Do you leave your computer switched on?

Didn't find your answer?

Leaving your computer constantly on:

+ Instantly available for use

+ Less shock to the components when powering on

+ Can remote onto it from anywhere at anytime

+ Backups/ updates/ virus scans can be done overnight when not in use

- Uses more power

- More long term wear of components

 

What do you do with yours?

a) Turn off at every opportunity: "I'm a tight accountant and not paying a penny more in electricity than I have to!"

b) On in the morning, off at night: "I'm a sensible accountant, based on my detailed cost benefit analysis, this is a good balanced approach"

c) On 24/7: "I'm a lazy accountant and enjoy convenience. I get tax relief on power costs and the VAT is only 5% so I'd be a fool not to!"

Replies (58)

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By SXGuy
09th Aug 2022 14:58

I leave mine on for the reasons you state. But from time to time I need to log off or restart as the system seems to slow down after a while.

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By ireallyshouldknowthisbut
09th Aug 2022 15:15

I turn mine off at night, and it set to power up 10 minutes before I start in the morning.

If nothing else it keeps the pigging office cooler.

Also seems to be a lower risk of access by third parties hacking in overnight.

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By Winnie Wiggleroom
09th Aug 2022 15:49

turn off overnight when I remember

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Caroline
By accountantccole
09th Aug 2022 15:53

B

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By Geoff56
09th Aug 2022 15:54

Turn off just before I leave the office. It marks the end of the working day.

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By Hugo Fair
09th Aug 2022 15:57

c)

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paddle steamer
By DJKL
09th Aug 2022 16:41

b.

Catch is one misses Windows updates. Plus point one misses Windows updates.

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Replying to DJKL:
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By spilly
09th Aug 2022 23:31

Do you not get the option to install updates and then power-off automatically when you go to switch the computer off then?

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Replying to spilly:
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By Geoff56
10th Aug 2022 09:16

That's certainly what I get. I always turn off my PC overnight and I have no problem in receiving Windows updates.

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Replying to DJKL:
By SteveHa
10th Aug 2022 11:24

I haven't installed a Windows update for more than 13 years. Mind you, I use Linux.

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Replying to SteveHa:
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By chrisowen
12th Aug 2022 10:41

Same for us MAC users.

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By Andy556
09th Aug 2022 19:26

I sleep it and turn it off now and again.

Computers power up instantly now so it's not like 10 years ago when you had to wait half hour for it to load

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Replying to Andy556:
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By tom123
10th Aug 2022 08:43

You must have some super duper tech..

My school issue (but fairly new) PC boots up while I fill the kettle..

I turn mine off fully each evening - unless I have loads of files open and urgent work to carry on with first thing - in which case I may just 'sleep'it.

At home, a PC in the bedroom started itself to do updates in the middle of the night. You can imagine the hoo ha. Darling wife was about to rip plug sockets out of the wall - I just stopped it in time. That never ends well if you do that!

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Replying to tom123:
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By Andy556
10th Aug 2022 09:14

My computer is probably a lot older than yours.

It just depends what's in there, if you've got a HDD then swap it out for a SSD and you'll be amazed at the speed difference. It's a simple cheap change.

No matter how good or new your other parts are the HDD will cause delays as it will make a bottleneck

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Replying to Andy556:
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By Geoff56
10th Aug 2022 09:19

This was done for us when our computers were moved from Windows 7 to Windows 10. I couldn't believe how much faster they became.

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By adam.arca
10th Aug 2022 10:49

I’m option c) but turn off at weekends.

The laptop I use every day is 3 or 4 years old now and came with SSD. I was gobsmacked how much quicker it was.

But things now seem to be following their usual course with it getting gradually slower and slower to boot.

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AS
By AS
10th Aug 2022 11:34

I reboot my office PC when leaving the office so that it is available for the IT manager to apply updates, and also available for me to access remotely. I prefer accessing my PC rather than our remote desktop servers.

Home PC switched off when not in use.

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By Truthsayer
10th Aug 2022 12:00

c) The pluses massively outweigh the minuses IMO.

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By tom123
10th Aug 2022 12:20

Fortunately I have nothing I need on the PC itself. We have good networking tech here, secure remote login portals etc.

Downside of course being that WFH is easy for anyone.

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By Mr_awol
10th Aug 2022 12:31

They are all set to lock after a reasonable/balanced amount of time.

Some staff turn them off at night, i dont - although i do make sure i lock it as as i leave in case anyone creeps into my office and looks at stuff before it gets a chance to auto lock (not that i think they would, just think its good practice).

We did ask everyone to try and make sure they either reboot it or turn it off once in a while (every month, fortnight, or whatever).

As has been mentioned, they fire up pretty much instantly these days anyway.

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By Leywood
10th Aug 2022 12:39

Certainly not leaving the one in my home office on it this heat. Including during the day perhaps. I can feel a skive coming on, despite the fact Ive just had a holiday!

