Correct way to turn computer off

Jump in the drivers seat and fly.

A good Ferrari should even fill the tank for you while you are playing a round of golf.

James Bond never had it so good.

when I shut down Windows 2000 Pro. the thing won`t do it! I have had to dwnld msconfig exe. file and remove all items from system tray. That works

All cleanup and performance management on WIndows 95 to the present can be automatically scheduled to happen at whatever interval you like.

A well oiled PC does not need much manual intervention these days. The next version of Windows will make maintenance and inherent part of the system from day one.

The PC is becoming a toaster that empties it's own crum tray - something most people never do in my experience.

I was told many years ago by a guy who believed that it is better to leave the CPU on all the time, rather than keep turning it off and on. He just put his PC into standby mode, and turned off the monitor. I have used this procedure for years.

So....which is best? Or is it OK to leave PC in standby mode, for instance overnight? I run Win XP w/SP2. I think my friend believed that the CPU would "last longer" if it was left on.

Thanks!

Ali

In my opinion, it's not cost effective to leave a computer on overnight, UNLESS of course you use it during that period. Even on standby or hibernate they use power. I NEVER use standby or hibernate on any of our machines because of the problems some computers have with those options. The computer is either "ON" or "OFF" and nothing in between and we've got some really old computers. One of our 8 year old Windows 95 machines is still functioning and nothings' ever been done to it except routing maintenance.

There are lots of different opinions on the subject though and it really doesn't need to be discussed further. For a few HUNDRED posts on that topic, click on the link below:

CNET Computer Off or On Link
http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7586-0.html?forumID=68&threadID=19769&messageID=211343

Hope this helps.

Grif

and uhhhhh I wasn't PLANNING to discuss it any further, teacher! You moderator "experts" sure are rude.

Ali

....If you'll read the original post in this thread, it's about HOW or "If" the computer should be turned off directly while it was running and directly connected to the internet.

On the other hand...

Your post was about WHETHER the computer should be turned off at all. Your words were: "So....which is best? Or is it OK to leave PC in standby mode, for instance overnight?" That's why I suggested that your topic was a little different..In fact, you might have considered opening a topic of your own. It's not really relevant though...But since you asked the question, I posted an excellent link to approximately 520 suggestions about YOUR question. I find it interesting that you think that was rude.

I meant no rudeness to you. In fact I appreciate your response. I can think of nothing more complimentary than being called "teacher". Some of the most influential folks in my life have been "teachers" of various types..The hardest part is being a good "student".

Hope this helps, too.

Grif

I have been reading this thread and I also looked at the
link with 520+ suggestions. I found everything to be as you stated. I also work with people and sometimes the hardest part is getting them to tell you the question they really want you to answer.

This Teacher you speak of, has taught me more than I could ever hope to learn elsewhere. And.. with a very patient manner, to those of us that seek as much knowledge, as we can absorb. Why not stick around for a while and find this out for yourself? I am sure you will find this to be true... and if not.. switch stations. It's just that simple. I hope this post puts the issue to rest.

With all due respect..
Carol

It was my impression that Standby uses a trickle of power, but Hibernate saves the memory to the hard drive and shuts down all power completely, making it useful for laptops as well as desktops. Am I mistaken?

*

this is the way i see it:
if you are not going to use your computer in the next few hours, or have been doing something intensive, then shut down windows. after a restart, xp is normally quicker and more reliable.

the difference between standby and hibernate is that when you press standby, the system simply goes into a low power mode, and keeps refreshing the RAM. if you turn the power off when it's in standby, you're effectively force shutting down windows (but not the hardware). standby also uses a bit of power.
hibernate meanwhile saves all the data from RAM onto the hard disk and fully shuts the hardware down. when the system is in hibernate, it's safe to turn the power off, as all the data is safe on the hard disk.

if you are going to use the computer soon, and or haven't done much, just hibernate.
i prefer not to use standby, as you often can't tell whether the system is in standby or shutdown, and i often flick the power switch thinking i had shut it down.

hope that helps.
john

(W XP, P4) My standard shutdown assigns 'hibernate' to the power switch for most shutdowns. Once a week I do the disk cleanup and then error scan which requires a 'normal' power down (after closing all windows). On restarting the next day the error scan takes place then I do the defrag. I am ready then for the next week of activity. In between I may leave it on to run SETI during the night.

So far all is well. Frank

Standby is a low power mode, with most things shut down and just a trickle of power to maintain RAM memory and check the keyboard (pressing a key brings it out of standby). New computers support standby, but some older computers might not. Standby mode is useful to save a little power if you are going to be away for an hour or so. The only problem is if there is a power failure, the memory will be lost and the computer will have to be restarted - so save and close any important documents before using Standby.

Hibernate is a "no power" mode, where the OS saves the content of the RAM memory to a special file on the hard drive, then shuts down completely. Upon startup, the OS recognizes the special file and copies the contents back into RAM memory without having to go through the full startup proceedure. Not all computers support Hibernate mode. While Hibernate takes a little longer than Standby to start up again, it saves more power (important for laptops!) and is invulnerable to power failures after it has saved and shut down.

