Better To Leave PC In Sleep When Unused, Or Shut Down?

[woodbine]

I have an Acer Desktop PC. I remember someone once telling me on here that it was better to do smart scans on Anti Virus/Malware most of the time rather than full scans, as full scans cause a lot of wear and tear on the hard drive.

This got me thinking what other things I could do to cause less wear and tear on my hard drive or even the whole pc. Generally I start up my pc mid morning and use it on and off a few hours each day, putting it into sleep when not used during daytime. At approx. 11pm, I shut down the pc, and it stays shut down for the next 12 hours until started up again the next day.

Is it best for my pc to continue shutting it down at night, and re-starting it 12 hours later? Or would it be better to leave the pc in sleep mode for those 12 hours?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[MourningStar]

I suppose this is a 'subjective' arena. My case : Next year my machine will be 10 years old, I've been all over the web and have only experienced one BSOD due to my goofing up some admin-related work (thank MS for the restore function!). I have never needed to do a re-install of the os or stuff like that. I have always shut off my machine at night. Long ago (the super-slow internet days) there was a period or two I had it running 24/7, for weeks, due to some very slow downloads. As my specs will reveal, there is nothing all that special with this machine, just an off-the-shelf, straight out-of-the-box factory standard pc.

 

[MSClin]

I remember someone once telling me on here that it was better to do smart scans on Anti Virus/Malware most of the time rather than full scans, as full scans cause a lot of wear and tear on the hard drive.

It actually doesn't matter much, the difference in smart scan versus full scan in hard drive performance is small, I believe. The better alternative is to run smart scans when you have 30 min break from the computer and run full scans when you will not use the computer for the next 3 hours for example.

Is it best for my pc to continue shutting it down at night, and re-starting it 12 hours later? Or would it be better to leave the pc in sleep mode for those 12 hours?

Yes, shutting down your computer is better than letting it sleep 12 hours. If you have choosed to let your computer sleep 12 hours every night, this means that you will never shutdown it (unless you will do it in day time, which is way bad to be honest). It's a good practice to restart or shutdown your computer once every week if you put it to sleep all the time.

 

[Ranger4]

I always shut mine down. Sudden power outages or lightening strikes can seriously damage the computer & if you are asleep these things can go unnoticed.

Also it saves power.

 

[lehnerus2000]

I have an Acer Desktop PC. I remember someone once telling me on here that it was better to do smart scans on Anti Virus/Malware most of the time rather than full scans, as full scans cause a lot of wear and tear on the hard drive.

I'm using Avast AV.

I have it set to do Quick Scans Monday to Saturday starting at 6 AM.
On Sunday it does a Full Scan starting at 3 AM (it takes several hours).

I have an SSD for my OS, so the Quick Scans don't look at my HDDs.

 

[Barman58]

I have made a considered judgment call and decided a while ago to leave my systems running at all times. A modern PC in idle mode does not use a lot of power - I always switch off the monitor when not in use, which with todays LED monitors is in reality not the issue on power that the old 21" plus CRTs used to be. This way I can leave windows own "housekeeping" tasks to sort themselves out, My security sweeps can run when the system is quiet which is more efficient, this also applies to Backups Etc. Having the PC available also means that wherever I am I can access my "Stuff" quickly and simply.

Maybe not the way for everyone but has worked for me for many years

 

[Paul Black]

I too leave my computer on and put it to sleep at night. I do however, restart the computer once a week which seems to give it a new lease of life. This process has worked well for me for years!

EDIT: I should have mentioned that this is for a laptop!

 

[iko22]

The main point of powering off and shutting down the computer is to do with saving power and look after the components, so I am a believer that this is the best policy to adopt at times when the computer is not in use.

So, what is the point of having a Sleep mode when you have already got this shutdown mode?

Some people believe that it keeps the electronics healthy which seems to me a bit of a misconception in the electronics industry. Computers are made from solid state electronics and solid state technology do not gain from being powered up perennially.

I think that this misconception originally stems from the VT (Vaccuum Tube) Technology which benefits from being 'warmed up' before being put to use. But the misconception could also stem from other consumer electronics, such as fridge or telephones, where their continual operation or service availability benefits from being left powered on during the night.

With sleep mode, the CPU, monitor and disk drive are turned off, while the working memory uses a constant power, allowing the computer to wake up more quickly. The main point of having and using the sleep mode, is if the computer goes to sleep, then it is quicker to resume, than it is to power up from cold start. So, the main purpose of the sleep mode is related to performance as well as energy saving.

Wear and tear on a hard drive is inevitable so the best policy here is to create a backup image of all your valuable files on a separate disk. That backup will then be available after the eventual failure of your main drive.
The hard dive does not need to be powered up when idle. You can use Power Plan settings in Windows to switch off when the disk drives are idle. Here is how Hard Drive - Turn Off Hard Disk Idle or Never - Windows 7 Help Forums. There are only performace resons to leave the hard drive on. Nothing to do with wear and tear.

