Should I Turn My Computer Off at Night?

[@askleonotenboom]

Maybe. It depends.

[@wolong42]

If I shutdown my desktop when not using it aren't I preventing threfters from accessing open ports?

[@askleonotenboom]

@@wolong42 "threfters"? Anyway your router should be doing a perfectly acceptable job of blocking incoming connections to any open ports.

[@StepDub]

I work from home, so it’s my power bill. My laptop and monitors(2) consume 40 watts when quiescent. That’s for 14 hours a day 5 days a week plus weekends not in use. At 50 cents per kW (European rates are high!) that is over 120 euros a year. On the other hand, my employer supplies the laptop and although stress damage is a possibility, the laptop is replaced every 3 years and all data is on a cloud server. So the plug is pulled every evening.

[@catchaser52]

What about power surges when PC is sleeping ?

[@askleonotenboom]

@@catchaser52 What about them? They can happen any time day or night. If they happen often enough and cause your computer problems, then get a UPS.

[@philuribe7863]

With regards to component wear and tear from repeated heating and cooling, then I don't see that much difference between turning the computer off and putting (or allowing it to fall into) sleep mode - both will result in components cooling down, then heating up again when you turn it back on or wake it from sleep.

[@moronicvideos]

It's not unreasonable to assume that the temperature difference between idle or lighter work and heavy gaming is actually larger than between idle and total power down. I've always shut down my rig for the night and the last one lasted for 11 years and is still working albeit retired and serving as a reserve rig.

[@philuribe7863]

@@moronicvideos Not quite sure what point you're trying to make with your first sentence ? but, like you, my rigs get shut down every night too. My work rig is nearing 5 yrs now and doing just fine, and my old one - at least twice as old - is hooked up to my TV/recorder/and hi-fi (and with a few external SSD's attached) and is also chugging along quite merrily.

[@williamjones4483]

There is another element to think about and that is whenever ANY electrical or electronic device is turned on, there is an initial surge of current throughout the device. Over time this surge can weaken components thusly shortening their life. One way to notice this is whenever you turn on a device that draws substantial current. For any given circuit in my house (not necessarily the entire house) whenever I turn on my stereo equipment or my computer any lights on that particular circuit dim noticeably for a brief time.

[@sammof7939]

With windows 11 turning system by shut down method and a main power off on all devices extends life of systems. when power is turned on to computer, computer becomes primed, then windows goes through all of its checks including viruses check along with windows update. I have been doin this method for 45 years on computers without any issues.

[@johnschmidt8440]

I've been shutting down my computers every day for 29 years and nothing bad ever happens.

[@RadicalCaveman]

But how do you know if a failure occurs it wasn't because of cooling down and heating up again, over and over? The failure wouldn't happen when you shut it down.

[@johnschmidt8440]

@@RadicalCaveman I don't believe that the amount of heating and cooling that comes from shutting down the computer is even slightly a factor at all. The temperature changes are well within the capability of any decently built computer. Also if temperature were a problem, then that would mean that nobody could safely use standby mode, or hibernate, or even use a computer under heavy demand. When under load, the computer can heat up pretty high, but then if you take a break for lunch or something, and let the computer just idle, it's temperature will fall quite a bit. Yet nothing happens. As I said for me, not one single bad thing has ever happened to my computers in almost 30 years of shutting them down. It just isn't a problem.

[@ShaneAddinall]

I'm a power on guy, and with close to the same time at the mast as yourself I can't point a single issue caused by leaving it on. PC doesn't really draw much power when inactive and my office doesn't feel hotter than normal. Guess its literally down to personal preference.

[@johnschmidt8440]

@@ShaneAddinall During the days when nearly all computers were hard drives, then if you mean you left your computers spinning 24 hours a day, then you were very lucky. If you let your computers go at least into standby, then there wasn't much difference. Of course now with SSDs, that isn't a factor. The other thing is that computers used to have a much bigger problem of running slower and slower if they were never turned off. They were said to have "memory leaks," and other problems like programs that would grab hold of RAM and not let go of it even when the program was terminated. I think these things are much less of a problem these days, so then yes, it's largely just what you like.

[@Lightning77305]

Same here.

[@jaygreenstein3334]

As someone who designed logic for 40 years, the comment that heating up and cooling down will damage the computer’s chips says that you should leave your car engine idling, so it won’t heat and cool down. And that’s obviously nonsense. The equipment, be it a computer or a car is designed for the usage that’s expected. And if leaving the computer on extended the life, the instructions that come with it would tell you to leave it on. And on a personal note, my 2012 Mac, which is turned off when I go to bed, at nearly midnight, is still operating with never a failure. And with a swap out of the hard drive for SSI drive it's fast enough to handle all my needs. Chips do NOT go bad because they reach normal operating temperature and then cool to ambient once or twice per day. Add to that, your computer’s CPU and GPU chips are constantly changing temperature as a function of how busy the computer is and that’s not killing it. There’s a thing called Mean Time Before Failure, or, MTBF, that's the manufacturer’s guestimate as to the time a given chip will function before death. And that predicted life is based on operating time, not time since manufacture. In other words, every hour that it’s turned off is an hour longer that the chip will last before failure. As for heat cycle stress causing failure, that’s a common cause of infant mortality, which goes more or less like this: 90% of failures will occur in the first hour of operation. 90% of failures after that occur in the first ten hours, then the first 100, and.... That means that if your computer hasn’t failed within the first 100 hours, temperature cycling is unlikely to be a problem. Something else to take into account: your Ram memory is far more likely to mis-write a bit than a hard drive or SSI. A cosmic ray can do it. So the longer the machine is turned on the greater the chance that a single instruction in Ram is changed. We’ve all run into the problem where our phone starts behaving strangely, and must be rebooted to resolve that hiccup. And, your computer is the same. The longer it runs without reloading the software from long-term storage the greater the chance that one of the programs in RAM will begin to malfunction. That’s a self curing a problem if you reboot the computer daily.

[@DokisKalin1]

Very informative comment. Thank You!

[@tiitulitii]

I'm dealing with vintage electronics and there is one clear rule to follow: If you are going to use the equipment soon, say during the next few days, then leave them on, and, if not, then switch off. It is bad to constantly switch 20 to 40 years old equipment regularly on and off, because doing that will make them break. So, either keep them on or off depending on your needs although the absolute best way is keeping then permanently off and saving them in a cold, dark and dry environment like in a fridge, if possible.

[@tiitulitii]

This applies to any electronics, new or old.

[@Bobbel888]

at least smells like "you should not switch off your computer, so I could activate it any time"

[@km4hr]

I've read that taxi's often run hundreds of thousands of miles without failure, even with constant stop and go driving, because they run for extended periods without shutdown. Internal engine parts stay at constant temperature so dimensions don't change due to expansion/contraction. Oil pressure is also constant. Oil drains out of bearings when the engine is off and there's zero oil pressure startup.

