How long does your computer stay on every week?

[jazzedup]

I keep it on for at least 6.5 days!

[HelenaP]

Never off.

[Boomer The Dog]

At least 16 hours a day, not usually running while I sleep. That's not just one machine sometimes, since when there's video going on, there could be a couple of others running for a few hours. With all of this use, I hope that the companies are working on 'green' lower power chips.

When did every house pretty much get a PC, I guess it was soon after the Summer that Windows 98 came out. What would be interesting is to see how much electric power usage has gone up in that time too.

Now I know that there were computers in the decades before that, but not everyone had one, and they didn't do all of your business, entertainment, and communications tasks for you, so there would be less of a reason to have one on constantly.

[Sexytkat41]

I keep my on all the time, so if I have a sleepless night I can just come down stairs and it's always waiting on me.

I know I have a problem!

[og45ty]

Earlier for 12-14 hours. Now at work I situated at the computer for 8-9 hours. 1 hour rest on a road home. And at home about 6-7 hours. It`s every day. At weekend this time may be longer or not. :)

[lezwez]

Do computers have a turn off button?:icon_scra

[og45ty]

Do computers have a turn off button?:icon_scra

lol ^^^ :icon_thum

[Mels_Smileys45]

Do computers have a turn off button?:icon_scra


They do unless you want to burn out a power supply. I use to keep my PCs running (uploading/downloding) 24/7 non stop but got tired of buying 2 power supplies a year. I have 650 true power antec now but I still give my PC some downtime. Its also very hard on your harddrives if you upload/download 24/7. Sooner or later they will pop and you will lose everything.

I also save about 20 bucks a month on my electric bill by turning off my PC while Im at work.

[RACKnRAIL]

Mels...I have that same PS, but I rarely turn off my computer. I will turn it off if a storm is brewing or if I'm going away, which is common sense. I was told once that turning your computer on and off all the time was hard on your hard drive. I am not sure of the logic behind that. I just keep mine on. I have not had a PS die on me since my old win98 box, that just had a 200 watter. I was lucky though, as it didn't take any hardware or data with it.

[Lord_of_the_Dense]

Does the Standby button count? I have mine in a desk cubby with a door. Times like now the door is open, but when I sleep, it goes into standby with the door closed, mostly due to the bright blue flashing power light (standby mode). That and the modem lights flickering. I just prefer it to be dark and quiet. If I leave it on and shut the door, it doesn't get enough pass-through ventilation.

Mels, I sincerely doubt you're paying 20 bucks on a PC alone. I've read many times these things consume very little juice overall, but that it can wreak havoc on the components over time. I'm going on my thind year with no replacements, only upgrades. I may have the same tower and power supply 10 years from now if all goes well.

[carpefile]

Man, I've got 10 that run 24/7, unless I'm going out of town, then my 7 get shut down. If the whole family goes than all of them get shut off, cept the OFF node.

I wonder how much juice that uses?

[drtoker]

They do unless you want to burn out a power supply. I use to keep my PCs running (uploading/downloding) 24/7 non stop but got tired of buying 2 power supplies a year. I have 650 true power antec now but I still give my PC some downtime. Its also very hard on your harddrives if you upload/download 24/7. Sooner or later they will pop and you will lose everything.

I also save about 20 bucks a month on my electric bill by turning off my PC while Im at work.

Wow, your power supplies must suck!
I keep my pc on 24/7. My last computer lasted 3 years, just retired it cause i got a new one, it was still fine.
My current computer has been on 24/7 for about 2 years with no trouble.
All my friends keep 'em on all day too, never had to replace a power supply yet.

[Signa]

Mels...I have that same PS, but I rarely turn off my computer. I will turn it off if a storm is brewing or if I'm going away, which is common sense. I was told once that turning your computer on and off all the time was hard on your hard drive. I am not sure of the logic behind that. I just keep mine on. I have not had a PS die on me since my old win98 box, that just had a 200 watter. I was lucky though, as it didn't take any hardware or data with it.

i thought it had to do with the expansion and contraction of the warm/cooling parts that can cause it to get out of sync or something.

as for me, i never do turn it off. i only lost one power supply once. it was a cheep one so that explains that. i have lost a few hard drives, but i think only one was to torrents, and it was pretty old. i did manage to get all my stuff off of it before it went kaput.

