 years ago

    Yeh, you should definately shut your computer down when your finished with it to update itself and fr it to propely cool down. It will prolong the life of your PC. Letting it sleep constantly will slowly burn it out. If you leave it on sleep for a week you will notice it will get slower and slower.
    
    Another thing to do is clear all your internet history and temporary internet files once a day too.

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14. 62

    telltaleposted 14 years ago

    For me, I shut down my computer if I am not downloading anything, at night.  Shutting it down is more a personal decision.  Leaving it running or sleeping (why?) does not actually cause it to have problems or issues, but the most probable logical thing to do when you are not using it is to shut it down - of course this is just my opinion.

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15. 62

    CYBERSUPEposted 14 years ago

    My computer goes to sleep when I do. I do shut all systems down when I retire for the night.

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16. 66

    PMS9posted 14 years ago

    My system CPU and SMPS fans makes little sound and I can't sleep in such sound disturbance,  so every night without fail I do shutdown my system.

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17. 82

    Jayne Lancerposted 14 years ago

    I left my old computer on all the time. Then, one day, there was a heavy thunderstorm and it died forever.
    My new computer is turned off whenever I'm not using it.

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18. 62

    CASE1WORKERposted 14 years ago

    Of course I shut it down
    I turn the electricity off and wish it goodnight
    keep waiting for it to say its prayers........

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19. 82

    timorousposted 14 years ago

    Despite what Cagsil said earlier, every bit of electricity saved is a good thing.  You want to pay a little less for your electricity bill don't you?  Just turn it off.
    
    Whether there's an environmental impact is questionable.  However, if everyone did the same with all their appliances, the power companies wouldn't have to produce as much..potentially saving you quite a bit of money.  The likelihood of them passing the savings on to you...infinitely small.
    
    Besides, all those LED's and fans would keep me awake.

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    1. 71

       Cagsilposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       If you're not going to benefit from the savings...then what sense would it make to do it?
       
       Again, technology has come a long way too.

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       1. 82

          timorousposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Hello Cagsil.  How are you?  Let me clarify what I stated earlier.
          
          Just one person turning off their computer when not in use, isn't going to have much impact on the electrical supply serving your community.  However, if everyone were to do the same on a regular basis..including all other electrical uses in the home, that would have a measurable impact.
          
          This would mean the power company would not need to produce as much power, and in the process reduce the pollution that producing that energy would cause (a good thing in most people's estimation).  However, for this to be significant requires hundreds of people to be consistently conscientious about their electricity use.  Even so, the power company is likely put such savings into either maintaining and upgrading the network, or pay their CEO's more
          
          If each person made a real effort to curtail unneccessary energy use, it will save you money on your electrical bill, since most people pay for what they use, rather than a flat rate.
          
          I hope I've made that reasonably clear.

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    2. 81

       camloposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Whether turning off the computer is making a relevant difference, I'm not 100% certain, but I don't see the point of leaving an appliance on when it's not being used, unless it uses more energy to turn on again than it would have used had it never been turned off. Could that be the case with a computer?

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       1. 82

          timorousposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          No, a computer doesn't use very much current when switching on..unlike large appliances such as a refrigerator or a furnace fan.

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20. 71

    blondepoetposted 14 years ago

    It depends on whether I remember....that it's even on.

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21. 61

    Jane@CMposted 14 years ago

    Laptop gets shut down.  PC generally stays on as I have it set to do all its "work" over night (spyware, cleanup, yada yada and then it shuts itself off.  I don't like leaving my laptop on - personal choice.

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22. 95

    wildernessposted 14 years ago

    It is my understanding that one of the worst things for a computer is constant temperature changes.  As circuit boards heat and cool they flex and move ever so slightly and eventually can have a mechanical failure in the circuitry. 
    
    Never the less, I shut mine down - I'm paranoid about viruses and such.

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23. 74

    Kangaroo_Jaseposted 14 years ago

    From a pure IT point of view, if you choose to shut down, power-off, allow to go into sleep or hibernation mode your personal computer, it is purely by personal choice.
    
    Will it harm your internal components if you run your PC 24/7? No.

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24. 59

    paradigmsearchposted 14 years ago

    In virtually every programming shop I have ever worked at, we shut off our computers before going home for the day.

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