[@glasslinger]

A big depend is component wear from heat. All components are derated at high temperatures. The CPU is the most heat sensitive which is why there is complicated heat management in the CPU itself. Some CPUs cost as much to replace as buying another computer. I don't shut down for lunch but do shut down the 12 hours I spend sleeping and watching TV.

[@mac0285]

@@almoemason By 90% less, do you mean they last a lot longer when left on 24/7, or that the MTBF is 90% less (which, literally taken, would mean less time between failure, meaning fails more often)?

[@gdonham1203]

One thing you did not address is the cyber attacks. The less your machine is on and on a network the less chance to be hacked. Everyone should have security software but there are a ton of applications that are snooping on you and sending data out 24-7. When I was working I would be on call 24-7 so I left my computer on. Now that I am retired I turn my computer off when not using it. So as you said it depends. Just keep in mind the less it is on the less energy it is using and the less the risk of attack. FYI

[@stevencooper2464]

That is so true. The most secure computer is the one that's not connected or turned on.

[@andrewmurray1550]

you can always switch the Bluetooth/wifi off (either through software or the physical switch on some laptops) or pull the network cable while keeping the machine on or turn the router/modem off. Obviously, that won't help if you need to access your home network from a remote location e.g. checking security cameras that are wired into the internet, that you can check on your phone.

[@gdonham1203]

@@andrewmurray1550 Your suggestion would work but is impractical. Just shut down. Save energy and possible security threats. Every ISP in America has a range of IP addresses and they are known and are constantly being scanned by bad actors. The safest computer is one that is shut down. Most modern computers only take a couple of minutes to boot up. I shut mine down when not in use. The less exposure to threats the better. Plus if you want to save the planet start with your own computer shut down.

[@Old_Foxy_Grandpa]

And that is why you need to have a good security package.

[@SirReptitious]

While you are technically correct, the danger to the average user of being hacked is quite small. Hackers target company/government computers for a reason- $$$. As long as you keep your OS patched, have a good firewall, be careful about what you install on your PC, you shouldn't worry. The way that people get access to normie's computers is via social engineering; THE USER IS THE WEAKEST LINK. NEVER install any remote access tools(RATs) unless it's someone you know and they need to do that to fix your system because they can't come to your house. Never open any attachments unless you are expecting the attachment and you verify that the sending email header matches what you expected. Lately the biggest email danger has been people sending spam to people via email lists they buy that have infected PDF files attached. You download it and open it in Adobe reader or another reader and BANG, you just got pwned.

[@johnbower7452]

I do, every time I go out, go to bed etc. I have had my pc for 5 years now. It's still as good as ever. Only time I ever leave it on is if it's doing something like updating or downloading etc.

[@PaulsFishroom]

The 3rd and MOST important issue is safety! I worked in a college a number of years ago and witnessed two computers catch fire with no warning at all. One was in a staff room and another in an IT room. Safety first switch it off at night or if you are going out…

[@la7dfa]

I see people are scared of charging their phones or doing anything really at night. I am not worried at all, because I have a proper fire alert system with enough detectors. Fires happens and can happen to anything electric, but it is how your system and you responds to a fire that matters, no matter what interval they occur.

[@billsmith147]

It does not make any different anymore. For example, I bought a new Dell Laptop, I brought it home in it original box from Amazon. I thought about having to transfer the operating system and my files from the old laptop to the new laptop. When I picked up new laptop a couple of days later. I turned it on, and it booted up properly and I realize that it had done the conversion itself, and my files were in the right places. The only think that trouble me was that it had all the files I had stored on my laptop were converted to ONE DRIVE a storage spot in the CLOUDS. I in the process of learning how to kill all these files in the Cloud, as I don't want them stored there for privacy reasons. Who cares about turning off or on the computer at night?

[@leofernekes343]

If you live in a high-humidity place (I live in SE Asia) leaving the machines on has the benefit of reducing corrosion that occurs in the many connectors found inside a modern PC. The elevated temperatures reduce the relative humidity and substantially prolongs the life.

[@mrmotofy]

Corrosion on connectors can be virtually eliminated using dielectric grease

[@Douglas_Blake_579]

40 year technician here. There is a good answer to this question ... but it depends on what you mean by "off". If "off" means using the power button on the front of the case, yes you can turn it on and off mostly at wll. The user power button is really just a "deep standby" switch in which the heavy power consuming parts of your system (cpu, disks, video, etc.) are shut down but the charge storing parts (capacitors, batteries, etc.) are kept ready to go. Restarting them from a soft-off state is of little consequence to the lifetime of a system. However if "off' means switching off AC power to the device, now we're into an entirely different discussion. When you turn off the power bar or flip the "baby sitter" switch on the back, all of the capacitors and regulators in the system will discharge to 0. Then when you turn the AC back on they all have to be recharged at the same time, creating a huge power surge that puts heavy load on the power supplies. This "inrush current" can be ten times normal operating current and hundreds of times the soft-off restart current... or more! This will in turn do an accumulating bit of damage each time you turn the AC power back on, until eventually the damage done will cause a premature failure of the power supply. The makers of PCs, audio equipment, monitors, TV sets. printers etc. know this and they will design their equipment to keep the big capacitors charged when in the soft-off state so that turning things back on does not fry the power supply. So the smart money is to use the front panel power button (soft-off) and leave the AC power on all the time. I first came across this issue when I was servicing the older laptop computers. It wasn't the computers that were failing. It was the power bricks. They were lasting about half as long as you would normally expect as people were carting them around with them and plugging and unplugging them constantly... causing massive in-rushes of current every time. Then it showed up in desktop units where people were killing the AC power at night. And, more recently it became a problem with monitors, printers and audio gear that used external brick power supplies on a power bar. The bricks were dying way too quickly and almost always the same way... from damage caused by inrush current.

[@roopey]

Sorry, but you are wrong. It depends on how your computer is configured. On default, Laptops will go into standby and Desktops will shut down. It can be configured at any time. You can also set your PC to hibernate instead of going into standy. Desktop PCs will use a few watts even when shut down or hibernating. Especially when, for example, wake on lan is enabled. In that case you should disconnect AC to maximise power savings.

[@Douglas_Blake_579]

@@roopey Re-read what I wrote .... The problem with killing the AC is the Current Inrush (do a search) when you turn the AC back on. This can be many times normal current. It can, and does, damage the power supply in small amounts... shortening it's lifetime considerably.

[@roopey]

@@Douglas_Blake_579 Which is a myth left from the past. PSUs have active or passive in-rush protection in place and use much better components than years ago. Good power supplies became so reliable that it doesn't matter anymore. And, even if there was no protection against in-rush current, you would simply replace the power supply. A good designed circuit wouldn't affect the internal components at all.