[lezwez]

I have not lost any computer hardware yet touch wood and everything in my computer is stock only the gfexcard is different i never built the pc so its shop made. good thing is i have 3 copys of everything which is important to me laptop exturnal and my normal computer. i be honest only time i turn it off is when i hover out the fans and the inside for big dust balls getting stuck i tend to notice this when the room gets kind of hot its strange the pc can heat up a room say every three months of so this gets done other then that theres no off button.

the only thing i have lost is a pc TFT monitor stay away from viewsonic good quality but very very very poor crappy crappy coustomer services

and i do have quite excesive download habbits any time i get hard driver errors i can't seem to format or even if i do format and still get errors i run dariks nuke and boot it sorts it out for some strange reason which i have done on a number of occations when i install windows it worked but kept getting error messages i run this this install again and no problem but this is also very rare twice now in two or three years not sure which

[nicolasavru]

Yea, the connectors expand and contract every time they heat up and cool down, which in the long term, causes "chip creep". You have to open up your case and just check all the connectors if that happens.

I also keep my comp on 24/7, and have never had problems with my power supply or my torrent hard drive. I have a 250GB Western Digital external drive which I use for active torrents, (among other things of course) and two 400GB Western Digital external drives where I keep redundant copies of everything I download, with the exception of movies, which I burn onto DVDs.

[DigitalJunkie]

@lezwez, Why are you getting a lot of hd errors? I know you download a lot, but do you transcode the stuffs you downloaded to different formats often? What kind(s) of error messages are you getting?

[lezwez]

i used to get alot of problems with norton never scanning the whole computer some times it would not start at boot mode i can't exactly remember the actual error message also the computer would just random restart by itself and when it was reboted it would say windows has something something recovered from a serious error report thing comes up to send or not STOP ERROR its called no idea on the numbers and x e stuff.

When this happens i format and reinstall windows i tend to install all stuff the same way all the time for in order i mean if i still get this error after a few days in then i run this dariks nuke and boot thing . i do quite offten put films on disk but i go bored of waiting all the time when i had nothing to do so now i just download dvdrs takes 15 minutes to burn and you got all the menus and stuff with no codeing to do.

I may just be lucky i have not had problems at least 6months :icon_comp no idea but i mess around with different programs and see if they work maybe next time it wont and i am lucky this time not a clue i know a format clears the layer it was previously writen and and rewrites to that same layer well i think i dont know and i remember reading this dariks nuke rewrites and creates new layers on the hard drive as fresh by turning all space into 0KB i cant explain in detail but if you know the program techy side to it you will understand me.

[Collector69]

what theres an off button ???

[DigitalJunkie]

I did had my computer reboot a lot, but I do think it was due to electrical problems so I had installed new circuit breakers on the electrical panel, this helps electricity running smooth for entire house. Hopefully, this well solve my computer reboot problem!

I also have Windows Explorer terminated by itself often! As I record TV episodes of shows that I like, then reformat them to smaller DivX files to upload to p2p network. I do keep the computer running 24/7, but I have to defrag. my hd & clean Windows' registries every 3 days or so. But I think my Windows Explorer problem, is because Windows OS does not handle resources well! I'm just getting tired of Windows resources problems (created too many files for Windows to handle).

I hear Mac OS handles resources better. If you have Mac & use it for 24/7 with p2p, do you get more or less resources problems? I don't think I'd likely to upgrade to Vista ever, more likely I'd switch to Mac instead!

[starwhite]

I use a UPS (uninterrupted power supply). BTW, This protects against voltage spikes and brownouts, which greatly increases the life and reliability of your PC. I leave mine on 24/7 when I am downloading and seeding torrents. Otherwise its off.

