Is It Safe To Leave My Computer in This State? Description (below).?

Question

My computer is a Dell Dimension 1100 desktop. The power options and power schemes are messed up. The left light on the tower remains on (green) and the right green light is blinking very occasionally (when comupter is not in use). In Power scheme settings: I put "Never" for "Turn off hard disk" and "Never" for System Standby".

It reactivates from the mouse or keys. I shut down at night. I have been told that the hard disk never turns off. Is that true? Is this state Standby(2) that I have described? Is it in low power without hibernation ( I never want hibernation). The memory is holding in ram without the hiberfil.sys file being invoked. Hibernation is not enabled.

My monitor powers down. I can see the light turn to amber and the screen blank out.

Default in bios is Low Power Mode with reactivation for mouse and keys in Suspend (S1) or Standby(S2), and (S2) . Is this (S2)? If not, is it safe to leave on
full power for 3 or 4 hours not in use?

Answer 1

if you shut down, the hdd will turn off, and park the head.
this should be standby that you have described.
you can turn off the hdd in the power options, just it may take a little while to respond (all of the files necessary for computer operation are loaded into the ram, and ran from there... they stay there until shutdown, or they are replaced by another file/set of data) the hdd will turn off, but the os is still stored in the ram.

are you asking about security safety, or if the computer is going to burn down your house, or if something in the computer will get damaged?

if you are worried about the computer getting damaged, just leaving it in standby is not a bad thing. nothing should be damaged, just listen for grinding noises... this could be a fan going out, and will need to be replaced/repaired asap to avoid heat damage to vital components.

Security should not be an issue, for what could you do for it if you were right there... it would be over before you knew what happened.

To burn down your house, that may be an issue depending on how hot it gets, something may combust inside of the computer case, and may spread to some other flammable substance/material. I would rate it at about a .02% chance though... just allow your computer plenty of room to breath on all sides.

Answer 2

Generally speaking, it is safe to leave the computer in this state. The hard drive is indeed staying on when you leave the computer unattended, but when you do a system "shut down" it should be turning off completely.

Many computer experts tell us it is commonplace to leave the computer "on" all the time. In fact, the processor works the hardest when booting up from a complete "shut down." Therefore, just like with a car, the worst thing you can do to it is start it. Allowing it to run all the time in low power mode will actually extend the life of your processor.

I hope this helped.

Answer 3

I have an 8400 dell deminision and because of all the problems I never power it down, just let it go to screen save mode and that is all. I have clients that have actually had to unplug theri maching before regaining control so my recommendation is leave it running at a low level at all time.

Answer 4

Its not possible to burn your house down. At the institution where i study, the PCs are left on all the time. Not once did i see the campus burn to the ground.

Answer 5

Uhm... Nope because you cant never ever leave your computer because if you do it might got over heated or been stolen
so, dont
in that case Uhm...
if it wont turn Off just unplug that got damned computer
and bring it to anyone who can fix this problem of yours!!!
do i make my self clear?
ok that all i hope i'd help ya!
















from only ME!!!

Answer 6

gurbergrbu.