Harming the monitor?

[hazel m]

How much - if any - harm do I do the monitor by setting it to go into power saving mode "Never"?

If that does do harm, how would it be to set it to Never and turn it off at the button when I know I'll be away for half an hour or so?

Thank you.

 

[Ranger4]

Modern monitors are much less prone to screen burn than they used to be, but leaving the monitor on with the same screen picture on for ages is not good practice. Once you have screen burn it's permanent.

You can set the monitor to turn off after a period of time. To do that open Control Panel, select Power Options, when that opens look at the Menu on the left edge of the screen & you will see, Choose when to turn off the Display, select that & that will give you options on the time before the display turns off.

I have mine set for 5 minutes. If I know I will be away for a longer time I actually turn of off at the switch. The advantage of having a time period is that if you were away for a delayed period, then the monitor will shut down.

To turn it back on after an auto turn off, just hit any key or move the mouse & it will come back on again.

 

[hazel m]

Thank you. At least I know I can harm it. Will it wear it out sooner - cause the monitor to "die"? Or only do that burn? Well, I shouldn't say "only". I know that is bad but I have a problem here.

When I am doing my virus scan and the monitor goes into power saving mode, it goes black and so does the virus scanning window. ESET once said not to let it do that as the scan had to start over. So I set it at Never.

The other day, the computer man was here and - without my consent - set it at ten minutes. He then started my virus scan program and it never did stop running until I forced it to.

Apparently these two situations interfere with each other, I think. So, would it work to set it at Never and then turn it off manually when I am not using the computer? Otherwise, I'll have to remember to change to Never every Sunday morning.

Just looking for the best (easiest) way around the conflict.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
I usually just set it to never and run a screen saver after an hour
Then again I do shut down every night and if I'm not going to use the computer for a while/ chores....

 

[whs]

Best practice is to shut down the PC when not in use.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Best practice is to shut down the PC when not in use.

The only disadvantages to not shutting them down is a slightly increased power bill, more heat being pumped in a room (more of a summer problem), waiting on the computer to reboot, and the off chance of a power failure happening while the computer is running (that's what a UPS is for). For many, the advantages of running constantly easily outweighs the disadvantages.

 

[whs]

How about having all lights in the house lit all the time, having the car(s) running all the time in idle, running any device that consumes power all the time - at least you will enjoy a hefty electricity bill.

I come from a country where energy costs 3 to 5 times as much as in the US so I am a bit sensitive to the matter. The energy prices in the US are very low so people will never learn to save. You can only get them by the pocket book.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

How about having all lights in the house lit all the time, having the car(s) running all the time in idle, running any device that consumes power all the time - at least you will enjoy a hefty electricity bill.

I come from a country where energy costs 3 to 5 times as much as in the US so I am a bit sensitive to the matter. The energy prices in the US are very low so people will never learn to save. You can only get them by the pocket book.

As I said, for many people, the advantages can outweigh the disadvantages. I don't burn any more lights than I need to at any one time or otherwise waste electricity. I don't drive my vehicle any more than I have to and consolidate errands into one trip whenever possible. I keep my AC set at 80°F and my furnace at 72° (because of my hypothyroidism, I can stand it any colder than that for very long). Just because we in the U.S. have lower energy costs than much of the rest of the world doesn't mean no one here tries to save energy when possible.

I have processes on my computer that run at night when I'm sleeping. I'm on and off my computer all day long, ofteni for only a few minutes at a time. If I had to reboot every time I wanted to get on it, I would die of old age waiting on it since I have to wait on the HBA card and the Marvel chips to boot their own ROMs as well as the UEFI, Win 7, and the programs I have running in the background. My computer serves as my PVR for recording OTA TV programs so it needs to be available at all times for that. It's also my music system and my e-book reader when I'm at home (and I read voraciously). I do turn my monitors off when I'm not using them.

The point here is running the computer 24/7 isn't going to hurt it. It is a good idea, however, to not let the monitors set idle for more than an hour or so to avoid possible burn-in. Setting them to go to sleep or to a screen saver after so much activity is a good idea.

 

[Ranger4]

How about having all lights in the house lit all the time, having the car(s) running all the time in idle, running any device that consumes power all the time - at least you will enjoy a hefty electricity bill.

I come from a country where energy costs 3 to 5 times as much as in the US so I am a bit sensitive to the matter. The energy prices in the US are very low so people will never learn to save. You can only get them by the pocket book.

I agree, leaving your computer on 24/7 is just plainly wasting money if you are not using it. Who leaves their TV on 24 hours a day if they are not watching it?.

Booting time for a computer with a SSD is about 30 seconds, from power on so surely the saving in time there is negligible.

Also any electrical appliance that is running unattended is a potential fire risk, so leaving it going while you are asleep in bed at night, has lethal potential.

I shut my computer down when I have finished using it & I turn off any power to it as well.

