People have told me never to shut down my computer, but I think thats a bunch of BS. I left my old computer on all the time and it burned out. I just want to know officially how much you should shut it down. I always get different opinions. Also I keep it in the attic, and during the day it gets to be like 120 degrees up there. Is that bad for it too? I'm assuming yes.
2007-08-09 06:37:56 · 12 answers · asked by mariahmc1993 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
Also in the winter, it gets to be around 45-50 degrees up there. is that bad too?
2007-08-09 06:51:03 · update #1
That heat will kill your computer!
You MUST find some place cooler, or get a cooling system up there!
A computer should never operate at more than about 87 degrees F unless it was specifically designed to do so!
Even storing your PC at that temperature with it powered down will destroy some of its parts.
The shutdown question is like the old Chicken & Egg debate.
My PC hosts several web sites, so I need for it to be on all just about all of the time, but personally I do shut it at least once a day, then turn it back on after a minute.
Not the "Re-Start", but shutdown/Power down for about one minute, and then turn it back on. One thing this does is clean out the "Page File" or the Windows cache file.
(You have to set this to happen, this is not the default setting for Windows.)
I will admit, though, that this is probably a little harder on the power supply than leaving it on. But power supplies are pretty cheap.
Good Luck, and Happy Surfing!
Troy
As far as you computer burning out because of leaving it on, I would say that the PC more likely burned out from being constantly over-heated, not from being left on. You really do need to move it to a MUCH cooler place!
2007-08-09 06:50:34 · answer #1 · answered by troydowning 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There's no "right" answer to this. It's like asking if apple pie or cherry pie is better. It's totally up to you. I use mine about 2 hours a day & shut it down otherwise. Some people will say the components will get stressed from shutting on & off. Maybe 10 years ago, but not these days. It wouldn't hurt to shut it down being in a hot attic. Good luck sifting thru all the opposite opinions you'll get. It's your computer so do what you think is best.
2007-08-09 13:48:30 · answer #2 · answered by ebonyruffles 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It depends on what the computer's doing. My computer at work stays on 24/7 because it functions as the anti-virus server and because it runs a nightly network backup job.
At home, I shut my computer down if I won't be using it for longer than a few hours. For example, I shut it off in the morning when I leave for work (if it's not off already). On weekends, I tend to be on and off the computer all the time, so it usually ends up staying on all weekend.
Turning the computer off at bedtime is a good rule of thumb, unless you're leaving it on overnight to do something specific.
And yes, the heat in the attic is not all that great for your computer, but if the air circulation in there is good in general and around the computer in particular, it should be OK.
2007-08-09 13:47:01 · answer #3 · answered by Navigator 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
120 degrees then id shut it down. If the degrees were more idle lets say 60-80 degrees then Id leave it on.
on/off and heat are major computer killers.
"Also in the winter, it gets to be around 45-50 degrees up there. is that bad too?" LEAVE IT ON THATS GREAT. nice n cool...
2007-08-09 13:48:25 · answer #4 · answered by The Truth 2.0 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I never shut mine down. It is fine to leave it on all the time. It draws more power on start-up then to leave it running all night. It is not good to have it in over 80 degree heat. The components will not last as long if they are exposed to high heat. I would move it to a cooler room or get a big fan to circulate the air in the room. Have the fan blow on the computer to cool it.
2007-08-09 13:47:28 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is never good to let your computer get hot!
We recommend to our customers that if you are going to be away from it for more than a few hours to shut it off. If you are going out of town, you should completely unplug it from the wall because you never know what the weather will be like. (Even if you have a power strip or surge protector! Better safe than sorry!) Also, if you use dial-up make sure to unplug the phone line because the power/lighting surges can go through those!
2007-08-09 13:44:32 · answer #6 · answered by sunnie746 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Heat kills a computer fast yes.
I have never had one i built go bad by shutting it down. I turn it on about 6 when i get home and turn it off at about 11pm when im done once in a while i might turn it on and off 3 times a day so shutting it down wont hurt and will only help it.
2007-08-09 13:42:56 · answer #7 · answered by autotech212000 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well if it is in a normal place that doesn't get too hot, just put it on hibernate instead of shutting it all the way down. Research has shown that it saves evergy. But if it gets that hot you may just want to shut it down and only use it in the mornings.
2007-08-09 13:46:24 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes i think 120 degrees is bad (in F), you dont have to turn off your computer, hibernate it (in xp or vista), hibernating shuts the whole system down but stores what you did on your hard drive, when you start you computer again, it will be faster and have everything you had when you hibernated it. you should hibernate when your not using it, shut down every week
2007-08-09 13:47:15 · answer #9 · answered by Alvin 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well, you don't have to shut it down
there is other option, like standby or sleep
shuting a computer down is anything but bad
its good to keep the computer as cool as possible, that way it way expand its life expectancy.
2007-08-09 13:47:19 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