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By accountaholic
10th Aug 2022 14:04

10+ years ago I used to leave my pc on all the time as it took so long to boot up in the morning. Now I switch off every night, and have it set to lock the screen and hibernate after 10 minutes of inactivity. Getting everything on-line was a game changer for me as even if it did blow up it wouldn't be quite the disaster it would have been previously.
Windows updates appear and I usually set them running when shutting down if that's offered. Occasionally it needs another re-start in the morning but no big deal really.

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Intercity
By Mr Hankey
10th Aug 2022 15:44

On in the morning, off at night for me.

I always lock it if I get up from my desk though. Not for security as it's just me in the house, but one of my cats likes to walk around the desk and I don't want her accidently sending illegible random emails to people!

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By 356B
11th Aug 2022 09:00

Sleep mode uses 3-10 watts, so it'll cost you c£12 pa in sleep mode.
https://www.thehomehacksdiy.com/how-much-power-does-a-computer-use-in-sl...

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Replying to 356B:
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By Mr_awol
11th Aug 2022 11:33

Not sure how up to date that is, or whether it is for a 'typical' set up, whether it includes the screens, etc.

The environmental data sheet for our most common (desktop) PCs says they use:
0.39 when off
0.68 in sleep mode
10.37 normal operation (long idle)
11.16 normal operation (short idle)

I'm assuming all of this is in watts, although it doesn't specifically say. Overall, turned off or in sleep mode appears to make little to no difference though.

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Replying to Mr_awol:
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By 356B
11th Aug 2022 11:56

But when it's "off" it should be Zero.

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Replying to 356B:
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By Mr_awol
11th Aug 2022 12:45

Never going to happen - there will always be some form of power drain as long as an appliance is plugged in. Otherwise, how would the computer know you'd pressed the button to turn it on? It's not like they have a click switch like your typical (UK) wall socket, light switch, or even (old fashioned) table lamp.

If you leave your phone charger plugged into the wall, for example, even with the cord just dangling there ready for you to plug your phone in next time, it will be constantly drawing power.

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Replying to Mr_awol:
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By 356B
11th Aug 2022 15:57

If you look round the back of your desktop, you'll find just such a switch.

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Replying to 356B:
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By Mr_awol
11th Aug 2022 21:43

356B wrote:

If you look round the back of your desktop, you'll find just such a switch.

Nope.

You used to get those, but i don’t recall seeing them for a good few years now. Just checked the online manual to be sure (as I don’t go round the back of them generally) and there’s no such switch now.

(In any case, to be fair, I highly doubt that any respondents so far would have meant they utilise such a switch, even if it had still existed)

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Replying to Mr_awol:
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By 356B
12th Aug 2022 09:19

Current HP models all have switches, as does my 3 month old Nofen.

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Replying to 356B:
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By Mr_awol
14th Aug 2022 02:02

356B wrote:

Current HP models all have switches, as does my 3 month old Nofen.

Which models? And where?

Not wanting to be awkward but you’re insistent they are there, I haven’t seen one in forever (could have missed it to be fair) and looking at pictures of the units we have (I’m not in the office to check) it seems pretty certain that the three main desktops we have - HP Z2 G9s, HP 290 g4s and HP Prodesks - are all missing this switch that I’m pretty sure went out with Santa Claus.

Plus the HP guidance to force shutdown refers to ping button press on the multi switch at the front, so I’m pretty sure the light switch style we are talking about (that used to live next to where the power cable went in normally) doesn’t exist any more…..

I appreciate this is probably one of the least important issues in life right now, and other than a very minor matter of energy saving not the hugest point of the thread - it’s just it seems
So completely opposite to what I ‘know’ (I’m not bothered enough to go into the office on a Sunday but will be checking Monday afternoon!

Edit: The nofans, yes, a picture of them online clearly shows it next to the power lead where they used to be.

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Replying to Mr_awol:
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By 356B
14th Aug 2022 09:27
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Replying to 356B:
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By Mr_awol
14th Aug 2022 19:39

That still has no rocker switch for power isolation (that I can see) though so I’m not sure if the relevance? You’d said that all Modern HP kit has one, so I was expecting the link to show one that did?

TBH whilst those units are about half the price of the Z2s we got not so long ago they are only a little bit less than our recent prodesks and slightly more than our bog standard 290s. TBH we tend to spec a user level/profile and desktop/laptop preference and let our IT suppliers work out what’s the best balance of cost/benefit for us. I keep a vague eye on it but they’re the experts so whilst I occasionally ask why we need x/y/z they normally have us covered.

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Replying to Mr_awol:
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By 356B
14th Aug 2022 19:43

At the top.

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Replying to 356B:
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By Mr_awol
14th Aug 2022 22:42

356B wrote:

At the top.

