Can it cause damage to a computer if it is left on for a long period - nearly 30 hours?

Question

It's currently been on for 1 day, 5 hours and 10 minutes. I've been trying to get my coursework done, and yes, I'm knackered.

Just to clarify, I don't mean in stand-by mode, I mean actually on and in use for the whole 30 hours, PC and monitor.

Answer 1

Absolutely no problem.

I would take that with a grain of salt though.

If you computer seems to get extraordinarily hot and sluggish, or even lock up after a few hours or even a day, there is defiantly something wrong with the hardware and you need to get someone to look at it.

If you suspect that you have a heating issue with your computer, I would go to http://www.almico.com/ and download speedfan, which is a free program, and log your results.

But simply put, 30 hours is not an issue, in fact 30 days or 30 weeks is not really an issue if the computer's health is fine.

Think of it this way, if your Internet provider has to keep their computers running for months on end to provide you and all their customers constant Internet access under a constant CPU strain, do you think you are really going to have a problem with your computer then?

Answer 2

Basically no it can cause no damage except wear....and most computer parts have a design life of 100 000 hours or 11 years.
Of course you might like to consider the planet and not leave it on for 24/7. It is a bit of a catch 22 as leaving it on will be better electronically but will also build up the dust inside.
You could always set it to hibernate in control panel power settings but being Microsoft it does not always work.
Mine doesn't so I I use Win amp off a free shut down utility.
In short the choice is yours.

Answer 3

Depends on how cool the computer is running. Heat isn't good for electronics. Laptops heat up pretty fast, so unless it is on a cooling pad or has a great fan system, I would not let it run 24/7. One day isn't going to ruin it though. If it is hot, I would let it cool off now.
Most PC's have plenty of fans and if you have adequate ventilation you can leave them running 24/7. But you need to do a disk clean up, scan disk, and a defrag at least once a week, more if it is Windows 98 or less.
Leaving a monitor on also heats it up and shortens its life. Letting things cool off when they are hot helps everything run better in my opinion. The hard disk is spinning fast, as it heats up you data is more likely to be spread far and wide making your system have to search the entire disk for stuff, which slows up your software and can cause "freezing" or worse. Now if you have partitioned your disks and have plenty of ventilation ... I already mentioned that.
Time to go to bed. Yawn.

Seems everyone has different experiences and beliefs on this subject though.

Answer 4

Yeah, It isn't bad at all. Matter of fact from a eletronic view point it is better to leave it on. This way you don't ruin the circuts from the high voltage that will need to be regulated from the wall outlet. So leaving it on will cause it to have already regulated current flowing through. This will prolong the life of the compents used in the circut.

lol, Your not running programs so unlike what everyone thinks there shouldn't be alot of heat.

Answer 5

Since you've never tried running your computer for extended amounts of time, I recommend paying attention to the noise it makes. If you start hearing loud, or just no noise, then one of your fans has probably blown and it would NOT be a good idea to continue using it until it is fixed.

However, it is likely that your computer can run 24/7 as long as it was built within the past 6 years.

Answer 6

No problem with leaving the PC on. I think my network has been up and running for over 30 days without reboot now.

Suggestion:
1. Just make sure that you have a good power surge protector.

Other than that, your PC will be just fine.

Answer 7

I haven't shut off my computer for over 14 months.. Computers are made to stay on for long durations. Some argue it's even better for them to run all the time, so there is less stress of the circuits expanding and contracting, when they heat up and cool down.

Hope this helps
Zach

Answer 8

I agree with the other posters who say it's no problem.

The only add-on I have is that if you're leaving the computer untended for any period, switch off the monitor - that's the biggest risk for fire.... but even that's a tiny risk.

Good luck with the coursework!

Answer 9

No, unless the monitor is also on all that time, the monitor should always be configured to turn off after certain minutes always anyway, specially when considering long terms.

Answer 10

No damage will be caused. My machine is on constantly must be about two years now. I had a bit of a prob in the hot weather with over heating but so did I !!