[@Douglas_Blake_579]

@@roopey Not entirely from the past. There are still quite a few 10 and 15 year old computers in use, stereos with soft-off go back 40 years or so and there's more. You are correct that modern power supplies do use slow-start circuitry but not all of what's out there is modern. Moreover; the slow-start circuit itself is another point of failure since it takes the brunt of the load during that initial inrush to protect the rest of the device. It is a mistake to think a proper supply design will not affect the balance of the device. Throughout the device there will still be largish capacitors on the rails and the outputs of regulators that in sum can draw a fair bit of current. Yes it's better now... but the problem still exists and I still get occasional service calls for dead power supplies.

[@toby9999]

I've been turning mine off every night for the past 28 years. Not had any problems. Makes no sense having a PC running all night while sleeping.

[@km4hr]

Wow, you have a really old computer.

[@imqqmi]

Something not addressed is security. Most modern systems have ethernet or other devices that communicate with a network and leaving them plugged in, even when powered off but plugged in still can have a part of the system active and can be prone to attacks. What I do is not only turning it off at night, but also flip the power switch on the power strip to turn off everything (after cleanly shutting down of course). It also saves more power for all the switching PSUs that remain active and drawing a couple of watts. With so many devices it can easily add up to many kilowatts per year and depending on the power tariffs can cost you as much as having a couple of diners for two at an average restaurant. Backups run in a couple of hours for my system so I don't need to let it run throughout the night. And backups often don't need to be daily. I do it once a week with a full backup once every month with offsite backup (not in the cloud).

[@RelentlessHomesteading]

Liked your answer. I too keep my main system on all the time, its often doing things at night (backups, recording OTA programming). But I have a disagreement with others in our Church on the computers. We are there only 3-4 hours once a week. They think it best to keep then on for the 6 days we are gone. To me that only wastes power, but one risks more issue with line spikes and so forth. Power often goes out in remote areas like this. For example came in last week and one of the computers had fans blaring - and its GPU was not operating, but was quite hot. Thankfully, after it cooled down - I first (after praying) went through and reseated the cards and afterward it came back to life. But - Who knows how long it was in that state. And there is always some - although very slight - chance of having a thermal runaway leading to a fire. Some also leave on the Soundboards - in the past these were analog and there was some warm up period - but these are digital now. I'd be interested in your thought on this type of scenario. Thankyou, RH

[@TomO-nx1bd]

I don't keep my computer on 24/7 because it wears down all the fans faster, and sucks dust in while its running. Sleep mode or shutdown is best overnight since all the fans turn off. As far as hardware stress caused by cold starts, most PC's never do a totally cold start, the PC's motherboard still has electricity running through it to power the USB ports even when shutdown.

[@andyscusting7783]

Every Spring the dust in my desktop is blown out with the hair dryer and raising the laptops ground clearance improves cooling during the long hot Summer .

[@km4hr]

Me too. Dust enters the computer whenever the fans are running. Dust on computer chips creates an insulating blanket that causes heat build up. Like you, I open my computer and blow the dust out occasionally, especially the cpu fan and cooling fins.

[@boblangill6209]

If your computer has a mechanical hard drive, leaving your computer on could mean your hard drive continues to spin, and therefore wear while the computer is on. On the other hand, the turning it on and off frequently could produce extra wear when it has to spin up. I believe this is less of a issue if you're running SSD's . Also many personal computers are not running with a UPS, the damage that could be caused by an outage or brown-out won't happen if the computer is off at the time.

[@hartmutholzgraefe]

It hasn't been much of an issue with spinning disks in recent years either. Back when PC HDDs were still 5.25" beasts that was much more of an issue due to the larger masses to make and keep spinning. On the other hand you often still had access to the main spindle on these beasts, and could give them some extra startup help using an electric screwdriver, to bring them up one final time to back up all the data on them.

[@2the4best]

Thanks for the information Leo. I use my computers quite a bit each day and put them in the SLEEP MODE all the time. MY 12 yr old MAC, the disc version, has never had a problem and powers down each time. The 5 yr old MAC is Solid State and is treated the same way...with no problems. Good luck with your DELL Leo.

[@warrenpuckett4203]

I usta but, now the the PC is always connected to the internet. Keeping it on has advantages in keeping the temperature constant. Temperature changes is the most stressful part for solid state electronics. Works as long as there are no spikes in the AC power. But electric power has been so reliable I bought a 12KW generator. 6 years ago. So far my AMD Rysen 3800 and power supply still works fine with a older 27 inch Crossover monitor.

[@kittz0r]

I used to shut down/hibernate/sleep my PC in the lat 2000s/early 2010s. It had more issues with not turning on again and hardware being defect. When I built my previous PC in late 2015 I never did a shutdown (except for cleaning, GPU change) and it did run til April this year when I built a new PC. Also a reason why I don't use RGB fans etc

[@ut561]

i tell my clients if you going to use the computer within the next few hours to leave it on, otherwise shut it off. if i take two computers for lets say 5 years and leave one turned on forever 24/7 and the other one in the box. the one in the box is technically still new and usable. the one running 24/7 is full of dust and likely already failed. as far as the backup i agree with you 100% that it's very important. but for someone to hope an automatic backup is going to be there when they need it is a disaster waiting to happen. if they don't know how to backup and are not checking to make sure their files are getting backed up, then it's just a matter of time before they lose them. i've ran into two companies over the years that thought they were backing up , but when they needed it the backup was empty. they did all the right steps but never check it.

[@michaelb.4372]

In my old tech support days, I fixed many desktop PCs by opening the case and pressing all the socketed chips back into place. The repeated heat/cool cycles caused the chips to creep out of their sockets. I do the same thing with cable connectors. Now I leave my tower on at night, but shut off the monitors. I have a scheduled job that runs in the wee hours of the morning to do a restart... so I have a fresh boot status in the morning.

[@askleonotenboom]

My machine also reboots overnight. I have it launch all my most-used programs automatically so it's ready to go when I arrive.

[@macnottsuk]

Through the day set sleep mode 10, 15 mins. etc. ( 1 to 5 watts) At bedtime use Hibernate. (Uses almost no power.) Modern computers use surface mount technology, and your only looking 3, 5, 12 volts across the motherboard so expansion of components due to heat is not an issue.

[@loupasternak]

Ive been computing since the early 80's . For decades now , I SLEEP my computer every night, and rarely turn off all the power, only when Im not going to be using it for days or doing hardware maintenance or upgrades. Get 7-10 years out of my machines. And probably more, cept by then I upgrade to new gens. Windows is instant on coming out of sleep and its very reliable. I dont even bother with the hibernate part of it, as the computer runs off a UPS. Just sleep to ram, takes seconds.

