Our PC is used occasionally during the week. Should we keep it running all the time or shut it down every few days. Currently we do the latter.
Thanks
I turn mine on when I want to use it, shut it down when I am done. There are times that I might be away for a couple of hours, then I put it to sleep. I have a wall switch that turns on/off the either net switch, it gets turned off while away and at night.
When I'm not going to use my computer for a couple of hours I use the sleep mode. If I'm not going to use it for several hours or more I shut it off.
Definitely shut it off when not in use to save energy and the planet. Also, turn it off at the mains since any electrical device left on is a fire risk.
Use it when you are using it :) leave it on long enough for it to do updates and so on (check the update window to make sure it says 'last checked xx/xx/xx' and that it is not busy) and occasionally do a restart to keep the file system in order.
I leave mine on all the time. Both my home desktop and my work-at-home laptop.
The drives spin down after a configurable timeout, so drive wearout is reduced.
The screens go black, likewise.
My machine is on at 7.30 am and set to go into sleep mode 20 mins if not active. The machine goes off at around 11pm but, I never turn the power off at the wall. The PSU is always on.
Leaving it on for weeks or months might seem worrying, but many electronic devices are left on permanently: traffic lights, alarms & security devices, industrial controls, air traffic controls and the whole of airports, advertising displays, railway signalling, commercial shipping, hospital facilities, countless computers available 24/7 to be visited at will via a web address, etc. etc. Against this could be argued that home computers might not be made to the same degree of robustness but there seems to be no evidence of this from users.
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