Is it ok for a laptop to be switched on 24/7?

Question

I know that any appliance shouldn't be turned on 24/7 but there are sometimes that we leave a pc turned on for long hours. Does a laptop falls back at this?

(P.S.: Sorry if my english is wrong...)

Answer 1

If you're going to leave it on for an extended period of time, I would either set your computer to standby or hibernate. Note they are two different things.

In standby, it puts your computer in a low power consumption state, it turns of your monitor and hard disks. The benefit of this mode is that you can get started right away on whatever work you were doing.

In hibernate, it shuts down the entire system, all the setting before you shut down are saved into memory, when the computer starts up again everything was just as you left it. The downside to this is that it takes more time to come out of hibernate. But, it consumes less power. You might want to do this if you'll be leaving your computer for a long period of time, say overnight.

If anything putting in standby or hibernate conserves power, which is reason enough to do it.

To answer your question, leaving your computer on does put stress on the PC, yes it does, but not so much to significantly affect the lifespan of your computer or its components.

Perhaps, the most stressed component would be the hard drive. But it's stressed more if you keep shutting down and turning off. If you do that its exposed to a lot of cyclic stress, because it has to spin up to speed, then shut down, then spin up to speed, and so on. In that case its actually better to leave the computer on because components aren't exposed to cyclical stress. If you're worried about the hard drive but want to conserve power, you can have your computer set so that when you go into standby mode, the hard disk will not shut down, i.e. it will continue running. Go into your control panel, then power option, there's an option to keep your hard disk from shutting down when in standby.

Hibernate wont have that option because, again, its shutting down the computer.

In a nutshell, stand-by sets computer to a low-power consumption mode and since it doesn't shut down, you don't have to close any application you were doing work on.
Hibernate, saves all your setting into memory, then shuts the computer down completely, and when you start up it brings back all the settings it saved. However it takes longer to come out of hibernation.

Whew, that was a mouthful, hope this helps.

Answer 2

Follow these two links for a lot of good information.

Leave Laptop on or turn off – battery care
Source: http://www.thedavidlawrenceshow.com/should_i_leave_my_battery_in_my_laptop_all_the_time_006696.html

The fact is, it depends upon a lot of things: the type of battery in your laptop, the recharging characteristics of the type of battery you have, the age of the battery, how often you let that battery discharge by either unplugging the power cord or by going mobile with your machine and more.

But, for the most part, laptop manufacturers know how most people use their computers, leaving them on almost all the time, or sleeping them by closing the lid, or using them on the road on a fairly regular basis. And because they know those profiles, they've tailored their systems to extend the life of the battery.

This is a big help to the manufacturer, because one of the biggest discriminators in buying a laptop, other than weight and screen size, is battery life.

- Your laptop is designed for you to leave the battery in ALL the time. The circuitry inside the machine, the power supply, even the battery itself. It should be left in whether you've got it plugged in to a power conditioner or not. And you should know that the battery acts as a power conditioner itself - all the power from the power supply goes through the battery, if it's in place.

- Actually, a power conditioner, or UPS, is nothing more than a big battery with an alarm on it.
So. leave the battery in. Discharge it all the way once a month (pull the plug a few hours before you have to go to bed, let it completely die and then plug it back in). And use the computer manufacturer's recommended conditioning software every so often to keep your battery fresh.

- As to whether a battery will discharge over time if not in the machine, yes, it will. Left for months or years, it will discharge. So, it's a good idea to bicycle your batteries if you have more than one, rotating them every few weeks. Finally, it's fine to keep your laptop on all the time. I do, and my screen is fine. If you're using a plasma screen for a second screen, make sure your screen saver kicks in there, or you may burn the desktop pattern into your big screen.


Should you Shutdown your laptop
http://www.blaptops.com/articles/do-you-shutdown-your-laptop/

Answer 3

If you are going to regularly leave it on for 24 hours, I would suggest that you buy a "cooling platform" to improve air circulation, preferrably one with a built-in fan.

Look at the "Power" options you have available... Hibernate, Sleep, Suspend (the names vary depending on your operating system, but are explained in the "help" menus).

You can also set it to automatically switch off when it hasn't been used for a period of time.

The two things on a computer which suffer when it is turned on for long periods are a.) the processor (from the heat) and b.) the screen (they are usually the shortest-lived component on a laptop).

So, if it's on for long periods and you're not actually using it, see if you can switch the screen off.

If the case is very hot to touch, it probably means that the processor is suffering, so it's best not to leave it on for long periods. Some laptops are better than others at keeping cool.

However, laptops are designed to operate for long periods, and nothing catastrophic is likely to happen. Most will automatically shut down if they get dangerously hot (i.e. likely to catch fire!)

Answer 4

If you're only talking hours, then sure it's fine. Hibernating is a great "power off" option, as it speeds up shutdown and restart time. But for days or weeks long? It's wear and tear on the laptop, everything breaks eventually... don't speed up the process :p

Answer 5

the more important thing is the hard-drive.

If the machine is allowed to go to sleep, hibernate, power-down (whatever you feel like calling it) then it will be fine.

Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it.

My laptop is rarely off, but usually in the power-save mode/asleep when I am not using it.

Answer 6

I'm not sure if it's okay or not, but I think it would make your laptop a lot slower and possibly shorten its life. Plus conserving energy isn't bad.