Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Off topic forum > Tech talk

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old January 24th, 2007, 11:01 PM
Shamrock's Avatar
Shamrock Shamrock is offline
Kitty Consort
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: B.C.
Posts: 1,485
Computer On or Off at night?

I've always shut my computer off at night, seemed the thing to do.

Have heard its better to leave them on, avoid "potential harm". No idea if there is any validity to this . I've never had any problems.

Do you leave yours on all the time, or shut it down?
It's convenient to have them running, I have to admit.. and am now rethinking this.
__________________
When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself - Wayne Dyer
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old January 24th, 2007, 11:03 PM
Prin Prin is offline
Senior member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 28,492
I shut it down because otherwise I find it gets slow... And the updates and things need a restart to take effect.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old January 24th, 2007, 11:05 PM
wdawson's Avatar
wdawson wdawson is offline
Papa D
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: dog loving hamilton,ont
Posts: 4,319
off...and not just the comp....modem also...just to make sure i.m not hyjacked.
__________________
Wayne
Dad To :
George 18 year beagle, Rest in peace little buddy....love
Beathoven 7 year old mutt
Maggie 5 year jack russell
Felix 15 year tabby
Ozzie 12 year tabby
Tigger 10 year long hair cat
marley just a pup
sasha grand pup___________________________________________________________
Lettin the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin it back in.

Most of the stuff people worry about ain't gonna happen anyway.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old January 24th, 2007, 11:21 PM
jiorji's Avatar
jiorji jiorji is offline
cat slave
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: montreal
Posts: 5,599
mine goes on standby....which is neither
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old January 24th, 2007, 11:58 PM
hazelrunpack's Avatar
hazelrunpack hazelrunpack is offline
The Pack's Head Servant
Chopper Challenge Champion, Mini KickUps Champion, Bugz Champion, Snakeman Steve Champion, Shape Game Champion, Mumu Champion, Mouse Race Champion
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Just east of the Hazelnut Patch, Wisconsin
Posts: 53,771
I used to disconnect the modem but leave the machine on with a cold start (power off/on) once a week or so to clear the registers. That was cuz someone once told me that turning the machine off frequently was hard on the switches and would wear out the disk faster. Don't know if that's true or not...

Now I turn it off every night but only because we get power fluxes so frequently that it's the only way to avoid those nasty power surges. I also turn it off completely when there's lightning anywhere in the area...for the same reason. I've lost one power source due to rapid power fluxes and would just as soon not have the tech out again soon
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old January 25th, 2007, 12:00 AM
technodoll's Avatar
technodoll technodoll is offline
Honest Contributor
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Montreal, QC
Posts: 5,900
our laptops stay on all the time, they're in sleep mode during the night and on weekdays though. reboot once in a while, when needed...
__________________
"Let Thy Food Be Thy Medicine"

Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.

:love: ~Akitas Are Love~ :love:
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old January 25th, 2007, 07:02 AM
Dogastrophe's Avatar
Dogastrophe Dogastrophe is offline
Senior Member
Helicopter Champion
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 773
It turn my PC off just to save on the power consumption. My Macbook just goes to sleep.

About ten years ago, people were recommending that you not turn your computer off in case the power supply went toast. At the time this was probably not bad advice as power supplies were notorious for failing after X number of cycles. With the new power supplies being build over the past 6 years or so, this problem is almost non-existent.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old January 28th, 2007, 07:03 PM
Aimster's Avatar
Aimster Aimster is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Edmonton, AB
Posts: 125
I leave my main computer on all of the time, it's only shut off when I go away for more than one or two days. It does reduce the wear and tear on the buttons and the hard drive. You don't have to disconnect your modem when you turn it off, it's not possible for someone to get into your system while your computer is off and really with todays technology people don't really hack into regular joe's computer to take stuff because most people don't have a lot of vital info on their computer. They'd need your IP address and your firewall would need to be off, if you don't tinker with your XP settings than it is usually on.

I say leave it running and only reboot once and a while if it's sluggish or run the various clean up programs that come with XP, if that's what you're running.
__________________
"Until one has loved an animal, a part of ones soul remains unawakened."
Anatole France

Proud Parent of:
Kip - Female, DSH Cat
Moxy - Female, Lab Cross
Dagan - Male, Husky/Malamute Cross
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old January 28th, 2007, 07:17 PM
erykah1310's Avatar
erykah1310 erykah1310 is offline
Blue eyed funny farm
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 5,595
If im not on here, my puter is off.
Dial up sucks... and I only really use my puter for music and picutes and this forum... sure i visit a few others from time to time, but my internet is used for here and downloads mostly.
We have wonky power issues here, lots of outages and I would rather it off... just in case.
__________________
Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyways. ~John Wayne
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old January 29th, 2007, 06:15 PM
CyberKitten's Avatar
CyberKitten CyberKitten is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: New Brunswick - Nova Scotia
Posts: 4,852
There are arguments on both sides of the question - on because it does not hurt the CPU as much, not as many cycles and not as hard on the hard drive. Off because it saves energy.