[@neuideas]

Leaving your computer running can also wear the computer down. You have concerns with fan failures, hard drive failures related to motors and heads, lights can burn out, and dust can accumulate in all of the cracks and crevices the fan(s) blow into. If you drop a drink on it, it's more likely to do more damage while the computer is on, rather than when the computer is off. Aging parts can potentially overheat. If you're running a Windows machine, periodically doing a full restart is important. I personally disable Hibernate, so shutting down and turning on is always a full restart. I'm not a fan of Sleep, so I never use it. I use my computer a few hours every day, so I turn it off when my daily session is done. In over 20 years of building my own desktop PC's, I have had very few hardware failures (one sound card, two hard drives). I doubt I have saved all that much money on electricity, but I feel better about myself and my machines if I give them a regular break. It likely doesn't make much of a difference either way, so I go with my gut.

[@rogertiedemann1606]

Good answer all around. I always thought of it in terms of the amount of jolt or power or "shock" of switching a system on or off, like a light bulb. Which is actually pretty much what you said about warming up and cooling off a system. When you switch on the light bulb (incadescent assumed here) it heats up to generate the light (albeit very quickly). Then the opposite when turned off. That wears out the filament in the light bulb. And of course depends on your frequency of usage. I know people who use their computers 2 or 3 times a week, and people who use them daily several hours a day. Former case, probably switch it off every time. Later case, I'm leaning more towards sleep or hibernation. Theoretically at least, hibernation with SSD's / m2's should be better than sleep. It should have most of the speed benefit of sleep with the added benefit of near 0 power consumption. (modern power supplies are not 0 usage when off... they have to sense you pressing a button after all, it's not an open/closed circuit like in 1988...) I recently just started switching my primary desktop off. Heh, I'm a computer nut with 2 desktops and 2 spare laptops and no shortage of repair experience and skills from 40 something years dealing with computers. Plus I utilize an over-powered power supply which means it's not really stressed no matter what I do. One last note -- the dreaded evil update. I don't recommend putting systems to sleep for extended periods, because they seem to get messed up on updates / skip updates too much. It seems to be more of a user issue than a system issue. Hope this gives some extra perspective. Thanks Leo.

[@oilburner225]

I would never leave a computer or phone on at night, same in the day if I go out computer and phone are turned off purely because of the fire risk. Computers do catch fire and so do phones.

[@scharfoskar3254]

true ... and by us in africa we have lighting and cable theft to deal with ... when they steal power cables they cut through live and neutral and short the power out

[@ThortheMerciless]

I have a smart meter so I can see how much the difference in power is between leaving it switched on and not overnight. It's not a huge amount, but it's a worthwhile saving. So I switch mine off most nights, but leave it on to do a backup once a week - I don't need backups more often. I would point out that shutting down a modern computer doesn't switch it off, so you need to reboot occasionally.

[@willswomble7274]

In a lifetime of work for several companies,, I have been on various official fire station safety courses, in various UK regions. ALL of them were very clear that PC's, DVD's, VCRs, tumble driers, hifi,TV's etc. etc. at home should ALWAYS be ISOLATED from the mains at night; in the UK by flipping the wall switch up or by physically removing the wall plug in USA. Many fires they turn out to are found to be caused by such appliances and lives lost! There are so many electrical devices in homes nowadays they should be switched off for ECO reasons too!

[@1sdburns]

Unless you run A/C 24/7 turn off in high humidity areas. The low pressure caused by the fans can cause condensation and water droplets being flung onto components

[@N7TWL]

You mentioned stress caused by the temperature gradient between off and on, but the biggest stress on components is the power surge they get when first powered on. The more an electronic device is turned off and on, the more power spikes it is subjected to. This type of stress is the main leader in component failure. Remember the common incandescent light bulb? It almost always fails when it was turned on. However, I agree with you about how a person uses their computer being the driver for how often it gets turned off and on. Like you, I use mine the majority of the time in a 24-hour period, so it is on 24/7.

[@alexandradane3672]

Well said .

[@AnyFile]

Is there a way to prevent this stress? Is using a good/better current transformer a good way to reduce this stress? If this is a known problem there should be some components in the the power supply chain designed to reduce it

[@N7TWL]

@@AnyFile You would think so, but extra components costs more money to produce the end product. Besides, if I am the manufacturer, I want my product to fail at some point so that you buy another one.

[@roopey]

To compare a simple light bulb (which heats an wire to extreme temperatures to make it glow) with an PSU of a computer is more than just far fetched... A good quality PSU is robust and reliable. Some even come with a warrenty of 12 years. To damage your computer in the way you describe, it would need lightning or a really high spike which shouldn't appear (it would, most likely, destroy every device plugged in)

[@fredsasse9973]

I had heard that, especially on a Windows machine, it is good to at least periodically (weekly? monthly?) turn your computer off because the act of doing a complete shut down and reboot allows the installed software (especially Windows) to perform maintenance and repair functions that don't always happen with a computer that is constantly left on. That being said, my Chromebook, which I use a lot every day, only gets rebooted when I'm notified that an update is available (once every week or two) while my Windows laptop in my office is used less often but remains in standby mode except ever week or two when I do a regular shut down and reboot.

[@errorsofmodernism7331]

Hilarious

[@_winston_smith_]

I think the calculation swings towards powering off if you have fans or water pumps running while idle. File server = leave it on. Gaming PC = turn it off when not in use.

[@_winston_smith_]

@@almoemason Mechanical devices will usually fail long before the electrical components. Heat cycling is statistically irrelevant in comparison to the wear on moving mechanical parts.

[@_winston_smith_]

@@almoemason Ok. Cite one study that shows a PC water pump having a longer average life than the electrical components of a motherboard. I won't hold my breath.

[@imqqmi]

I turn mine off during the night by shutting it down and flip the switch on the powerstrip. This saves about 75 euros on power cost on yearly basis. My backups run quick and the pc is powerful enough that I don't notice it while using it. It saved my pc from a power surge during the night (copper theaves stole copper wires from a power sub station) while other devices that were still hooked to power were killed, even with surge protection. I've been doing this for years now, no failures so far. As for thermal expansion: on/off is insignificant compared to starting and stopping a game multiple times per day. But yeah turning power on/off 1000x per day may wear out the powerswitch and waste time and energy booting ;)

[@darrennew8211]

Look up how to determine which surge protectors are good. Most of them are crappy, blocking only surges over like 800V. Find one that blows the fuse at 300V and you'll be much better off.

[@imqqmi]

@@darrennew8211 Thermal cutoff may be too slow to prevent damage in computer tech.

[@Batx00091]

i only shut down for cleaning or moving other than that its always on. 4 years on my current pc. no issues. keep you comp running/ sleep is good too.

