Posted by cntrlcalntry on 3/6/06 9:37pm
Msg #102675

Putting my computer to bed at night.

Does anyone know if it is better on the computer to leave it running all
the time or to shut it completely down at night? Our electric bills are
crasy here right now so I was just curious.
Thank you!

Reply by Howie35CT on 3/6/06 9:43pm
Msg #102676

When your computer is dormant (8 or so hours), it is requiring very little electricity, maybe 2-5 cents/hour. What is not good for you or your computer is if it has been a very busy day and you need to clean out the registry and leave it on. Your computer's performance the next business day will begin to slow until you shut it down and allow all those .ini and .exe files to be deleted upon shutdown. Also, if you have high-speed internet with shared files (whether you know that they are shared or not), you leave yourself open to someone else entering your system through a back door and knowing a whole lot more about you than you would like them to. All that said, if there is no reason to leave your computer on, turn it off. Your electric bills are most likely very high due to:
1. money-sucking electric companies taking advantage of us hard-working folks
2. humidifiers/de-humidifiers
3. electric water heaters
4. electric clothes dryers
5. air conditioning

in that order. Scary, isn't it???

Reply by PAW on 3/6/06 9:49pm
Msg #102680

I hardly ever turn my computer off. I do reboot every Tuesday and Thursday to refresh and clean house. You don't have to shut down to do that. At night, the computer is one, but the LCD monitor is off. Then, while I'm asleep, the mouse plays and does a full system antivirus check (AVG) and a full system backup (Drive Image). Works for me.

Reply by LawrenceOK on 3/6/06 10:49pm
Msg #102693

Thats what I love about AVG, you can let it play and it does not take over your system like some do. I have used AVG for so long, I can't remember when I downloaded the first free AVG. I use AVG Professional now. Never have had a virus.

Reply by cntrlcalntry on 3/6/06 9:44pm
Msg #102677

Re: Typo

The electric bills are crazy. I am the one that is crasy! ha ha.

Reply by cntrlcalntry on 3/6/06 9:46pm
Msg #102679

Re: Thank you, I appreciate it!!!!! n/m

Reply by MichiganAl on 3/6/06 10:35pm
Msg #102688

Running a computer uses minimal electricity. But turning your computer off helps it run more smoothly. Windows degenerates as it runs, memory from prior programs you ran may not have cleared, and as someone else mentioned, the registry needs to be cleaned out. I turn mine off every night.

Reply by TitleGalCA on 3/6/06 10:37pm
Msg #102690

Like the others, I leave mine on/re-boot once a week. n/m

Reply by SatomiCO on 3/6/06 10:48pm
Msg #102692

Like Al, and for the same reasons I shut my computers off at night. Also, once a week I shut down and reboot the cable (internet) box and router switch box.

Reply by Korey Humphreys on 3/6/06 11:14pm
Msg #102700

I always thought that leaving a computer on for long ...

durations was bad. Glad to see that I am just paranoid .

Reply by PAW on 3/7/06 6:45am
Msg #102722

Re: I always thought that leaving a computer on for long ...

The recycling of power is not good on the electronics. The gizzards are designed for a constant and even flow of electricity. When you power up, you are jolting the electronics with a surge of juice. It is designed to handle it, somewhat, but like a circuit breaker, the more times it is tripped, the weaker it gets.

The computer that I'm currently running on has been on, for the most part, for over 5 years. Only off when the power fails for long periods and the generator isn't running, or when I will be gone for extended periods of time (more than 3 days).

Simply a full reboot will reset the operating system and 'soft' components. But sometimes, you also need to reset the electrical components, such as comm ports or printer ports that get electrically hung. The only way to clear that is to actually power off the device and the computer to reset the electronics.

When powering off, it is recommended to shut down the computer first, then all the peripheral devices. When powering up, it is recommended to turn on all peripheral devices that are attached to the computer (even if you don't typically use them, such as printers or scanners), then bring up the computer to a fully operational mode. Then turn off the peripherals, such as printers, that you don't use all the time. For example, I have four printers attached to my system. When I do a power cycle, all printers are turned on during the power up. Then, when the system is up and running and stabilized, three of the printers are shut off and only turned back on when I need to use them. One printer (the HP 3330) stays on all the time as it is also a backup fax if there is a problem with the fax server.