Boot Questions

[Rapth]

I was just wondering if it mattered how many times a day, and how frequently I power down my PC. For example.

If I boot the computer, play for two hours, than shut it down. Than an hour later, I boot it up, and play for another hour, than shut it down. After three hours, boot it up again, and play for seven. Would it cause any real damage to the computer... Any different than normal wear and tear? Hopefully I am explaining the question well enough, if not I will try to explain better.

Also, I was wondering. What is the difference between booting a computer from sleep mode, from booting a computer from it being turned off? When I sleep the computer, than boot it up. The hardware goes through the same thing, as when I boot the computer from being completely powered down.

Thanks.

 

[Stevy22]

Well, you are answering your own question according to me. Don't worry but make sure to clean up your PC if you are a frequent user.

 

[Rapth]

I do a lot of maintenance on my computer. Keep registry clear, defrag hard drive once a month, run scans twice a month. Blow out the air vent with air duster... Just wondering if powering it on and off frequently throughout the day matters. When I boot my computer, the fan turns on, than when the *starting windows* screen or whatever comes on, the fan quits until the computer heats up.... But when I sleep the computer and boot it up, it goes through the same process.

I know some people believe that booting a computer is the most stressful part, so I was wondering if doing this frequently throughout the day, could cause some sort of electrical short, because the connectors did not have time to properly dissipate the electricity, from when I started it again. Or some weird unnecessary wear and tear on the components.

 

[gregrocker]

The modern way to configure Win7 is to have it time out to sleep at around 30-60 minutes, which means onlyl RAM is still powered to hold your work on desktop. Then after about 60-120 minutes let it Hibernate which means what's in RAM is written to HD and it shuts down. However the next time you power up it starts much faster from Hibernation, called Resume, and everything is back on your desktop like you left it.

Win7 also has a Hybrid sleep feature you can check in the Advanced Power options for your plan. This simultaneously writes to RAM and HD when sleeping in case of a power failure. I recommend this.

I find letting it time out when I walk away less of a bother, or if I go out I sometimes press the power button which I've programmed to Hibernate so I get the faster startup and can leave my work open.

So only about 2-3 times per week do I actually shutdown on purpose to reset everything, unless Updates prompts to do this. Always keep Windows Updates set to Automatic and accept all Recommended and Optional Updates. This is not XP.

Be sure you're also only cleaning the registry with CCLeaner Disk and Registry tabs as others are risky if not outright sales scams.

 

[Rapth]

I generally just sleep, or power off my computer when I am leaving somewhere, unless downloading, or doing computer maintenance. Considering my computer is a laptop, I know that heat is more of an issue, because of the size of the heat sink. I do have my computer to shut off and sleep, but only when running on battery, not AC power.

Just wondering if constant shut down, and boot ups were harmful to the computer its self. I know its more of a matter of preference, and convince. so I suppose, its whichever I prefer, and would not cause any harm.

I just worry about it, because I simply do not have the money to replace my computer, or get it repaired, and if the damage is preventable, I am willing to take the extra steps, to keep my computer as long as I can. I am saving for a new PC, but not sure when I will have the funds.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I've never seen a definitive study on this.

But I wouldn't worry about turning it off 3 or 4 times a day. I turn mine off probably 500 times a year.

Ten or 15 times a day? Maybe, but I still haven't seen any studies. For all I know, the increased wear and tear by doing that has no measurable effect either.

 

[Rapth]

Perfect, thanks for the answer. Usually, if I am playing my computer again the same day, I will sleep the computer.... But occasionally, I shut it down instead. But again, the way my computer boots up, from a sleep, hibernation, or a total shut down, it goes through the same sequence. The only difference is all of my programs are already loaded, so I can browse faster. I suppose it would save the processor some stress by hibernating, or sleeping the computer.