[@rickhunt3183]

There are computers running that havent been rebooted or turned off in 10 or 15 years. Main frames are a typical example. Thermal stress isn't an issue. The issue is electrical stress when digital circuits are first turned on. That power surge puts a lot of stress on the components . The interconnections are extremely small and they flex a bit when power Is first applied. So chips will last longer if they are always under power. If they fail, generally, it's going to be when power is first applied. While the chips will last longer powered. The power supply will not. The power supply is a weak link. Large computer systems have redundant power supplies. Almost everything is hot swappable. Go ahead and turn of your computer unless it has applications running that shouldn't be shut down. If your PC lasts 4 years you've gotten your money's worth out of it. Most PC's will last longer, however it will be performing poorly and at the end of its useful life cycle due to applications demanding more resources.

[@JanetDax]

A while back my PS developed a strange fault. Occasionally I would not only power down the computer, I would also turn off the UPS which took down the modem and router. This would give me a fresh connection to my ISP and a fresh copy of Windows. A PS fault developed. Restarting the computer was ok, but if system power had been turned off and back on I would have to depress the power button several times to get the system to come on.

[@rickhunt3183]

@@JanetDax You can always determine the fault by process of elimination. It's either going to be hardware, software, network, or a user error. if you can systematically eliminate each one of those it becomes fairly easy to isolate the fault condition. Unfortunately windows needs to be rebooted periodically. Operating systems like Unix and linux don't. there are Unix machines that haven't been restarted in 10 years or more. PC power supplies running for a long time collect a lot of dust and that makes it difficult to maintain proper cooling. You can extend their life by removing them, opening the cover and using compressed air, also check the condition of the power supply fan. They end up with dry bearings and will sometimes barely spin or become frozen in place. A drop of 3 in 1 oil under the label that covers the bearings is always a good idea. Servers almost always have redundant power supplies since they are in operation 24x7. If you want your power supply to last. Get a power supply that isn't utilized beyond 80 % at most. 70% is even better. Anyway. I hope you great day, and thank you for being so nice.

[@PiltdownSuperman]

Good information and I agree with "it depends." In my case, I want the computer available during the day but it's fussy. Sometimes it can't sleep but at least the monitor *usually* goes dark. Other times, it won't wake up and I have to do a hard shutdown. Now I've reached the point of choosing that if I'm going to be away from it for several hours, those problems tell me that I need to shut it down.

[@ifonly808]

I have been turning my desk top off multipole times everyday. It is over 15 years-old and works fine. The electricity where I live is the most expensive in the U.S.

[@billj5645]

I've had home computers since before the original IBM PC. I've had home computers that I left on all the time, I've had laptops that I left on all the time, I've had desktops and laptops that I turned on and off each day. The only problem I've noticed with any of this is fans in desktop computers can wear out after many years, and I had a hard drive that I thought was having a bearing fail from running all the time. I just replaced a desktop computer and a laptop each that were 14 years old, both were turned on and off every day. At work I'm still using a 6 year old laptop that has been on constantly 24/7 for almost all of its life. What I do is this- when I get ready to use the computer each day I will turn it on and I will leave it on until I'm sure I won't be using it again then I turn it off. Most days this is about 8:00 AM through Midnight but some days it is less. I do the same thing with my laptop but it is usually on only about 4-5 hours per day.

[@nealpaige3907]

I turn mine on and off 10 times a day for the past 10 years . Of course now it will blow up .

[@childofgod4862]

I did twice every day last 14-15 years and it is still working. There a smart guy in the comment section asking if you turn of your freezer or refregerator every night and I told him I don't store any food in my compter So I am turning it off and on!

[@jimzielinski946]

There is the issue of the lifespan of electrolytic capacitors. Most manufacturers don't specify the type and quality. Lifespans can range from thousands to tens of thousands of hours with ratings that are temperature related. Having said all of that.... I've had caps pop (like firecrackers) in my home computers and even in my presence! Supposedly you can get motherboards that are designed to last longer (for 24/7/365 usage) if you buy the expensive server rated boards. Assuming that you are building your own machines and you want them to last for years, maybe even past the usual obsolescence period, one way around the lifespan problem is to buy a few extra motherboards of the same make and model. When I was working, I ran desktop pcs 24/7/365 and this was an issue. Now that I'm retired, I'm usually playing with laptops occasionally so I only have them powered on when I'm using them - they usually last well beyond obsolescence.

[@hectorrafaelbonilla5604]

Thanks!

[@la7dfa]

I have services running 24/7 on my computer, so it always stays on. Plex server, reception of airplanes and relaying their data to keep Flightawares users happy. I also monitor radio propagations to see if I (it) have received long distance signals at any time. And I forgot to mention backups that I run with Cobian at night.

[@Droidiphile]

The "cycling stress" applies to any and all devices pulling electrical power. There is always a sweet spot where saving power versus component stress makes sense. And old incandescent bulb has a sweet spot of 30 seconds because it consumes SO MUCH power. Our tower computers eat 300 - 450 watts, and about 100 watts when idled down. So shutting them down over night makes compete sense. We've been using this strategy for 25 years. Our computers have become obsolete and simply have not broken. My modern laptop with SSD and 16" LED screen only eats about 45 watts when active and 5 Watts when idled ... but no moving parts like hard drives or fans, so the component stress is virtually non existent. I shut our laptops down when not in use for more than an hour, because in my book, it's nuts to let anything draw power 24/7 when not being used ...

[@EdwinMartin]

I’ve used many computers for many years and components almost never break. Monitors do break, but I think that’s mostly because of burn hours, not power cycles. It’s also not really relevant for monitors since they have good power consumption controls and go to sleep after a number of minutes.

[@chowpuppy4537]

Nice video. Thanks. I leave my computer turned on 24/7. On average, I restart about once a week, usually when Dell installs an update or when some process -- usually browser-related -- seems to be consuming too much memory. I avoid doing a complete shutdown because of the risk that the computer either won't power up again or will require numerous power-up attempts over a period of several hours. I know that sounds like a hardware issue, but I've encountered that problem at least once with each of my last four Windows computers over a period of about ten years.

[@csppsc1]

When a computer doesn't power up normally, then something is broken, and you should get it fixed! Of course, you can avoid the hassle of multiple power-up attempts by leaving it running all the time, but this is just fiddling through. You should really fix the problem, because it could deteriorate, and the computer does not switch on at all anymore.

[@chowpuppy4537]

@@csppsc1 Thank you. I'm happy to say it was just a bad outlet on my power strip. :)

[@Crisom_Thull]

I have not turned off a PC in about 2 decades. My PfSense machine is an almost 14 year old Dell workstation and has been on for at least 8 years. Yes, the workstation is enterprise grade, but 14 years old and it has never given me 1 issue the 10 years i have had it. I could go on about the other 3 computers that are on all the time but 3 to 5 year old computers are less impressive.