 

[Ranger4]

Thank you. At least I know I can harm it. Will it wear it out sooner - cause the monitor to "die"? Or only do that burn? Well, I shouldn't say "only". I know that is bad but I have a problem here.

When I am doing my virus scan and the monitor goes into power saving mode, it goes black and so does the virus scanning window. ESET once said not to let it do that as the scan had to start over. So I set it at Never.

The other day, the computer man was here and - without my consent - set it at ten minutes. He then started my virus scan program and it never did stop running until I forced it to.

Apparently these two situations interfere with each other, I think. So, would it work to set it at Never and then turn it off manually when I am not using the computer? Otherwise, I'll have to remember to change to Never every Sunday morning.

Just looking for the best (easiest) way around the conflict.

What virus scan are you using?. I use Microsoft Security Essentials & if the monitor turns off during the scan it does not interfere, with the scan.

The same applies when I use Macrium Reflect for a computer back up & does not cause any problems. Even when downloading or updating software & the monitor turns off because of the time it's taking it doesn't cause any problems.

From what you describe it seems that you may mistakenly have had your hard drive set to shut down after a certain period & this can cause problems with some programs. Set your monitor to turn off after say 5, 10 or 15 minutes, whatever might suit you & set your hard drive shut down to never & that should overcome your problem.

I have my monitor set to turn off after 5 minutes & the hard drive set never to shut down.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

How about having all lights in the house lit all the time, having the car(s) running all the time in idle, running any device that consumes power all the time - at least you will enjoy a hefty electricity bill.

I come from a country where energy costs 3 to 5 times as much as in the US so I am a bit sensitive to the matter. The energy prices in the US are very low so people will never learn to save. You can only get them by the pocket book.

I agree, leaving your computer on 24/7 is just plainly wasting money if you are not using it. Who leaves their TV on 24 hours a day if they are not watching it?.

Booting time for a computer with a SSD is about 30 seconds, from power on so surely the saving in time there is negligible.

Also any electrical appliance that is running unattended is a potential fire risk, so leaving it going while you are asleep in bed at night, has lethal potential.

I shut my computer down when I have finished using it & I turn off any power to it as well.

Different people have different needs, work flows, etc. Your situation isn't any more typical than mine is so you can't assume everyone's situation is going to be the same as yours (or mine). I've already stated why my computer needs to stay on 24/7, including the fact (and why) it takes one heck of a lot longer than 30 seconds to boot Win 7 despite having an excellent SSD.

Your statement about any electrical appliance that is running unattended being a potential fire risk is ludicrous. Do you also turn off and unplug your refrigerator, AC, furnace (even a gas, oil, or coal furnace uses electricity), computer router and/or modem, all night lights, fans, etc.? Do you unplug your microwave, stove (even gas stoves now draw electricity at all times), DVD or Blu-ray player, DVR, and other similar appliances that still draw current even though turned off? Do you not charge up your cell phone while your asleep for fear it might catch fire? Actually, that is more likely to happen (and has been known to happen) than a computer catching fire. For that matter, you should turn off your cell phone when not using it and keep it in a fire proof safe because the lithium ion batteries have been known to spontaneously combust.

If you use your computer briefly once or twice a day, yes, it definitely would make sense to turn it off after using it. However, not everyone uses their computer that way. There are people who use their computers for more than just checking their social media, email, and, maybe, forums. Day traders who work out of their homes need their computers running 24/7 (and have large numbers of monitors also running 24/7). For that matter, many others who work out of their homes need their computers for hours at a time, often half a day or more. Many people use their computers for distributed computing (look up Folding@Home or protein and gene folding if you don't know what distributed computing is). For various legitimate reasons, some people's only telephone connection is via VOIP and, unless they want to drop out of sight for much of the day, they need to keep their computers running 24/7. Many newer homes are now "connected" (the so-called Internet of Things) and that requires a computer running 24/7.

The point is neither you nor anyone else can dictate how long others should run their computers, especially when based on your or their own usage patterns.

 

[hazel m]

In all due respect, folks, we are not talking about the CPU. It stays on until I shut it down for the night. We are talking about the monitor - leaving it on all the time - until I shut down for the night. I cannot allow it to go into power-saving mode while ESET is scanning. I was getting conflicting answers about just setting it at never.

Screen savers (as someone mentioned) were great. I had them on my two previous computers but do not have any on this one. Instead I have a scene from a friend's home town which was sent to me. So the monitor sits there with that picture whenever I close what I'm working on until I open something else. The other way - setting it at a time - has it sometimes closing when I am sitting here reading a long article and not moving anything. I guess that inactivity makes it think - do robots think? - it is inactive.

A closing consideration is that my computer really is in action much of the day. I am seldom away from it more than five or ten minutes from the time I boot up of a morning and shut down late afternoon.