[RACKnRAIL]

I use a UPS (uninterrupted power supply). BTW, This protects against voltage spikes and brownouts, which greatly increases the life and reliability of your PC. I leave mine on 24/7 when I am downloading and seeding torrents. Otherwise its off.

Best $100 I ever spent. My APS PowerChute will shut down automatically at a preset time if I am out and there's a power failure. I just replaced the battery in mine after about 3 years.

[jazzedup]

My comp cannot shut down. For the last 2 years, if I need to turn it off, I press the shut down button, wait for the screen to turn black and then switch off the ups. If i dont switch it off then, my comp automatically starts again.

PS: My CPU cover is open now. temps rose to 95C yesterday. Today i cleaned the heatsink and got it down to 65-70C. Phew! But still, I downloaded last night :D!)

[Mels_Smileys45]

unning smooth for entire house. Hopefully, this well solve my computer reboot problem!

I also have Windows Explorer terminated by itself often!



Krell once told me, well actually someone else, about turning off a setting that causes Windows to turn itself off when there is an error. Im not sure where the setting is right now but if you turn that off you can then see the message and find out whats causing the errors.



Sorry for any typos or bad grammer.

EDIT:

Best $100 I ever spent. My APS PowerChute will shut down automatically at a preset time if I am out and there's a power failure. I just replaced the battery in mine after about 3 years.


Ive been meaing to buy one of those too. It is money well spent. I saw one at best buy that supplied one hour of power should the electric go all blewie. It would be awesome to be able to use the pc when everyone else is sitting in the dark.

[DigitalJunkie]

@Mels_Smileys45,

I already have the automatic restart setting turned off, so I knew that wasn't the problem. But, I did noticed whenever the electric co. fix the problem for the neighborhood & turn the electricity back on. Certain parts of my house, the appliances doesn't come back on every time. Circuit Breakers are getting old!

[-0-BACKLASH-0-]

I never shut my computer down. I only reboot when needed and shut it down if I need to go inside it or clean it.

[Undying Wizard NHD]

my computer never turns off, its to busy running bittorrent, sometimes it trys to sneak into sleep mode and then I have to smack to mouse

[dustout]

at least 3 days, probably around 4

[randomguy132]

I see that a lot of people are using UPS's. However, they are also mentioning that they are using desktop systems. I keep my laptop running (and usually seeding) almost 24/7. Would you folks recommend using a UPS with a laptop? Any reasons for/against?

[cheekcha]

My 2 Servers up all the time.
My Computer up, when @ my home
My notebook up, whem im awake.
What a nerdy person am i :P

[kamasterz]

When u sleep ur heart doesnt stop beating so its almost the same thing for PCs :D Never off!!

[mfgbypooter]

My computer never runs it just sits there.

*

[notbob]

turning off a computer is worse for the power supply than leaving it on. every time you turn it on, it sends a surge through the system, especially if you have a sketchy power grid/old wiring in your house. leaving it on all the time is much less stressful to circuitry

(as an added bonus, your power switch doesn't wear out, which is probably among the easiest things to break and hardest to replace on a computer)

[rxxp]

everyday except for on or two a week

[yossk]

I am running one nonstop at work and second one also nonstop at home,
By use of remote_desktops and logmein_utilities I can always reach data I have from everywhere :icon_cycl
Never had any problems with home computer (but I chose all components by myself)
cannot say the same about comp at work (I improved my backup system because of this :icon_prof )

[fourhundred]

i never turn mine off unless i absolutely have to.

[Conjure]

Far too long =/ Probably 3-6 days.

[cdnsystems03]

24/7 unless we lose power...found out my UPS battery went bad the hard way & i've been too cheap to pick up another

[Hervey]

Twenty four seven

[1cooldude]

One hundred sixty seven hours and forty-five seconds. The other fifteen seconds is for cooling down.

[LemondeBlurr]

I never shut mine down.

[robincheema]

on at night off in the day light

[554321]

just shove an extra fan down there and its all good xD

[ouchast]

3-6 days I voted for the poll. Not sure tbh.

