Laptop question?

Question

anybody tell me if you have to turn off completly at night or leave it on.

Answer 1

i usually leave my laptop off at night, or for signifigant periods of time i'm not using it. this gives the battery a chance to cool down. the batteries tend to heat up (and eventually die faster as a result of too much overheating) more than a desktop, i have found. and hang onto that warranty, if you have one. they come in handy.

Answer 2

Turn it off completely. Remove the mains lead from the wall outlet and from the laptop. Less chance of it going on fire.

Had a scare a few years back when some laptops got very hot at work and the adaptors and batteries had to be swapped out during a call-back by the manufacturers.

Answer 3

Turn it off.

Laptops run hotter than desktops so less hours on probably will make it last longer.

Also after seeing some laptop fires I would not leave one charging unattended.
http://wcco.com/consumer/laptops.laptops.fire.2.359003.html
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/laptops/dell-laptop-explodes-in-flames-182257.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeWq6rWzChw

I also always worry about hackers/viruses/spyware running amuck on an unattended computer.

Do not use a screensaver, set the computer to turn off the monitor instead. The LCD screen's backlight is only rated for a certain number of hours use

To maximize you laptop battery life read the following.

Apple advice for lithium ion batteries:
http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

HP laptop battery advice
http://h20239.www2.hp.com/techcenter/battery/Battery_max.htm

.

Answer 4

You don't need to turn it off. You could leave it on all night, but that would use power you don't want to waste.

Using the hibernate or standby modes of your laptop would probaby be the best option. That way it will come back quicker when you want to turn it back on.

Good luck
percyrob

Answer 5

fate global warming is a bunch of BS! The north pole is getting warmer as the south pole is getting colder. Also a while back they were saying we were going to go into the a ice age and now they are saying a meltdown???!
these pll can't even predict the local weather..so how do the predict something so far later?

Answer 6

If, for example you are legally downloading a film which takes several hours then you nay prefer to leave the computer on all night. Apart from this there is no reason to leave a computer on all night.

Answer 7

Well it's more your choice, if you have something running in the background, then i guess you could leave it on, on charge or something. If their is no need though, i'd turn it off, you know global warming and all that :P.

Answer 8

Here is a lot of information on it. You will have to decide for yourself. As for me, I turn my desktop and laptop off if I will not be using them for a few hours. At times, they are on all day, but I always turn them off at night - but hey, that's just me.
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Should I Turn My Computer Off at Night?

http://www.help2go.com/Tutorials/Computer_Basics/Should_I_Turn_My_Computer_Off_at_Night%3F.html

http://www.wisegeek.com/should-i-turn-my-computer-off-at-night.htm

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000390.htm

http://ask-leo.com/should_i_turn_my_computer_off_at_night.html

Reasons to Turn it Off
Waste of Electricity: Leaving a computer on overnight may not use a lot of electricity, especially if your computer and monitor support the "Energy Saver" features that are standard on most new computers. But make no mistake: over the course of months and years, quite a lot of electricity is wasted. If you are a homeowner or you manage a small business on a budget, this is no small concern. Turn it off.
Security: Internet : If your computer accesses the Internet through a modem, this section does not apply. However, if you use DSL, a cable modem, or have "always-on" Internet access at work, your computer may be an open target for a hacker. If your computer is on the Internet even when you aren't sitting at it, turn it off.
Security: Network: If you work in a networked office, leaving your computer on may not be a bad thing, but leaving your computer on while you are stilled logged in to your company's network is a VERY BAD thing. Make sure you log out every night. My wife's office had an instance of one of the cleaning staff ordering merchandise online using the identities of the staff. You never know who's going to be in your office after-hours!
Windows needs a break: Microsoft Windows is a terribly-written product. The longer you keep it running, the more likely it is to crash and lose your data. If you are a Windows user, then you should periodically reboot your computer anyway, so that the internal memory (RAM) is cleared and Windows starts up with a fresh clean slate. So for stability's sake, turn it off.

Reasons to Leave it On
Running Services: Sometimes, your computer performs a function even when you are not sitting at it. Perhaps it acts as your fax machine. Maybe you use it as a web server. Maybe your company uses it as a print server or file server. In these cases, in order to keep those services running, leave your computer on.
Hardware Durability: It is a fact that turning an electrical appliance on puts more stress on that appliance than keeping it running for a long time. The reason is that the initial surge of electricity through the circuits is a traumatic event (shocking, even). Your computer is an electrical appliance, and therefore constant power ups and power downs can wear out the parts before their time. If the durability of your hardware is an issue, then leave it on.
Convenience: Starting up Windows is a hassle. Sometimes you just want to sit down at your computer and be able to work without having to boot it up and wait for a few minutes. This is a perfectly legitimate desire! If being able to use your computer instantly is important to you, leave it on.
The Big Myth
People will try to tell you that leaving your computer on will open you up to power surges and electrical disasters that will "fry" your computer. This is true, but your computer is susceptible to power surges even if it is off! A power surge travels over electrical wires, and surges don't care if the appliance is on or off. Therefore, if you want to be careful, you should purchase a good surge protector or UPS (uninterruptable power source). Or, for the paranoid, you should unplug your computer altogether when it is not in use.
Conclusion: Look through the above categories and choose which are most important to you.
What do I do? Well, I currently live in an apartment building that pays for all my utilities. Therefore, wasting electricity is not a big concern for me. My computers are connected to the Internet constantly, but are protected by a firewall, so security is not a concern either. Plus, I make sure that I reboot my computer every few days so that Windows can start with a clean slate.
In addition, I like the convenience of having my PC on whenever I need it. The hardware durability is an added plus. So, I leave my PC on all day, every day.

Answer 9

It's good to restart it on occasion, but no need to shut it down at night. I'd say 90% of us college students leave them on.
I do it for a week sometimes...

Answer 10

There is not much point in shutting it down; you'd have to consume battery power to run through the startup and shutdown sequences, and you'd have to restart all the programs and documents you had open last time.