I'm just curious to know how many of you run your systems 24 hours a day vs turning them off when not in use. Mine run 24/7/365. It was my dad who was an electronics engineer who told me components last longer when they are constantly running as it is the spool up from 0 state to 100% opperational status that puts the most wear and tear on parts. Power wise it costs about ten bucks a month to have them all going all the time ( not including monitors which go off when not in use)
power on time
- Thread starter Mino
- Start date
Owen
Photoshop Savant
Most of the computers stay on 24/7
The ones I only use once a week or less only stay on when needed
Monitors only on when in use (no silly screensavers to run all night)
I also was told long ago that it's best if you just leave the computer on -- though really I just hate waiting on things to boot up.
The ones I only use once a week or less only stay on when needed
Monitors only on when in use (no silly screensavers to run all night)
I also was told long ago that it's best if you just leave the computer on -- though really I just hate waiting on things to boot up.
J.R. Hudson
Spirit Animal
At home I go into Standby and at the office I just LOCK IT
Terry_Lasater
All about the Caption
Mino said:
I've heard that too and believe it to be fairly true. However, Hard Drives use the term MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) as a measurement of their quality. To me, that means a Hard Drive's life is measured by time - hours, actually.
I've certainly replaced a few HDs on my oldest Mac, but it still runs.
John C Lyons
Veteran
I leave my work computer on always and turn off on weekends. Home computers on most of the time... There's no need to turn them off when you aren't using them, they are made to run and run - they aren't like ovens or gas pumps. he he
BLUESPIDER
DVXuser Ninja
I turn mine off before I go to bed. My computer is a monster and makes loud noises. Can't sleep with the computer turned on plus I want to hear if Santa is going to enter my house. Santa better watch out for them bobo traps.
Terry_Lasater
All about the Caption
Actually, I had one internal startup drive replaced by a service center (terms of warranty) about 5 years ago. But, I've had 3 external drives (IBMs & LaCies of various ages) go bad within the last 5 years.
I can't answer your question, for certain, about HDs spinning all the time. I'm assuming it might depend on the drive mfr, OS settings, version of OS, etc., but I really don't know.
I can't answer your question, for certain, about HDs spinning all the time. I'm assuming it might depend on the drive mfr, OS settings, version of OS, etc., but I really don't know.
Super Trooper
Well-known member
LMAO!BLUESPIDER said:
I set up my fair share of traps to catch that son of a ***** when I was growing up.
Jingle bells tied to the doore handles. A trail of cookies leading to my bed. C-4.
To my dismay, he eluded them all (as a side note, the dog ate the trail of cookies, hilarity ensued, soon followed by bouts of vomiting and a swift swat to the ass).
Never had a chimney. "Oh, he'll find a way in," Mom said. Yeah, she would.
***SPOILERS***
She was screwin' 'im! Santa isn't real. He's your Dad. Sorry you had to find out this way.
****END****
**SPOILERS**
And back on topic, never knew that you should turn your comp off. Guess my baby's gonna be sleepin' tonight. She deserves a nice long nap after about two years of running without one.
When I think about it, I'd have to assume they spin all the time and the light just signifies when they're being read or written to. Seems to me that access time would be stupid slow if they stopped spinning when not in use, but I really don't know either. I guess one day we'll have some sort of 400gb memory stick for a hard drive and answer the question once and for all
Terry_Lasater
All about the Caption
Yeah, internal solid state 'drives' (not unlike P2) will be the future. However, like all new computer technologies, you will pay a lot to lead the pack.
Mino said:
HDD's are still spinning, even when the light's not flashing. Otherwise, you'll have to do a lot of waiting every time you want to access the drive because it takes some time to go from 0 to 7200 rpm. However, most operating systems will power them down if they're not accessed after some time (15 minutes?). If you have a noisy drive, you can actually hear them stop and start up again.
I have a computer that I use just for editing, and I turn that off when it's not in use. Otherwise it will heat up the room. My computer at work, I put in hibernate every night.
I wouldn't worry too much about wear and tear on your computer electronics because even if you turn it off every night for 10 years (and who keeps a computer that long?) it's only 3650 power on cycles. Solid state electronics can easily take that. I'd worry more about the moving parts like HDD motors and heads. We all know that moving parts wear out faster the more they're used.
fixitinpost
Well-known member
Sumfun is right. The hd's keep spinning unless your OS is set to power them down after a set interval of inactivity (always one of the first things I turn off, I like to keep my drives on). As for powering down, I turn mine off every night. Can't afford the power. Also, while it may decrease the lifespan of your computer, it won't be decreased enough for you to really notice. By the time that decrease will kick in, your computer will be obsolete and gathering dust in a corner somewhere. But, the important thing, wether you leave your computer on or not, is to reboot it at least once a day.
Kirk Gillock
Rebel with a cause
My PC gets turned off when not in use only because of heat concerns. I don't run the air con (to save money) and it gets REAL hot here sometimes. Heat is not a computers best friend. One thing to consider for all those who leave their computers on. As you already know, if you've got a cool room or good circulation in your case then it's no problem to leave it on 24/7. If you're in hell, like me, it's best to give your computer a rest.
Speaking of heat, the fan in my room just broke, so I hired someone to wave a banana leaf in front of me, to keep me cool, and to do the same on my computer when I'm not here.
Speaking of heat, the fan in my room just broke, so I hired someone to wave a banana leaf in front of me, to keep me cool, and to do the same on my computer when I'm not here.
BLUESPIDER
DVXuser Ninja
PK Gillock said:
speaking of getting turned off, where is pookie?
fixitinpost said:
Why is it important to re-boot once a day? I know it was an issue pre NT days when memory used was only cleared after a boot but mowadays with 2000 and XP the mem used by software is reclaimed when software is closed. I run at peak for weeks at a time. Is there another reason for your advice that I'm unaware of?
fixitinpost
Well-known member
Not all memory leaks have been fixed. There are still problems with it. Also, processes won't always close, which hog system resources and slow your system down. There is a little more to it than that, but I am lazy.
