Should I Shut Down My PC At Night?

Wed Jan 31, 2007 4:18PM EST

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Reader Jason writes: Is it better to leave a computer on all the time or shut it off when you done? If I leave it on, what settings (like hibernate) should I use?

Years ago the conventional wisdom was that leaving your computer on all the time would allow it to last longer before a crash. The culprit: Your hard drive. Frequent starts and stops would cause your hard drive mechanism to wear out much faster than if the drive never spun down. An old saying (possibly apocryphal) was that stopping and restarting a hard drive was the same as eight hours of regular running time.

I talked to the good folks at Seagate to find out if things had changed. According to the company, starting and stopping is not a huge problem with drives any more, and they can be safely shut off and on in order to save power. According to Seagate, you can expect a drive to last for three to five years of running time before dying, though obviously many drives last longer.

What's the big factor that causes drives to die early? Heat, says Seagate. Ensuring your computer stays cool through the proper use of fans is far and away the best thing you can do to keep your drive healthy. I'd imagine that shutting it down when not in use will only help. Naturally, shutting down your computer will also conserve electricity, so unless there's a compelling reason to leave it on (as with a server), you should probably shut down at night.

So, how should you shut down properly? It's completely up to you, really. If you do a full "Shut Down" (or "Turn Off Computer") your computer will be completely off, using no power at all. "Hibernate" and "Standby" are lower-power states that allow you to resume quickly into the Windows desktop. Standby simply powers down hardware components like the hard drive, monitor, and peripherals, but continues to provide power to RAM, so everything you were doing stays active. Hibernate is closer to a shut down: It saves an exact image of your Windows desktop, then powers the PC down. When you awaken from hibernation, everything is back where you last had it. Personally I'm not a big fan of hibernate, because if I'm going to shut Windows down completely I like to reload everything fresh into RAM, which helps system stability. I tend to use both standby (for shorter times away from my PC) and shut down (for more than a few hours of downtime) instead.

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  • 66 Posted by molokini@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:24PM EDT Report Abuse

    Ultimately it comes down to how you use your computer. Regardless of how many years you have been in the "computer industry" lets face it, things change. Components are much more robust, and use less energy (individually) then they ever have. Turning it off will of course save you energy. However more and more people are using remote access to their computers and I beleive this trend will only grow. Also the centralization of media will drive PC's and PC-like appliances to be on constantly. Having said that its very difficult these days to remote a computer that has been turned off (this is in reference to home users that may not be savvy with technology like WOL within their home). I think as the result we will see more innovation as to how a system manages power and still manages to stay "connected". Smarter power management is needed. Hibernation is an old and rather unused technology. Traditionally Hibernation caused more problems then it helped. It just seemd that over time setting your computer to hibernate after a period of time would start generating mixed results, and even system instability. I don't think shutting off your computer every night is detremental, and for the most part you can still expect well over 3 years of life with the average computer. However as mentioned above it will be the applications we use that will drive weather or not we shut down at night. Even today applications like file shareing, and data backup are more often utilized when there isn't someone on the computer, leaving only the night hours to run data backup jobs, or download that episode we may have missed on TV. I guess my ultimate point is that shut down if you can, however if you are like me, your whole home is generally buzzing 24/7.

  • 68 Posted by smallfry636@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:28PM EDT Report Abuse

    Personally I always shut my computer all the way down. I use a laptop and have done this since the year 2001 when I bought this laptop. Still has the original hardware and software. I doubt you will POWER SURGE at startup. That is the purpose of a surge protector. HOWEVER letting things cool down frequently is not a bad idea.

  • 69 Posted by t_e_c_h_o_z@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:26PM EDT Report Abuse

    Good Article. Glad you wrote it. I read all the comments as well, and people are really interested and engaged in this topic. I found their input very interesting. We may all have our opinions and experiences. Keep writing articles like this and get people responding. OZ

  • 70 Posted by drj001@ameritech.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    I saw 2 unanswered questions: 1) yes, the password that protects the Computer from unauthorized use at start up can be defeated, take the computer to a qualified technician and they can do it. (it only take a few minutes to do, so shouldn't cost you an arm and a leg) 2) Yes, it is important to use the START/TURN OFF COMPUTER/TURN OFF or RESTART when shutting down or rebooting. Just turning it off by pushing the on/off button can damage programs that are running at shut down (there are several running in the background even when it looks like you are doing nothing). On the subject of Shut Down vs 24/7 ... I keep the 'puter clean and let it run unless storms are coming or will be gone for a while. A decent firewall/antivirus will protect it against intrusion. Joe Johnston (been 'putering since my Comodore Vic 64 - still have it - and build my own)

  • 72 Posted by ayemlinda on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:00PM EDT Report Abuse

    Thanks, Christopher. Two years ago, I checked into what alternative I had to keep my laptop from getting so hot on the underside and discovered Cooling Pads. Terrific idea (2-3 fan versions available), economical ($10-15) and it keeps the laptop nice and cool.

  • 74 Posted by wlglsg@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    I think it's a good idea to shut down computer when not in use. Reason, to conserve energy, and cool computer down and the risk of fire from shorting out!

  • 75 Posted by nimi44514 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    Personally, I have a real problem with hibernate...I had one computer that would not come out of it, so I turn that function off when I first purchase my CPU. I shut down at night, I always have...I like the reload also...seems to run better that way... Have a Great day. Marybels1-games@yahoo.com

  • 76 Posted by mauipono on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:12PM EDT Report Abuse

    I think its a good idea to keep the computer on overnight to allow programs with auto updates to do their thing. Then I recommend restarting first thing in the morning. I have found that when users turn their computer off at night, the first hour in the morning their computer runs slower due to all the updates going at the same time.

  • 80 Posted by apachecheynne on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:56PM EDT Report Abuse

    Thank You for this update, I am just beginning to utilize my computer after years of being on the floor. Apache

  • 81 Posted by brian_delacruz07 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:13PM EDT Report Abuse

    thank you but i have one only question if i leave my computer on so it will crash if i shut it down my computer will rest so what in these two are useful thanks brian_delacruz07

  • 84 Posted by sandroses@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:03PM EDT Report Abuse

    Good article, but the fan on my PC is running a lot. Does this mean I'm getting ready to crash?

  • 85 Posted by tedrunsslow on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    What about energy usage comparisons of turning the computer off/on vs leaving it on overnight?

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