After all this, you’ve been on about the multi switch which is no different to just clicking ‘shut down’ on windows?

:D

On the plus side, at least I wasn’t going mad and ‘proper’ kill switches are a thing of the past (except for nofan, but there may or may not be a reason for that).

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By Michael Davies
11th Aug 2022 09:46

I am not a computer techie ;but came across something the other day,whereby on windows 10 and earlier you should turn something on start up off.I have recently moved to 11 and couldn’t find it,so assume that on 11 and later everything is done automatically.

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Replying to Michael Davies:
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By Hugo Fair
11th Aug 2022 09:51

You mean there's a button to switch off HMRC? Why wasn't I told?

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Sarah Douglas - HouseTree Business Ltd
By sarah douglas
11th Aug 2022 13:01

We log off all office computers end of evening as the working day is over. Personal laptop is off as well unless using it for something and phone goes on do not disturb.

I just do it as a way of telling my brain, go and enjoy your time.

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Melchett
By thestudyman
11th Aug 2022 23:05

I do miss the old Windows 95 message when it said it is now safe to switch off the computer- gave me a feeling of calmness that the computer will not spontaneously combust.

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Replying to thestudyman:
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By Arbitrary
13th Aug 2022 14:37

I do not regret the demise of CRT monitors. One of those did spontaneously combust in front of my eyes; smoke, flames, the lot.

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By Ammie
12th Aug 2022 10:28

B

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By Vallery Lee
12th Aug 2022 10:33

I switch off at night and on in the morning.

Another correspondent wrote that all HP computers have an on/off switch at the back - I have two and neither have the switch referred to (just checked) - both laptops though and that might make a difference.

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Replying to Vallery Lee:
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By Mr_awol
15th Aug 2022 08:19

Vallery Lee wrote:

Another correspondent wrote that all HP computers have an on/off switch at the back - I have two and neither have the switch referred to (just checked) - both laptops though and that might make a difference.

That was a red herring - although laptops would be a different matter anyway, i can confirm that HP desktops haven't had that switch since the ark (ok maybe a minor exaggeration, but having just looked at three different HP units, less than a year old, about three years old, and an old battered one that is probably getting on for 7 years + and isn't allowed on our network anymore, none of them had it).

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Replying to Mr_awol:
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By Tax Dragon
15th Aug 2022 14:29

My computer has a switch on the wall, which not only reduces power usage to zero but is transferable every time I upgrade.

On a slightly different slant, does leaving it plugged in always v unplugging overnight v unplugging from time to time (etc) have any effect on a laptop's battery life?

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Replying to Tax Dragon:
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By Hugo Fair
15th Aug 2022 14:47

In the grand tradition of this site ... the answer is Yes.

However what effect, and the degree of it, is interpreted entirely differently depending on the 'expert' whom you ask!

In an attempt to be marginally more helpful, most experts agree on one facet ...
"if you leave your laptop plugged in constantly, you will reduce battery life even more quickly than otherwise.
The reason for this is not excess power, but excess temperature."

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Replying to Tax Dragon:
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By Mr_awol
15th Aug 2022 15:06

Yes we (mostly) have those - by mostly i mean most of the readers/respondents. Personally we do, but some may be in countries where no such switch exists - something I've always found a little curious. Is 'our' plug substantially safer than those found across Europe and much of the rest of the world? If so, why haven't other countries caught up? I keep hearing about how not following EU rules is going to make everything less safe, so am concerned how dangerous that switch may be.

Many of the sockets in our offices though are not directly accessible - i could turn my own off easily enough, but some people would have to crawl around under the tables etc. I suspect the moaning, wiping of clothes, and generally lost time would exceed the cost savings - if they did it as asked, which they probably wouldn't, and i couldn't blame them to be fair. For that matter, this thread has probably sucked up more time and energy than would be saved if we'd all just turned the plugs off at the wall for the night.

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By tkingston
14th Aug 2022 07:25

I used to just shut down the computer when I had finished using it, leaving it on standby until one night a year ago one of the monitors, and it was a reputable make, burst into flame and the smoke damage meant that nothing in the room was salvageable. Now everything in the house gets turned off at the plug!
Stable door and horse I know, but I don't want anything like that happening again. And having seen the damage, quite a few people I know have changed their habits.

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Replying to tkingston:
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By Arbitrary
21st Aug 2022 16:33

Was it a CRT monitor? Other types are very unlikely to go on fire.

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A Putey FACA
By Arthur Putey
15th Aug 2022 12:28

AWeb at its finest! Next up, how many cuppas can you get out of a tea bag ........

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Replying to Arthur Putey:
Morph
By kevinringer
15th Aug 2022 13:14

I used to get 4 but now only 2. I don't know if that's the result of Brexit or Covid but I'll blame Boris anyway.

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