[@michaelst.9055]

I kind of do the same, my main desktop machine is running all time, unless I'm out for a couple of days. My laptops are set to sleep mode (working machine) or really shut down, as I'm not using the private one every day and battery life is another component to think about for them.

[@wilhard45]

I believe you left out one concern. In a company or corporate environment simply is not enough. Even with your computer turned off it can still be accessed by the corporate IT department for updates and other maintenance. If you shut down the computer you should go all the way and turn off the power to the machine. Now, if IT can access then it can be illegally accessed by others either inside the corporation or top level hackers. I am paranoid and cut the power not only to the computer but to any device connected to the computer. My wife leaves her machine on nearly all the time. She was hacked and had ransomware put on her machine. It was fun cleaning everything up and no we didn't pay the hacker a dime.

[@MultiStats]

Yeah, "it depends" is frequently the best answer. There are other videos here on YT that say you should not turn-off the computer, especially the "update and shut down" option. I turn mine off because I figure the computer can't be targeted overnight if is turned off. I don't know how valid that is, but that is my opinion unless I hear otherwise.

[@chetjohnson3335]

If you have a laptop left plugged in and on 24/7, the battery may overcharge and swell. This can be dangerous and lead to fire. Newer laptops have a setting that can prevent overcharge and avoid the problem. Before I knew this, I lost a Lenovo Yoga. As the battery swelled, the keyboard became warped.

[@pmocityzocsy]

my sleep button is set to shut the monitor off so that way the USB ports always have the +5Volts to charge devices (like Mp3 player or CGM reader) overnight. in sleep or hibernate mode the +5V may not be there.

[@johng.]

Maybe. Yep, it depends. My personal stuff, I turn it off at night. When I had desktop units, it was more a matter of noise, but to me heat is more of an enemy than stress. A PC or laptop always runs at higher than ambient temps, even at idle. so unless I forget, my (now) laptop is off at night. My work computer is off at night, too. It used to be that updates would be pushed during off hours, but not so much anymore. More than 90% of updates are pushed during business hours. My work laptop is not particularly noisy, but again heat is the real enemy. So, it, too is off at night. I'm not suggesting that everyone do what works for me, but, yep it depends. Thanks for this thoughtful, interesting video!

[@trevorpsy]

I own an Apple Desktop. Apple's advice is the sleep my computer at night, because the TRIM softrware optimizes my drives when my machine is in the sleep mode. My question is whether if is optimal to put the computer to sleep every night, or, say, three nights a week.

[@johncipolletti5611]

As avpioneer in computers and software. Turning off the computer can cause stress on the system. However, if you depend on battery life, it may be necessary to do this.

[@csppsc1]

Yeah, stress is an issue for computer components when they cool down when switching off the machine, and when they heat up when you switch on again. But as you say, it all depends... There is also stress when the machine is on all the time, and the components are hot all the time. Or maybe some power saving mechanism sends some components to sleep, but from time to time they wake up. So the thermal stress of heating up and cooling down occurs multiple times, whereas it would occur only once, when you switched off your computer. So for me the bottom line is: When the machine is switched off, the power saving is a sure thing, but the downside (higher likelyhood of parts failing) is just a maybe.

[@ralphyo6285]

There are these 2 fellows who call themselves " The Proper People" who travel to many abandoned places and in one abandoned hospital they found there were computers in the abandoned office still turned on running Windows 95 untouched for over 25 plus years!!!!!. Now that is truly leaving your computer on :)

[@marbleman52]

@ralphyo6285....This sounds a little suspicious. Why would an abandoned hospital still have the power turned on? Maybe there is a reason....I would like to know.

[@williamsumrall333]

Any computer malfunction I have experienced over the years always occurred when I turned the computer on after being shutdown for the night. I finally associated the failure to turning computer off at night. Then, fifteen years ago, I decided I’d just put it to sleep at night. Same with the monitor. Since doing this I have never had a computer problem. Oh, yeah, the electricity used is much cheaper than the repair bills.

[@needtashow]

Where I live the power goes out often. I always shut down overnight because those power outage turn offs are often a nightmare to recover from.

[@Hank520Tube]

One person in our household has a low-cost (shall I say cheap) HP pc that was bought several years ago. Their practice on that pc was to leave it "on" all the time with sleep mode activated when not in use for x minutes. After a while we noticed that the pc did in fact go into sleep mode but when it was time to "wake-up" it could not find the HDMI connected screen. So we switched from HDMI to VGA and the pc liked that and showed its display. Sooo, I guess in our case turning off the pc allowed the connection circuits to the screen to remain to be recognized, but allowing the pc to go into sleep mode resulted in "cognitive" loss of how to display info on the screen. I know this sounds weird...so we shut it off every night for a good sleep.

[@paulbroderick8438]

I always turn off my computer when not in use whenever I take any reasonable break, say one hour. I never leave it on overnight. Never had any problems.

[@catkeys6911]

One thing I know that happens often after boogying around the web for a half day- or maybe even a full day is that things can get a little scrambled inside. This may be due to the computer being a little old (maybe 6-7 years old), but I'm not sure. So I shut it down completely at the end of the day (if I haven't been *forced* to restart already). Any "bubblegum" hanging things up or tripping things up gets cleared that way, and the computer also gets to cool all the way down- I'm literally letting it go to sleep for the night. Better safe than sorry.

[@askleonotenboom]

There have been periods where, even though I leave my machine running 24 hours a day, I've programmed it to reboot in the middle of the night.

[@catkeys6911]

@@askleonotenboom ​ @askleonotenboom That's good if it's *able to* . But I occasionally have to power mine off, then restart it- since it has gotten hung up and won't respond to anything. It's old, and I'll probably get a new one in the New Year.

[@garethleitner9547]

I use my computer several hours a day and always put it in sleep mode when I will be away and especially while I'm sleeping. Returns to life immediately without a reboot. Have used it this way for many years with no problems and energy consumption is a non issue. Only time I have to restart is when the OS updates.

[@sillymadeupusername]

I leave my home (non gaming) pc on permanently (unless I'm messing about with it). I have a shed load of films/videos/mp3 on it which I access on my android over the home wifi when I'm in bed and cant sleep. If you are afraid of external cyber threats just disconnect the network cable on your home router which goes to you ISP provider modem.

[@perlman7376]

Thank you for another well done video. I leave my main computer on 24/7. However, my PC is hard wired to the router. I have set my PC (Windows 10) not to attempt a wireless connection. I also bought an on/off switch that goes between the router and the PC. Every time we quit using the internet, turning the switch off insures the bad actors don't have access while we are "off line". Of course it's not perfect but it protects us without having to physically shut down. Just another approach.

