Computer wear and tear?

Question

My husband seems to think that it's better to keep his computer on 100% of the time because "if you turn it off when finished you cause more damage to the device." Also, he thinks that it takes more energy/electricity to start the computer, than to keep it running all day??? Anyone know the answer to this little dilema?

Answer 1

Simple compromise. Have him set his computer to hibernate, sleep when not being used, uses less electricity. Yet he can still use it without waiting forever to start up. Click on Start, then Control Panel, and choose Power Options. There is a list of drop down boxes which you can choose the time for the hard drive, monitor to turn off, go on stand by or hibernate. This way everyone will be happy. Who's right, who's wrong, who cares? Your electricity bill will be somewhat lower, he will be happier, chow.

Answer 2

When you turn and turn off a computer, it has to go through things such as stopping the hard drive or starting to get it going again. Computers do not go through any wear and tear by simply running because there is no damage that can be done by simply, for example, spinning the hard drive. Again, it is the process of starting and stopping the spinning that can cause damage. (Though somewhat insignificant, really.)

Temperature should not affect your computer if it is built properly. All computers manage their temperature by themselves, and keeping things running should not damage them unless the system is being driven too hard for the fans to dissapate the heat. (This is not a worry, all computers come properly adjusted, and only a fairly tech savvy person would overclock his or her computer.)

All in all, there is no such thing as letting your computer cool down, or there being damage done while it is running all the time. It is better to keep it running all the time. Oh, and keeping the device running all the time does take more energy.

EDIT: Oh, and there is no such thing as the "Windows environment" becoming unstable. There may be programs running that have a memory leak (when a program uses memory and does not release it when it is done), but that is generally not a problem as most modern software does not do such things. Even if it does (unlikely these days), a simple reboot every month or so would solve it.

Answer 3

Actually he's so wrong he is completly opposite. Windows enviroment needs to be reset daily at least, over time it will get less and less stable if it isn't reset. Also it is bad for the computer to stay running when its not getting used as it will heat up and cause wear on the fans. A computer does not use more electricity starting up than when it runs, so shutting it down whenever you are not using it will save energy too.

Answer 4

Its ridiculous!Your husband is probably mad. If the world were to follow him, even America will face a permanent blackout! By the way, the computer is not a delicate 2 month old baby, that it will suffer from 'wear and tear', if it is turned on and off everyday. Of course, like every other machine it has got its own lifetime, and will show complications after sometime. Your husband is only shortening your computer's life span by 'preventing it from wear and tear'! LOL!!!!

Answer 5

if you leave it on all the time, you wear it out faster on components that moves, such as your hard drives and your fans, and less on boards, like your motherboard, your video card board, etc. turning it on makes the boards hot, while leaving it off cools it down. it's that heating up, cooling down that can cause boards to warp, which can cause damage but there hasn't been any documentation on how much it warps the boards. that can vary from board to board as well so it's hard to say.

you don't use more energy to start the computer, unless you turn it on and off all the time. yes, it does take up more power to start the computer but that cost of turning it on is eaten up within about an hour, depending on the computer.

some people recommend that you leave it on all the time, some don't. it really depends on the computer, really.

Answer 6

Your husband is a little misguided, it takes more power to run all day than when cycling on and off occasionally. I havn't shut off my PC for over a year however. As long as you occasionally blow the dust out of the case, it is perfectly fine to leave your PC on 24/7. He is on the right track of being hard on devices however. Circuits expand and contract when they get warm and cold, and leaving your PC on keeps things warm which creates less fatigue on the sensitive circuits inside.
Windows likes to be rebooted often, one of it's many flaws, but overall it should be fine running all the time just as mission critical servers run for years.

Zach

Answer 7

I do not know if this is right, but I keep my computer on 24/7