Thank you all for ideas.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

In all due respect, folks, we are not talking about the CPU. It stays on until I shut it down for the night. We are talking about the monitor - leaving it on all the time - until I shut down for the night. I cannot allow it to go into power-saving mode while ESET is scanning. I was getting conflicting answers about just setting it at never.

Screen savers (as someone mentioned) were great. I had them on my two previous computers but do not have any on this one. Instead I have a scene from a friend's home town which was sent to me. So the monitor sits there with that picture whenever I close what I'm working on until I open something else. The other way - setting it at a time - has it sometimes closing when I am sitting here reading a long article and not moving anything. I guess that inactivity makes it think - do robots think? - it is inactive.

A closing consideration is that my computer really is in action much of the day. I am seldom away from it more than five or ten minutes from the time I boot up of a morning and shut down late afternoon.

Thank you all for ideas.

The picture you described sounds like a wallpaper—a background for the desktop—not a screensaver. A screensaver is a picture that changes or moves around so the monitor doesn't get burned in by a constant image. These date back to the CRT monitors which didn't take long to get an image burned into them. Modern LCDs are pretty much burn in proof but it's still possible for it to happen if given enough time.

To set up a basic screen saver, check out one of the tutorials here.

 

[hazel m]

Thank you for the lead. Yes, I meant to say I knew screen savers were constantly moving. Does that mean I'd have to get rid of my "wall paper" scene?

 

[Stevekir]

I use my computerr about three or four time per day. I put it to sleep after every session, and shut it down at bed time. That helps the monitor and my energy bill, given my particular work pattern. If I expect a gap of more than about 6 hours, I shut it down as I leave it. My auto backup and other protective routines routines start the next ime the machine is restarted (and also when it is woken up, I think).

 

[Barman58]

If you want to prevent Burn-in on a monitor or to save electricity one way is as follows ...

Set the screensaver to "Blank Screen" , (this switches the monitor screen off so that it only consumes a minimum power, and does not have the ability to cause burn in.

If you set the automatic timer to a fairly long time, (EG 15 Minutes), it should not cause the screen to go off whilst reading a page.

When you decide t leave the computer simply press WIN+L which immediately locks the system and starts the screen saver, Although this will mean that if you have a password, this will need to be entered when you return to the computer, this extra security is a good thing as it stops little fingers, (work colleagues, spouses, & children), from messing things up

 

[maxseven]

AFAICT you haven't said hazel m what model of monitor you use. There will be different responses whether CRT, LCD w/fluorescent backlight, or LCD with LED backlight. This last type MIGHT be left on with the PC, but the others definitely NOT. CRTs will suffer burn-in and wear-out, and fluorescent tubes will burn-out eventually along with using more energy both of themselves and by throwing heat into air-conditioned space.

LED backlit LCDs should last a very very long time, though I still would advocate for Power Save mode of some sort (and this does not mean wallpaper or a screensaver).

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Thank you for the lead. Yes, I meant to say I knew screen savers were constantly moving. Does that mean I'd have to get rid of my "wall paper" scene?

Nope, you can have both. The screensaver starts up only after the computer has been idle for an amount of time you can specify. I personally haven't used a screen saver in years since I can turn off my monitors when I'm not using them but I understand that your situation is different.

 

[hazel m]

Thank you for the lead. Yes, I meant to say I knew screen savers were constantly moving. Does that mean I'd have to get rid of my "wall paper" scene?

Nope, you can have both. The screensaver starts up only after the computer has been idle for an amount of time you can specify. I personally haven't used a screen saver in years since I can turn off my monitors when I'm not using them but I understand that your situation is different.

Right. I think this is exactly what I am asking if I can do. Set the power-saving mode activity at Never and turn off just the monitor (not the CPU) when I'll be away more than, say, fifteen minutes.

The problem (and not really a problem, given its work) is ESET. According to them - and my experience confirms this - ESET antivirus program wants a lot more power than some others. For example, it just did its scheduled weekly scan. I stayed totally away from the computer. (They recommend that nothing else be running and I not use the computer if I can avoid it.) The scan took exactly 29 minutes. Had something else been running or had the monitor shut off (gone into power-saving mode), the scan would have gone on and on and on until I interrupted it.

I realize that not many people (at least that I know) use ESET. Perhaps because of its initial cost but that is far less after the first year. And their service is - for me - the best. I'd willingly pay for just that. They are great. So, when I have to choose between two options, I'll choose ESET.

That is why I am looking for a way to keep ESET running during its scan and treat the monitor right at the same time. I think you are saying exactly what I'm wondering if I can do. Just set the monitor on Never and turn it off if I go to fix lunch (half an hour at most), take care of mail (USPS) or do some house-cleaning.

Thanks again. I do appreciate the discussion and learning opportunity.

 

[whs]

LF, If your PC takes a lot longer than 30 seconds booting from a SSD, then something is wrong and that should be separately investigated.