[@alangunningham5667]

lol , most of heating up and cooling down (stress) will happen nearly as much ...as the low energy use is producing the same effect so using energy when not around is not good... no matter what ... the pc is made to turn off for a reason !... might be different fora business user for other reasons but not for home recreational users

[@ZoneProfessionalGardening]

I've served in the military and worked for companies; none turned off their computers. I have not turned off my laptop in 10 years, though. I do need to get rid of unnecessary software. It takes around 15 minutes to start up.

[@ILikeWafflz]

I used to put mine to sleep most of the time and just shut it off once or twice a week. But then it started waking up on its own in the middle of the night and lighting up my room. That, combined with the fact that we get a power flicker once or twice a month here and I haven't had the best experience with battery backups, has caused me to just turn it off every night.

[@BubbleGendut]

ACPI S3 Sleep Mode only adds a few dollars to annual electricity costs. Avoiding capacitor discharge & recharge shocks.

[@MagneticDwarfReptile]

I like the hypothetical decision I make whether or not I should play call of duty for 5 hours or not this day, has a bigger impact than the decision between hibernate or power off for the whole year. Numbers are probably off but you get the point, it's benign in the grand scheme of things.

[@happyhapley]

A good communicator. Well explained.

[@StanTheObserver-lo8rx]

I had HP computer for years then i got into the habit of leaving it on. A few weeks later it would shut down al the time. My son in law looked into it and said the heat sink was too small and put a larger one in. Fixed. But i bought a newer one later- windows 11.

[@DTGrosz]

I like how you explain things & your logic!

[@charlesminckler2978]

My laptop is good at going to sleep and I don’t mind leaving it to choose when I don’t think about it. My desktop half the time I’m away for an hour or more never goes to sleep. I don’t know why. I have done some troubleshooting. I know certain websites can cause this. If I”m going to bed, I will turn it off every time unless it’s downloading or calculating something. I also have apps that aren’t very happy to run 24/7 or restart and close multiple times in 1 session. Memory leaks and apps that don’t quit well quickly clutter the pc and would force me to restart anyway.

[@penttijakonen3817]

My PC is over 10 years old and I might turn it on and off multiple times some days. No problems so far. Sure, it doesn't see intense use. But as others have mentioned, the components will heat up and cool down no matter what you do. To me it makes absolutely zero sense to keep it on 24/7.

[@darrennew8211]

Since the heat that heats it up and the cold that cools it down come from the power it's consuming, putting it on standby won't make it cool off less than turning it off. That whole "doesn't cool off" was appropriate for computers that didn't stop using power when they're on.

[@cgfreeandeasy]

Instead "standby", one can use "hibernation" (that one, were all in Ram and the system-state is written on harddisk and you can switch off the power completely). It has the benefit of having the last day status and programms of the desktop, but without needing power all the night. The"heat-cycles"-myth, that this will cause degradation, is not anymore a problem...maybe electronics of 20 years back may had that problem. today usually not anymore. Besides the fact, that its not cooling down and heating again to moderate temps (to ~ 50 degree C) is the problem, rather the overheating to much higher temps (higher then 50-60 degree C). Dispite, that the manufactorer today having max temps of 90 degree and more in their specs.... what out of my perspective, is always worse, then only moderate temps of 50 degree. Its simple: temperature is directly manipulating resistance on conductores... and that will change the behavior of a hole system...usualy top bad, as that it does not have any influence. Not only, that the chip is under stress, the hole plattform will heat up with chip-temps and some components on the board may not as tollerant to heat, as the main chip-specs will tollerate....

[@nakayle]

I leave mine on 24/7- temperature cycling is bad for components. At work nothing is ever turned off. Even during power failures a generator comes on to keep things running.

[@flamencoprof]

As a retired telephone exchange tech, I know that telephone exchanges (which are basically computers told to be an exchange) are NEVER turned off. I was also aware of the heat-cycle stress thing. I consequently never turn off my lounge tower box PC (unless Windows gets confused). I have a laptop in the bedroom which I do turn off due to lingering fears of heat, electricity and bedding not being a good mix.

[@gregblair5139]

Years ago, I have temperature issue in the bedroom in which I slept. I had to turn it off at night, because the room got too hot! Adjusting the thermostat was not an option, because the rest of the house would be too cold.

[@RechtmanDon]

I learned the term "degradation" instead of "stress" as the technical term. What degradation implies is that a constant flow of electricity however slight eventually breaks down the chips due to what amounts to friction: electrons constantly bombards other electrons and atoms in the chips, creating heat, and plausibly breaking the crystal atoms apart. As there is less functional material (such as the silicone in the crystals in the chips' structure), there is less material to carry the current, which in turn increases the resistance to the electron flow and thus the amount of heat generated, which causes further--what's the word--wait for it--degradation! This also explains an interesting phenomenon in computer repair shops: you notice your computer starting to behave strangely, so you take it to your trusted repairperson. They stress test it, then call you up to tell your computer just died! What happened? Did they kill it just to entice you to buy a new computer or motherboard? Not if they're honest. They just completed something you already started. You saw some of the early or mid-stages of degradation; when they ran the stress tests to find the problem, they simply completed the degradation process with the "last stress that broke the Intel's back." The degradation process can take months or even years before it ends in failure. Just as people are on the way to their deaths upon the moment of their birth, so too computers basically start their degradation process the very first moment they're powered up.

[@DougVanDorn]

For me, leaving my computer on or not has depended on factors entirely separate from the hardware itself. When I lived in a house just off of a busy street, where neighbors could easily see people taking too much interest in my house, I left my computer on all the time so that the screen (set to a photo album screen saver) would produce a soft lighting in my main room that, from the sidewalk, would make it appear that someone is up watching television. Served to set the expectation that a thief would encounter the resident(s), a situation most thieves will avoid if they can instead rob a house that has no obvious awake people in it. Now, though, I live in an apartment building well off the main roads, where an active computer monitor says "Hi, there's electronics in here that might be worth money." So, living here, where someone could try and break in without many eyes watching, I try to reduce the amount that I advertise the computer's presence. So, I turn it off not only overnight, but whenever I go out for more than a few minutes. And to be honest, I haven't noticed any real difference in how well my computer operates now vs. when I left it on 24/7. I *do* open up the PC's cabinet and blow dust out every 6 to 12 months (based on the CPU's cooling fan running more and getting loud), and I haven't noticed needing to blow out the dust any more or less now than I did when it ran 24/7. So, my preliminary conclusion based only on my own computer is that it really makes little difference.

