To Turn Off or Not to Turn Off

[Natasha]

What is the best way to maintain our office computers -
is it better to turn the computers off every night or to
leave them constantly running?

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In ,
Natasha > typed:

> What is the best way to maintain our office computers -
> is it better to turn the computers off every night or to
> leave them constantly running?


This question is asked periodically and usually garners all sorts
of fervent responses, on both sides of the question. Some people
never turn off their computers, claiming turning them off can
cause the hardware to fail sooner. Others turn them on and off
multiple times each day, to save electricity.

My view is that it doesn't matter very much either way, and you
should do what works best for you. Personally I power on once a
day, when I get up in the morning, and power off once a day, when
I go to bed at night.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the

[JAX]

There are people who will argue each point. I think it is a matter of
personal preference except for two considerations. If the computer's
environment is less than clean, i.e., dust or other contaminants in the air,
it is best to shut-down, that is that much less time for the fans to suck it
in. The other consideration is the possibility of fire while the computer is
unintended. ...(I think!) The idea of leaving them run is remnant of the
early days of computers, when they used vacuum tubes, etc. That is not say
that expansion and contraction cannot be a problem but, it is a minimal
issue

LOL, JAX

"Natasha" > wrote in message
...
> What is the best way to maintain our office computers -
> is it better to turn the computers off every night or to
> leave them constantly running?

[oneheli]

Like Ken and Jax said it is totally up to you. I leave mine on 24-7. I will put it to stand by at night and when I am out of the house but other wise it is running all the time.

[MGGP]

Ditto

>-----Original Message-----
>In ,
>Natasha > typed:
>
>> What is the best way to maintain our office computers -
>> is it better to turn the computers off every night or to
>> leave them constantly running?
>
>
>This question is asked periodically and usually garners
all sorts
>of fervent responses, on both sides of the question. Some
people
>never turn off their computers, claiming turning them off
can
>cause the hardware to fail sooner. Others turn them on
and off
>multiple times each day, to save electricity.
>
>My view is that it doesn't matter very much either way,
and you
>should do what works best for you. Personally I power on
once a
>day, when I get up in the morning, and power off once a
day, when
>I go to bed at night.
>
>--
>Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>Please reply to the
>
>
>.
>

[Ron Martell]

"Natasha" > wrote:

>What is the best way to maintain our office computers -
>is it better to turn the computers off every night or to
>leave them constantly running?

Toss a coin.

Turning a computer on and off once has about the same long term effect
on the life expectancy of the computer as does leaving it running for
24 hours.

The really dangerous situation is where a computer is turned on and
off multiple times during a day. That can really have an adverse
effect on the life expectancy of the components.

Another consideration might be energy consumption, especially in these
days of increasing energy costs. Even if a computer + monitor is
only consuming 20 watts or so of power in standby mode if you multiply
that by 100 or 1,000 (or more) computers you do get a fairly
significant amount of electrical consumption.


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

[XS11E]

"Natasha" > wrote in
:

> What is the best way to maintain our office computers -
> is it better to turn the computers off every night or to
> leave them constantly running?

Please leave the computers running all the time.

Thank You,
Your Electric Company

[JustMee]

Hi Natasha;

For many (many) years, I always kept my computers on 24/7/365... I
never had significant problems with early failure of any components,
as the computers more or less maintained a constant temperature,
etc...

However..... With the advent of these latest, more powerful
computers, and huge harddrives, I think that heat problems can be
very significant.. So I now power my computers up in the morning, and
then shut them down at night, or when I am going to be away from them
for significant periods of time (4 hours or more)..

This is not terribly scientific, but I fear the heat generated by this
newest generation of CPUs, vidoe cards, harddrives, etc. can take an
early toll if the machines were to be left on 24/7/365... I fear a
critical fan failing when no one is around to hear it and shut the
machine down, thereby losing a machine due to that failure...

This is definitely a personal decision, imho.

ymmv,

JM




On Thu, 3 Jun 2004 12:51:05 -0700, "Natasha"
> wrote:

>What is the best way to maintain our office computers -
>is it better to turn the computers off every night or to
>leave them constantly running?