Why do we say my computer's running?

Question

It's not running... it's just sitting there on the computer table.

Answer 1

The reference is to electrical current. In the good old days, a wire was considered "dead" if there was no current, and "running" if a current was running through it.

Or was your question just rhetorical? Such as:
Why do we wash up but scrub down?
What is the "in" crowd in?

Answer 2

The thing that's sitting on the computer table is a case holding the running computer. The thing that's running is the flow of logically-organized energy in the CPU chip, like the smooth flow of water down and around a 256- or 512- or 1024-or more set of channels in response to switches opening and closing and pumps pushing and pulling by remote control!

Answer 3

I think running of a computer just as running with an engine. Even if your engine isn't moving the wheels it is certainly running. Pistons are moving and such. Well the moment you turn on you computer is starts running computer instructions even if nothing appears to be moving. And computer programmer's refer to running a program, which is reading in the instructions and taking actions based on those instructions. Even at a more fundamental level, when you turn on power electrons are flowing through the circuits performing work so so the computer might not be running away from you, but it is certainly running in the sense of moving in its domain.

Answer 4

What do people really mean when they say their computer went 'down' on them?

Running could mean that just the moving parts are turning. Like the fans and drives. Like in a previous answer, a car is running even if it's idle because the parts are moving.

Answer 5

For the same reason we say your car is running, even when its just sitting there idling. The term running is subjective, it doesnt mean physically running it means it is performing an action as opposed to doing nothing.