[@Mikexception]

But it depends. I have two identical models - one used dayly in on- off mode but in day time in past was often left in stand by . And happened that during stand by mode computer was probably performing self procedures and home mains went off - blackout in whole location. PC didn't take it well - no possible to start Windows again. Hopefully I was able to reinstall system and next few years is so far ok. But concluded to alow undercover procedures in operation mode, not in stand by which would be best at night. Other one I kept as spare just in case. Not used be me at all , no repeated termal stresses only tested at purchase that ok. When thing happened I tried that one not used and no result - seems supply card damaged. Constant (room) temperature resulted not succesfull .

[@TheLifeOfaBichon]

For 23 years. From 2000 till 2023. I left my computers almost always on. I learned from that, that it burns out the hardware much faster. It greatly shortens the PC's lifespan in general. In June this year I got a completely new PC. I turn it off every time I go to bed. And it's fully off when I'm at work. I will probably and anywhere from 1 and a half to two years extra lifespan with doing this. Just like our bodies need to rest. And our automobiles can't always be running that will ware them out faster. PC's need the same thing. It took me 23 years for this wake up call.

[@carllind949]

I use down stair cpu the most and at 10 (2200) my virus checker checks the hard drives for problems and then shuts down the computer. Before going to bed, I turn the upstairs cpu on so it gets checked too. I leave the server in the basement on 24/7.

[@Supermanohman]

I run iDrive every night from 9 pm to 5 am. I usually turn it off all Sunday, but the rest of the week it's on. I have mission critical backups that have to run in my downtime.

[@marbleman52]

Ahh...the never ending question that has been discussed from the very early days of home computing, and the answer is always the same...it depends. But...I will add that in the early years, cpu's and video cards ran a lot hotter, adequate case ventilation was not well known by the average user, other parts ran hotter, etc. Today, everything runs a lot faster but also cooler and technology has improved a lot and therefore...hopefully...components are a lot more dependable. But as one commenter said, they have an 11 year old Toshiba laptop that has been turned on & off thousands of times and it is still performing great ( I'm assuming all original parts..?? ). My desktop is 10 years old or older. I have a real good Gigabyte motherboard and power supply and quality everything else. I'm not a gamer or anything...just basic surfing & watching movies, etc., and I have done both...turn off each night...and have left on for many days...and no apparent problems except... I have had to replace the power supply a couple of times even though the power supply's are always very good ones. What's up with that ? Just luck of the draw perhaps. Now if bad weather hits with a lot of lightning, I will definitely turn off the power supply in the back and even unplug from the outlet...lightning can do some crazy stuff...!! Yep...no perfect answer...!!

[@la7dfa]

If you want to run the computer always, just make sure it can throttle down and idle. In the power settings the consumption can be reduced significantly. I have ha a few lightning strikes in the past, but it was all coming via the ADS lines and now with fiber, it is just much safer.

[@tigercat3864]

With better parts like SSD memory PC's have gotten better at withstanding on/off cycles. What would fail are things that spin; the fans and HDD. Keeping the PC on would keep the oil in these things warm and working properly. And there's another level too; if the PC is plugged in with the main PSU switched on but the computer is off it still consumes some power so it can provide a little bit of standby power for some things use. E.g. it makes the coin battery on the MB last longer by powering the RTC. To fully power down your PC unplug it or turn the PSU switch off.

[@williambruneau]

What I am bringing up is the WIN11 operating system, but windows in general has been unstable over any length of time. Call it cosmic rays or whatever - my most recent episode is not being able to print two sided. My wife's computer can. I used to but right now it will print one-sided for me only. when I reboot the system the problem is gone.

[@williambruneau]

I use my standard Dell computer all day for what I do, pretty much every day. My computers have always started to lose contact with the operating system after a number of days running constantly. I generally plan to reboot once a week, pre-empting its loss of contact because of this. I have always had Dell computers. How many computers lost contact with the OS over how long a time? Is this misalignment a function of marginal memory cards, or something like that? We’ve all run into the problem where our phone starts behaving strangely, and must be rebooted to resolve that hiccup. And, your computer is the same. The longer it runs without reloading the software from long-term storage the greater the chance that one of the programs in RAM will begin to malfunction. That’s a self curing a problem if you reboot the computer daily.

[@dathyr1]

Well I shut my computers down when I am finished using them for whatever time period. There is no particular reason for doing so, I just do it. Have had no problems. No matter what we do with computers, if a component fails, it will fail no matter how you operate the computer. Some components will have different types of failure rates. Most the computers I have owned over the years have lasted a long time or never failed. It is the nature of the beast. So do whatever you want, I feel it does not really matter. At least for me it does not.

[@TerryVogelaar]

Doesn't the 1st argument negate the 2nd? I mean: if the computer itself reduces its power consumption, it cools off too. If the power consumption becomes negligible at night, then it will be almost as cold as a computer that is turned off. And if it doesn't, it has to use significantly more power.

[@leenusbaum9596]

I'm always worried about (although rare) power failures if I'm not there. I do have a battery backup, but right or wrong, I still shut my computer down at night. Though I am reminded of the world's longest-lasting light bulb, the Centennial Light, located at 4550 East Avenue, Livermore, California. It is maintained by the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department. The fire department claims that the bulb is at least 121 years old (installed 1901) and has only been turned off a handful of times.

[@brucestein988]

But what is the best status to leave the computer in when there may be a power outage during the overnight hours? It happens somewhat too often where I live. Which is better e.g. sleep or totally off?

[@askleonotenboom]

Totally off, or connected to a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply)

[@dalecorne-new-mtv]

I can only speak for myself, but I turn on my PC the moment I wake up in the morning, and I'm on it all day long watching TV shows or movies or designing graphics or surfing the web...whatever I do all day. I then turn it off right before going to bed at night. I've been with Windows since Windows 3.11, and it seems commonplace that windows puts things in your RAM that can get corrupted and cause programs to misbehave, so by turning off my PC every night, I am insuring myself that there is less of a chance to have corrupted app data, but that's just me. I've also learned from experience, to do my own backups manually. I never forget, so the backups thing is not an issue for me.

[@mrmotofy]

See real time power usage with a Kill A Watt meter or a smart plug with energy monitoring

[@tedjohnson2004]

Here's something you might not be addressing! Some years ago we had a very bad lightening storm and we had turned off our computers and unplugged them. However, we were hit nearby by a bolt of lightening. it surged through the soil and through the ethernet cable to the computers in my studio in a separate building blowing out the video cards. On a tower, it was a cheap replacement, but on the other, it was part of the motherboard, and made the computer useless for online, email, and such. Since then we've both unplugged all computers every night when done for the day, and with every lightening storm. I've had numerous computers (all macs) and have never had any problem with having them off so much of the time.

[@sharonmacintyrebarrett8572]

Leaving your computer on all night then your leaving yourself to be hacked.