Do you shut down your computer? Or put it on suspend?

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2005-01-19 11:00am

I have a laptop at the moment, and by simply closing the laptop it goes into 'suspend'. Obviously this is more convenient than shutting down and restarting, as by simply opening the laptop the thing boots up to the login screen. But I was wondering if there were any disadvantages to doing this over shutting down.

Also, what about PCs? I knew a guy who never shut his PC off. Who does it, and why?

White Haven · Post by **White Haven** » 2005-01-19 11:01am

Just don't use the 'hibernate' function as 80 percent of the time it fails to work in uniquely violent and vicious ways. As for my desktops, I kill the monitors, but unless i'm leaving for a few days, the systems stay up.

Axis Kast · Post by **Axis Kast** » 2005-01-19 11:02am

Well, my brother never shut his machine off; he set it on suspend regularly. Granted I don't know what he's downloading, but the machine died pretty regularly after six months or so of that kind of treatment.

I always shut down my machine nightly.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2005-01-19 11:17am

Generally I just set the monitor to power-save (god knows it probably sucks more juice than the desktop while it's idle), as it's very convenient to have the system come right back up whenever I want it.

Widely-held lore is that shutting down and powering up every night and day is most stressful due to thermal expansion and to the abnormally high power-draw a system uses when everything's starting (hard drives spinning up, etc.), but I don't know if that's firmly grounded in reality.

CDS · Post by **CDS** » 2005-01-19 11:33am

That is true. I leave all my computers on all the time day and night (except my laptop, which I leave on between lectures, albeit plugged in)

Although I run linux on everything except my laptop (which i'm putting linux on very soon) - Windows is kinda screwy if you leave it running for too long.

Vohu Manah · Post by **Vohu Manah** » 2005-01-19 12:13pm

Simply left on, my computer is always doing something (Folding@Home, playing MP4s, etc).

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-01-19 12:26pm

My rig is always on with the monitor either off or on power-save when I'm out and the speakers off. If I'm going home or something, I hibernate it which is the next best thing (standby is okay, but still uses power and isn't all that much quicker).

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2005-01-19 12:28pm

Shut down, while it makes for a high strain, this system is too loud at night, but during the day it runs.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2005-01-19 12:29pm

i turn off both my computers over night. they run almost all day long.

Azazel · Post by **Azazel** » 2005-01-19 12:46pm

i use standby and my laptop frequently but it's good to shut it down so it has a chance to reboot windows. I leave my desktop on all day, I can't sleep with the neon purple coming from the case window and the whir of the fan.

Post by **Dalton** » 2005-01-19 01:02pm

My box has been up for 48 days straight. Doesn't bother me. I prefer not shutting down because I'm not sure if it'll start up again...

I usually just shut down my monitor at night.

Psycho Smiley · Post by **Psycho Smiley** » 2005-01-19 02:08pm

Always on, with the monitor on power-save if I'm not using it. Stand-by seems to get creative in what it actually brings back on-line.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2005-01-19 02:26pm

it's almost always on, and lately nearly constantly downloading. except for about 30 minutes a day to help solve any heat problems that might crop up, it's never off.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2005-01-19 02:29pm

My computer runs absolutely silent. I would leave it running for weeks on end before my parents made off with it.

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2005-01-19 02:37pm

Sleep mode.

As I use a Powerbook, it can stay in sleep mode pretty much indefinitely off battery, and it resumes straight away to whatever I was doing just by opening the lid. Windows' standby and Hibernate modes can't compare, it takes less than five seconds to come out of sleep into full operation.

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2005-01-19 03:18pm

I usualy leave the computer on all day, and then shut down for the night. Though some times I leave it on. I know it can stay on all the time, I just don't bother.

Mayabird · Post by **Mayabird** » 2005-01-19 03:22pm

My computer is on all the time when I'm at school so it can run Seti@Home and climate modeling all day and night. I shut off my monitor at night, though.

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2005-01-19 03:26pm

As we speek my computer has been running for 11 days 15 hours and 30 minutes.

Antares · Post by **Antares** » 2005-01-19 03:29pm

My notebook is always in suspend which exonerates the harddsik, because start ups arent required anymore. In addition it takes only about 10 sec to get a working system back online. In "Stand by" my notebook consumes about 5% battery power per day.
It is in Stand by/Back online mode for about 2 month now.

On the contrary i shutdown my Desktop because "stand by" really isnt giving any advantage over normal activity. The fans are still working and only the hard disk is offline. So it still makes a lot of noise which is annoying.

Mad · Post by **Mad** » 2005-01-19 06:00pm

My main computer, slow as it is, has a loud fan (which somehow got quieter...) so I tend to turn it off every night. The computer I use as a server, on the other hand, is quiet and I leave it on 24/7.

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2005-01-19 06:08pm

I shut it off when I go to bed and I'm not at home.
I don't like the idea of it guzzling down power for nothing.
And after I had a freak accident involving overvoltage and the mother of all thunderstorms, I often pull the plug completely.

Dead_Ghost · Post by **Dead_Ghost** » 2005-01-19 06:12pm

I leave mine on during most of the nights, for obvious reasons. However, if I see that I have to leave it for more than an hour and a half, then I turn it off. Old habit, I guess...

Executor32 · Post by **Executor32** » 2005-01-19 06:17pm

I lock mine (Windows-L, for those who don't know), then turn off the monitor. My box has been up for almost 4 months now.

Mlenk · Post by **Mlenk** » 2005-01-19 06:18pm

Unless I'm d/ling a file off torrent or something like that, I shut my computer down nightly.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2005-01-19 06:27pm

I leave it off when I'll be gone for a few hours, or when I sleep, unless I'm downloading something or whatever.

It starts up really fast so I don't mind turning it off then back on.