Do you shut down your computer daily?

[morosco]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 2:33pm

I haven't shut my computer down in 3 years and it runs like a charm. Seems like the jury is still out on this issue. What do you do?

[gumbo2]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 2:35pm

Nope, I pretty much always leave it on, unless I'm traveling with it or going on a long trip without it or something.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 2:37pm

Doesn't it overheat?

And plus keeping it on and plugged in during thunder & lightening storms is very dangerous.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 2:38pm

It also ruins some laptop batteries.

[Patronus]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 2:38pm

It isn't dangerous if you have a surge protector.

I rarely shut my computer down and none of my PCs have ever over heated.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 2:41pm

I just put my laptop on hibernate. I shut it down occasionally when I'm not going to be using it for a few days (like when I go out of town) or when I'm traveling with it.

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 2:43pm

Work computer we are told to shut down every night.

At home, my laptop is in sleep mode all day. I turn it off about once a week and let it rest overnight.

[cheezedoodle]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 2:43pm

M - F I shut it down, because I link up with the computer at work sometimes. But on weekends I usually leave it on. Have not had any problems at all so far.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 2:45pm

I shut it down at most twice a month. It was a rule in my family and old habits die hard. I don't know if it helps any, but that's the theory anyway.

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 2:47pm

I shut my computer down a few times a week. I have been doing this for quote some time and it still runs fine.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 2:50pm

i hope you people who leave your computers on all the time are thinking about the waste of energy and how that effects the environment. would you leave your lights on all the time? your air conditioner?

that goes for you people who leave cell phone and pda chargers plugged in even when you're not using them. hope ya bought some carbon offsets for your wasteful behavior.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 2:54pm

Thanks for your concern, papa.

[vmlinnie]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 2:56pm

I always power off computers and laptops and unplug chargers when not in use etc., because of exactly what Papa said above.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 3:06pm

ditto, I also turn anything off I am not using.

[vmlinnie]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 3:08pm

One annoying example is the old DVD player I got when it was no longer needed elsewhere and I put it in my room. If you press the On/Off button when it's on Stand-by, it goes on. Press it when it's on, it goes to Stand-by. Doesn't turn off. I have to plug it out. Very annoying and stupidly designed.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 3:08pm

I also keep the water running when I brush my teeth.

[vmlinnie]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 3:10pm

I don't do that either.

I do sometimes let the shower run a bit to much before I actually use it, which would be wasteful. I'm sure there are other things.

Oh, and I have a passion for flying. Which is just plain evil, apparently.

[DAME]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 3:12pm

Nerver shut it off. But I do restart it every other week.

[morosco]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 3:17pm

"...hope ya bought some carbon offsets for your wasteful behavior."

Can you recommend some trusted organizations where I can buy them? I'm not too keen on unpluggin' all my stuff.

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 3:19pm

I shut mine down when I go to sleep. I figure why have it running all that time for nothing? The only appliance I leave on for an extended period of time is my AC when I go away on weekends. My parrot can't tolerate the heat.

Some tropical bird!

[Auggie27]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 5:19pm

I re-start my older computer every 3-4 days, but only turn it off-off a couple of times a year. I was told you must re-start it a couple of times a week or Windows crashes. But that's an older version of Windows. The restart always brings the RAM back -- too little on the old one -- and makes it work faster.

One thing: it takes forever to get a document off the screen. Anyone know how to speed that up? I defragmented the thing last summer, but found it scary and didn't get much speed.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 5:21pm

Two other questions, related:

Do those annoying Windows Updates keep computers running more smoothly?

Do you let your Norton run full-tilt once a week? It takes over an hour on my laptop.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 5:35pm

At home---I always turn my PC laptop and desktop off during the day, every day. Saving energy is the primary reason. Once I'm home in the evenings, I keep one or both on "hibernate" when I'm not using them, and then I shut everything down again before I go to work each day.

At work---My Mac is always on. I restart it once or twice a week. But my computer is often rendering animations or encoding mpeg files overnight... and we're also networked as an extended render farm for the entire graphics department whenever needed... so we can't shut down. My computer is also backed up every night, and it needs to be left on to do that.

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 6:01pm

I have a related question-how long should you leave programs open?

I have photoshop and iphoto on all day while I'm working on them. When I leave for work, though, I don't quit them. I leave them open. Is this advisable?

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/19/07 at 6:57pm

I shut it off at night and don't start it up again until I get home from work. The poor baby has to rest!