I have been told that a computer is designed to be left on permanently,?

Question

and others have said that it makes the computer run more smoothly. Can anyone tell me if this is true?

Answer 1

We have over 250 pc's in our business

we have the most trouble with the ones that are turned off every night. These systems are repaired more, we have even had to replace several of these due to drive damage and power supply failure. the ones we leave on last 3 times as long. My view is to leave them on, even if you set them to a reduced power consumption.

Answer 2

By computer, do you mean the hardware itself or the operating system? You seem to be asking about the operating system when you state "the computer runs more smoothly".

Designed? Yes. Designed successfully, well....that's been a problem in the past. The issue at hand is that over time, software running on your computer can use up computer memory without properly freeing it, making it unavailable for other applications. Also, operating systems will sometimes clean up resources for you, such as temp files, when they are shutdown and rebooted. And you may be leaving programs running that you no longer need, which can also drain resources unnecessarily.

With most modern operating systems, these problems have minimized to the point where you most likely don't need to reboot on any regular basis, if at all.

Another problem with leaving your computer "always on" while connected to the internet is that it a constant target for hackers. So be sure you are properly firewalled.

As for the hardware itself, the hardest activity on the lifetime of your computer components is the initial surge of powering up, in which case you should get longer life from your system simply by leaving it running. However, if your system is not properly cooled, you will probably get longer component life by flipping your "oven" off.

In general, I recommend leaving your computer on and turning your monitor off (to save electricity, which is largely consumed by the monitor). Look into your operating systems power options ("sleep mode") as a means to minimize the computer's electrical consumption while it is not actively being use.

Answer 3

It depends on the Computer. Companies will leave Mainframes (i.e. Huge computers on all the time because they are constantly in use and turing them on and off takes ages - they are designed to be on constantly)
Servers fall into the same category as Mainframes.
Desktops can be left on turning them on/off does reduce the life due to burst of power as the machine is switched on but not enough to worry about (it will be obosolete before the machine breaks).

Turning off a computer that is not in use good for the environment, you should at least activate power saving features when the computer will not be inuse for a while. The most important being the harddrive as it uses the most power.

Answer 4

In theory it is true, but you wouldnt notice any difference as it would be so small.

Contrant switching on/off can reduce the computers performance, do to the extra stresses and strains, as well as magnetic fields created when the computer powers down and when it is switched on.

When you start your computer, the hardware goes through a little more mechanical effort than usual. The theory was that this extra wear was bad for the equipment. But hardware is more durable now, and this isn't really an issue. By the time hardware wears out naturally, you'll be way overdue for an upgrade!

You best turning your computer off, its better for the environment - you could be spending $100+ by leaving it on all day.

Answer 5

a server is normally designed to be left on 24/7. Personal computers are not. The Power supplies in personal computers are not designed for this and will slowly degrade in performance if left on all the time. Also, personal computer operating systems like Windows XP, generally work better if the cache and temp files are cleared occasionally (this is done when you restart the computer).

Answer 6

Switching on and off was an issue with old PCs when the heads on the hard drives did not "auto park". That left the possibility of drive damage and possible loss of data. Not so these days.
In the area of energy savings, it is basically the same amount of power saved if you turn it off or let it hibernate. Older tube monitors used more juice; flat screens use very little.
More info at Energy Star web site. You can do a search for that.

Answer 7

I've been told the same thing. But, one time i went out of town for about a week and my fiance leftafter me leaving the computer on. And to my surprise when i got home the internet did'nt work. So i called Charter and told them my problem and they walked me through this whole process. Come to find out they told me it was caused by the computer being on for so long. So that's a good question. According to Charter Communications no they are not designed to stay on.

Answer 8

Lots of uneccessary switching off and on does tend to put undue stress on the motherboard and the components. Modern power supply units are more sturdy so leaving the PC on for extended periods of time doesn't do any harm at all. Also, cache and temporary files associated with the running of the PC can be purged manually if the PC seems slow.

Answer 9

The biggest strain on any piece of machinery is when it is switched off and on so technically speaking leaving it on is best. However you do have to balance that against the wear to the system being on 24/7.
It is a toss up but environmentally speaking it should be turned off when not in use.

Answer 10

This argument has been raging for years. It does your pc no harm to switch it off. It gives Windows a chance to clear out the temp files. And it costs more in electricity to leave it on than you 'save' in wear and tear.