Full shutdown (or restart) should be used when installing certain types of programs, upgrades or updates - they will usually tell you if a full shutdown/restart is required. Shutdown/restart is also advisable after some types of software misbehaviour on your computer. And, of course, full shutdown is a very good idea when installing any internal components, or connecting parallel port/serial port/SCSI devices. (USB is "hot pluggable" and does not require shutdown).

I usually use Hibernate mode every night, except when Win XP has updated and wants me to shut down.

when Igo to shut down at the end of the day I
close all the open windows. then go to start
shut down but when I do this it will restart
if I don't push the button on the front . Is there
a setting i need to change to make it shut down all the way. i am running xp on a hp.my dad has same one and his shuts down all right .Thanks Mary Ann

The procedures below should help eliminate unnecessary start up programs and services and help clean out things so it starts and shuts down better:

For Windows 2000/XP, ignore the first couple of sentences about checking "resources" in the link below but follow the rest of the procedures including the "Services" links at the bottom.

How To Shut Down Unnecessary Start Up Programs

The "Services" links in the link above are no longer valid, so use the link below to find services that can be turned off.

Services Guide for Windows XP
http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm

Next...

How To Clean Unwanted Files From The Hard Drive

After following all the procedures above, run Error Checking/Chkdsk and Defrag to optimize the hard drive:

How To Run 'Error Checking/Chkdsk' On Win2000/XP

Hope this helps.

Grif

Are you sure that the "*.tmp" files will actually delete? Frank

...Or do your mean "Should you delete them?"

In either case, .tmp files are exactly that..Temporary...and they can safely be deleted from the computer.

Hope this helps.

Grif

the way you said but went into the tools
internet opts. then to the temp files and
select all then was able to delete them .
but i dont know if you got what i am trying
to do every thing is shurting down all right,
all the programs that is . this is what i go to start,
turn off comp.
turn off
then it comes up saveing then shutting down
the screen goes black then restarts if i dont push the power botton on the front
mary ann

Your computer may be experiencing an error during the shutdown process. Windows XP is set by default to restart on errors.

Go to the control panel and double click SYSTEM. Choose the ADVANCED tab, then click the SETTINGS button in the "startup and recovery" section. Remove the check mark by "automatically restart" by clicking on it. Click OK and OK to close the open windows.

Try shutting down your computer again. If it IS experiencing an error during the shutdown process, you should now see it and have time to read it. Once you can see what the error is, you can begin to diagnose and fix the problem.

When it operates as it should again, reset the checkmark by "automatically restart" by following the instructions above.

You may need to post here again to get help diagnosing the error.

tried it and no error message came up and still did not shut down. MA

1. First, do you have Roxio Easy CD Creator installed on the computer. If so, then that could be the culprit. Please visit the Roxio site below and download the most recent update for your version of Easy CD Creator:

http://www.roxio.com/en/support/software_updates.jhtml

2. This can happen when "Hibernation" is enabled. Open the Control Panel, double click on "Power Options", select the "Hibernate" tab, then UNCHECK the "Enable Hibernation" box.

3. If you've changed the boot order on your computer in the BIOS, please change it back..The easiest is to access the BIOS and select the "Defaults" option.

Hope this helps.

Grif

nope i dont have that one
tried what you suggest and still restarted. i did not change the bios. any thing that i have changed
that did noit work i have changed back.
maybe i should just give up and call HP. OR LIVE WITH IT. Mary Ann

The 1st place I'd look (if running a MS OS)is in the Device Manager. (Start/ Controlpannel/ System/ Hardware/ Device Manager)

Having a NONCOMPATABLE device driver will give windows FITS starting up and shutting down. I always like to "VIEW/By Connection" and click all the (+)'s so that all installed devices are exposed.

One problem I had was a 4yr old LogicTec USB webcam. Simply unplugging the webcam solved my Windows shutdown/suspend/hibernate problems. Other devices which showed RED or YELLOW highlights were also problematic with windows shutdown/startup. Removing or replacing these devices and/or updating their drivers to XP compatable ones solved many issues.

This brings up a good point: USB devices can be a problem with ACPI as windows has a difficult time knowing what state the device is in when Windows returns from Standby. (some USB devices are powered off, others may not be)

I have a desktop at home that REFUSES to use ANY powermanagement. My guess is the BIOS/Hardware just does not support it (ACPI) correctly.

This might be the case for some folks. The ACPI in the BIOS/Hardware and the operating system that they have installed are not "in sync". If MSWindows is the OS, MS has articles on changing/checking which HAL is in use and making sure it matches your hardware. (F5 from the "install special SCSI/Drivers?" prompt on WINXP install)

Also check your BIOS settings (if available) to see if ACPI and Plug&Play OS is enabled.


Mark.

I would check the BIOS ettings. Look in owners manual for instructions.

HP will help with this if you call the support number.

I had this happen to my old computer running Windows ME, and I never figured out how to fix it so ended up erasing my hard drive and then re installing Windows ME. Sorry but I am not much help there, maybe other readers will be of more help on this.

Excuse me for bringing up a different operating system, but I work on several and I think this may help.

On my Mac at home I have a setting under Energy Saver that tells the Mac to restart automatically after a power failure. There may be a similar setting in Windows (I'm not at my Win machine right now, so I can't say). Try under Power Options.