Are there advantages/disadvantages to keeping your comp running continually?

Question

I have an HP laptop, and I never shut it off. I've been wondering though, is it beneficial to shut it down when I'm not using it? Does it really make a difference?

Thanks for your time!

Answer 1

It's more about usage of electricity. It used to be common practice to leave a machine on because the turn on process could sometimes wear out components. That's not true anymore, the hardware is designed for it. With a laptop, I would turn it off when not in use for long periods of time. Laptops get hot and heat is not good for the components in the long run.

Answer 2

I think you need to shut down the laptop if you're not using it to conserve the electricity and most of all to avoid the laptop parts to be overheating , likes power supply there are some parts of power supply that continue hold the electrical charge when the laptop is on . If the laptop is always open for a long hour everyday the life span of the parts inside the laptop is become short and maybe someday suddenly they gave up or leak or damage your laptop motherboard

Answer 3

There are many advantages and disadvantages to leaving your computer constantly running. Most people swear by the 'constantly on' theory and will tell you that constantly shutting down and starting up your computer puts undue stress on your hard drive and other internet components.
In your case, because you are using a laptop I'd be concerned that you would be putting stress on your internal drive. Because laptop hard drives are significantly smaller they are easier to break.
If you would like your computer to be easily accessible at all times you can use a sleep or standby mode which can be accessed by closing the clamshell (display) on your computer. This generally turns off the hard drive while still maintaining power to your computer.
Also, if you are leaving your system on all of the time make sure you are fully calibrating your battery at regular intervals (monthly). Batteries were meant to be charged and discharged constantly, not to be plugged into the wall at all times. To calibrate your battery you can fully charge and discharge it 3 times in a row for a month.

Answer 4

For my desktop, I've gotten into the habit of leaving it on because I schedule all sorts of things like automatic updates, security scans, and defrags at night (different days of the week, of course...). If I'm going to be out of town for more than a day, though, I'll turn it off to save power.

I don't have a laptop so I can't address what is best for that case.

Answer 5

The two main negatives are heat and electrical spikes. I use the hibernate mode which keeps the programs in memory but shuts of the unit so you do not have to reboot.