[Cenarious]

I have got so used to my computer being on that when I turn it off at night on the odd occasion it feels really strange when trying to get to sleep...

[ouchast]

Cenarious: Haha, weird. You're kind of lucky there =)

[moon light]

10 hours ....

[EvilRSA]

Got 4 that run 24/7/365.25
And ofcouse I don't power down my servers, so that would bring it up to 6 total.

All in all, I'd say the only thing I power down is my new laptop.
Other laptop has been running an E-Mail server for 2 ½ years straight; poor thing.:icon_pale

[DLiver420]

Lets see: 24*7=168*60=10,080 minutes. Less 3 minutes a day to reboot, so approximately 10,059 minutes a week.

Looking back at all the trouble I took to figure that out, I wish I would've just said "always"

[edgarb]

My computer is on 24/7/365, a few other computers in the house connect to it for content, and it's also my Torrent box.

[watanoob]

since i started torrenting, it's been on double time.

[praveenpious]

My rig stays on for the major part of the day, nearly 20 hours or so !! :)

[napho]

I leave mine on 26 hours a day. (there are an extra 2 hours a day in Canada)

[RACKnRAIL]

I leave mine on 26 hours a day. (there are an extra 2 hours a day in Canada)

I thought it was a half an hour more in Newfoundland?? :icon_tong

[entous]

Mine pretty much never goes off >_>

Also since my dad uses it in the morning (its in the living room atm) and I usually leave uTorrent on overnight, it pretty much never gets rest =[

[killahill]

24/7 except when it crashes.:icon_quee

[calouc]

I just reboot when it bug,so 3 times a week! ;)

[vestfrost]

always on!

[burnik]

on and off nyahahahha ^_^
i dont have enough money to pay may electric bill ^_^ wheeew

[axlman]

Mine stay's on for most of the day. I usually turn it off when I got to work or go out for quite a few hours.

After building and repairing PC's for the last 10 years, i've seen how PS's and MB's can just decide to pop and catch small flame which of course could lead to bigger issues. Like when a PS fan stops working and the unit does not decide to shut off automatically, that PS will get way to hot and pop goes the weasel!

[neo24]

never jaja

[crazyfinx]

never turn off, just restart for updates every month

[notbob]

this many hours a day

[HelenaP]

this many hours a day


DAMN! I thought mine was on forever!

[dubstylee]

this many hours a day

holy shit is that notbob? sup homey

[Signa]

DAMN Notbob! I cant get it that long!


thats what she said

[NobbyUK]

I have a number of computers, the lappy is on about 8-10 hours per day, with the desktop on for several days at a time.

[Maroc-Ghost]

about 10-15hours per day

[wapazoid]

Six total. Four stay on for 10-12 hrs. per day, M-F. The other two stay on for about 16 hours per day, all week.

[snapsnake]

this many hours a day

Dang dude! thats a long time!! I can tell you aren't a big torrenter though, at least not with that computer.

Mine has gotten up into the trillians after only a few hours use of heavy torrenting and heavy gaming. Yours is only in the millions

I do have a question though - about leaving your computer on 24/7. I want to do it but I am not sure about electricity costs. How much would my computer draw? how much would it cost? I have a 380w ps.

Oh and will someone please explain whether it is better to turn your computer on and off or just leave it on all the time?? I never even guessed there would be people out there who would say it is bad to turn your computer off.

[Mels_Smileys45]

Some people say its bad because the initial current draw is larger then keeping your computer on but thats really silly unless you turn it off and on every five minutes. I know that by turning mine off for 10 hours a day saved me over 20 bucks on my electricity bill. File sharing uses a lot of tricity.

[allabout420]

ieave mine on 24/7 unless i have to reboot..i always want to have my bt client seeding torrents as much as possible.

[ptofvu]

My laptop is on about 30 hours a week and my desktop is on all day except for when i get inconvenient updates

[fred_anon2000]

I have a large fine for downloading and uploading files. To stop a prison sentance i use proxy computers listed on the proxyforest website. My time downloading revolves around those proxies