Keep a hard drive away from magnetic or electrostatic sources will prevent the disk from being accidently erased.
The best way to preserve ALL your components from wear an tear is to fit a good grade power supply, either when starting a custom build or when replacing the generic power supply fitted by most computer manufacturers. A good power supply will include mainline choke and surge overload protection and other quality components to reduce electromagnetic interference.

This got me thinking what other things I could do to cause less wear and tear on my hard drive or even the whole pc. Generally I start up my pc mid morning and use it on and off a few hours each day, putting it into sleep when not used during daytime. At approx. 11pm, I shut down the pc, and it stays shut down for the next 12 hours until started up again the next day.

Is it best for my pc to continue shutting it down at night, and re-starting it 12 hours later? Or would it be better to leave the pc in sleep mode for those 12 hours?

Thanks for any advice.

I think you already have chosen the best policy, but look at other strategies such as backup policy, power plans and even a new power supply.

 

[Barman58]

All electronic systems can be subject to a high Inrush current when switched on, many tests over many years have found this to more detrimental to long term usage than leaving the device in the on state

 

[SIW2]

I turn mine off and unplug everyday. Save energy and let the capacitors discharge.

 

[tetraps]

Sleep each evening and turn off or reset every couple weeks.

 

[MourningStar]

Designers of repairable critical systems and associated peripherals, and quite cognizant of the 2nd law of thermodynamics, will determine and declare an approximate lifespan of their product. They have labeled it 'mean time between failure' (MTBF) with the value of time (typically in hours). As a USAF technician, and later as an aerospace engineer, it was 'the rule' to document/monitor and perform maintenance or component replacement after a system had been operational for 'x' number of hours.

In conclusion (and in 'general'), the simple fact is : if a part has been designed to operate for 'x' number of hours, it is going to be around longer if it is 'turned off' periodically.


my $0.02

Leave On, Sleep, Hibernate or Shutdown <----clik here

 

[woodbine]

Thanks for all your replies everyone. As there were no really strong views either way, and there seem to be pros and cons with both shutting down overnight or putting into sleep - I think I'll carry on doing what I'm doing; ie. shutting down fully at night.

 

[woodbine]

The best way to preserve ALL your components from wear an tear is to fit a good grade power supply, either when starting a custom build or when replacing the generic power supply fitted by most computer manufacturers. A good power supply will include mainline choke and surge overload protection and other quality components to reduce electromagnetic interference.

I think you already have chosen the best policy, but look at other strategies such as backup policy, power plans and even a new power supply.

Thanks for your very comprehensive reply, iko22.

I wouldn't have considered components such as power supplies, etc. I have an Acer Aspire (model no. M3910) desktop pc, approx. 5 years old. Should I be considering upgrading the power supply now, or is the original one that Acer fitted OK? Or should I just upgrade to a quality PSU if and when the PSU I have now fails?

 

[MourningStar]

... As there were no really strong views either way, ...

really??!!!

 

[SIW2]

I have had psu failures on a couple of machines. One of them was 9yrs old, and the other almost 7 yrs old.
The cheap generic psu are not very robust. Whether you should replace one before it fails is up to you.

Thanks for your very comprehensive reply, iko22.

I wouldn't have considered components such as power supplies, etc. I have an Acer Aspire (model no. M3910) desktop pc, approx. 5 years old. Should I be considering upgrading the power supply now, or is the original one that Acer fitted OK? Or should I just upgrade to a quality PSU if and when the PSU I have now fails?

 

[iko22]

Thanks for your very comprehensive reply, iko22.

I wouldn't have considered components such as power supplies, etc. I have an Acer Aspire (model no. M3910) desktop pc, approx. 5 years old. Should I be considering upgrading the power supply now, or is the original one that Acer fitted OK? Or should I just upgrade to a quality PSU if and when the PSU I have now fails?

I don't know what is inside the Acer M3910, to be honest. I'd assume that it contains a simple generic 250W supply. You'd have to open the computer case to find out. Computer Manufacturers usually use these to keep the costs down. If I'm right then I'd look at replacing it right away with a suitable 80 PLUS certified supply, in order to give your components the most protection. Make sure the one you are buying contains OCP (Over Current Protection), OVP (Over Voltage Protection), UVP (Under Voltage Protection) and SCP (Short Circuit Protection).

Hope that helps.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Always shut down when the computer isn't going to be used ! Use a ssd to quicken boot and shutdown and enjoy lower energy costs, less heat and less strain on the PSU. Mobo, hard drives......on and on.

 

[woodbine]

really??!!!

By Strong reaction, I meant that no one said something like either;

A) For Christ's sake, always turn your pc off at night, or your mother board will be burnt to a crisp by morning!!!

or

B) Never, ever, ever turn your pc off at night - utter madness!!!

Unless I missed something?

 

[woodbine]

Thanks to all for your replies. As always, really appreciated.

If I do replace the power supply, are there any recommended brands or suppliers?