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General discussion

Poll: When I'm not using my computer:

Jan 21, 2011 7:57AM PST

When I'm not using my computer:

-- I leave it on. (Any particular reason why?)
-- I shut it down. (Any particular reason why?)
-- I put it on hibernate/standby mode. (Any particular reason why?)
-- I put it on sleep mode. (Any particular reason why?)

Discussion is locked

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-- I leave it on. (Any particular reason why?
Jan 24, 2011 7:53PM PST

Each drive in my PC gets backed up at night to an external hard drive on my home network

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I do a mix
Jan 30, 2011 4:16PM PST

I do leave it on when I am home. I have a play list of videos and music going all the time.

I do turn it off if I have to go some ware and would be gone for a long time.

If I know or plan to be gone for a short time (a hour at most). I would place it in sleep mode.

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Sleep mode is the best mode because . . .
Feb 7, 2011 12:49AM PST

It you shut it down, according to Microsoft tech support, the hard drive will wear out and fail much sooner. Do you hear all that clicking in there when you power up from a cold (off) state? That's your hard drive stylus going crazy jumping all over the platter loading all the start-up files, program files, etc. It's a lot of wear & tear on the hard drive. Extend the life of your PC by using Sleep/Stand-by mode. Use "Restart" once a week to reload all the files which helps prevent corruption. My Compaq PC I purchased in 1995 is still going strong, having used the Sleep/Standby mode only all these years. BTW, shutting down only saves an average of 38 cents per month in electricity.