I have three at home and one of them is always on. Of the other 2 - one is laptop so that is another issue- and the othr an older one I use for certain programs.
__________________
"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats" Albert Schweitzer
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old January 29th, 2007, 06:40 PM
Winston's Avatar
Winston Winston is offline
Mom of 3 precious Angels
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Hamilton Ontario
Posts: 7,300
Mine ia always turned off when not in use...I always make sure the internet connection is disconnected as well....

Cindy
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old January 30th, 2007, 10:56 PM
HunterXHunter HunterXHunter is offline
Hunter & Bogart's daddy
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: PEI
Posts: 259
PC is usually off when not in use, while laptops are on standby
It's suppose to be better to leave them on all the time, but I prefer not to waste electricity
__________________
"The internet: where men are men, women are men, and little girls are FBI agents" -read it somewhere...
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old January 30th, 2007, 11:04 PM
Byrd's Avatar
Byrd Byrd is offline
Flyball Mom
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Oshawa, Ontario
Posts: 1,906
I have a laptop.... nuff said.
__________________

www.dogster.com/dogs/563959

If you learn one new thing from each person you meet, you will be a fountain of knowledge and your life complete. --Me
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old February 7th, 2007, 01:15 AM
Bullykai's Avatar
Bullykai Bullykai is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Toronto
Posts: 42
NO turn it off. Leaving it on while not using the pc can make it easy for someone to highjack the pc undetected. so turn it off and the modem.

I always turn off my pc just because I dont want anyone seeing my bad downloading habits.



what downloading?

no never
__________________
Have you hugged a bull terrier today ?
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old February 7th, 2007, 08:15 AM
brandynva's Avatar
brandynva brandynva is offline
Animal Lover
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Wishing I Was Someplace Warm
Posts: 1,330
Mine is on all the time and I have never been hijacked. The only time I turn it off is when I'm out of town. If your computer is off there is no need to turn your modem off. They can't hijack a computer with no power to it. Also, if you have an external dialup modem and you are disconnected you don't need to turn it off. Nobody can call into your modem.

Also, if you have dialup and you aren't connected nobody can get onto your computer either. See the comment on hijacking with no power.
__________________
--Brandy--

The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue.
-Anonymous
Reply With Quote
  #16  
Old February 7th, 2007, 08:22 AM
chico2's Avatar
chico2 chico2 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Oakville Ontario
Posts: 26,591
I have just lately started to turn mine off at night or if I leave the house,we had an incident where the PC shut down,saying some element was overheating.
We opened the tower and the fan was covered in CAT-HAIR,we cleaned the fan and have had no problems since,but I still worry something like that could cause a fire,so off it goes,however it stays on all day,if I am home..
__________________
"The cruelest animal is the Human animal"
3 kitties,Rocky(r.i.p my boy),Chico,Vinnie
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old February 7th, 2007, 05:22 PM
jesse's mommy's Avatar
jesse's mommy jesse's mommy is offline
Slave to the Wigglebum
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Orlando, FL
Posts: 3,114
We keep all of them on all the time. No hijacking here because honey is a computer guy.
__________________
Stupid People Have Stupid Children, Hence All The Ignorance In The World!
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old February 10th, 2007, 02:08 PM
FlynnMB FlynnMB is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Co. Wexford, Ireland
Posts: 16
cookies

hi there

if you have your computer set to Accept all cookies then anyone who wants to can view the sites you enter and what you download. Some of the most reputable sites will not let you enter unless you have cookies set at accept all cookies.

Personally, I don't care what any organisation sees what I'm viewing, as what I view and do in the net is not personal. That is the way to keep it!

My computer is on sleep when I'm not using it, but I'm not in broadband land (I live in the sticks of Ireland).

Anyway I wouldn't mind, I teach computers and I always tell my classes not to give their personal details over the net unless they are 100% sure of the site, even the site users of E-Bay has let people down over tickets etc. Which is not E-Bays's fault as it takes so long for match & concert tickets to be published.

Regards

Last edited by FlynnMB; February 10th, 2007 at 02:11 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old February 10th, 2007, 02:47 PM
jiorji's Avatar
jiorji jiorji is offline
cat slave
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: montreal
Posts: 5,599
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bullykai View Post
NO turn it off. Leaving it on while not using the pc can make it easy for someone to highjack the pc undetected. so turn it off and the modem.
???
you can get nuked while on the computer and not even know it. Hackers don't wait until there's no activity.

Plus if you get Norton internet it blocks it off automatically, it doesn't need user approval to block a hacker hit
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:30 PM.