Is it better to keep the computer on or off?

Is it better to leave the computer turned on or off?

This question was answered on April 13, 2003. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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In the past (1993 and earlier) it may have been beneficial to leave the computer on because of potential power switch related issues This however was not always the case and today is not required with any computer While it is possible for the power switch or for another computer component to become bad it would not be caused by turning the computer off and on each day.

Answer:

The answer to this question really depends upon how you use your computer Our recommendation is when the computer is turned on at the first of the day or mid day that it remain on until it is last used and then turned off for the night

If however you are actively running anything on the computer or wish for tasks such as scandisk or defrag to run during the night it may be better to leave the computer on during the night

It is neither good or bad to turn off the computer each day or for you to leave the computer on all day every day

Additional thoughts:

For companies or homes to save on power it may be beneficial to turn the computer off each night or at the end of the work day

About the author

Posted by olivia of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on April 13, 2003

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