Does keeping my computer open for a long time reduces its life span?
Philippines
March 10, 2011 10:31pm CST
Hi everyone! I was just wondering whether keeping my computer (um... laptop, really) turned on for a long time reduces its life span? Recently, I have been using my laptop for about 15 hours a day. Will my laptop be more vulnerable to crashes, and shorter life span? I wanted to know. If so, what can I do to reduce that or to make that not happen?
Have a good day!
1 person likes this
6 responses
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
11 Mar 11
I have a desktop pc, laptop and netbook at home that I never turn off. I have them all networked together so that when I need to access something I am able to remotely log in.
The desktop is 4 years old, the laptop is 3 years old and my netbook is 6 months old. I will restart them for a refresh every so often but no problems on my end.
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
11 Mar 11
I do have cashgopher but only on my laptop, and it is not the reason why I leave them on, I have done so for years because of the type of work I do. I don't even have air conditioning at all.
It is 18 degrees Fahrenheit here in Illinois and my apartment is warm. Just giving you an insight that I have left them on for a very long time with no issues.
My best regards to you.
• Philippines
12 Mar 11
brr! That's chillingly cold! Now I see. Well, that explained it. I, however, was living in a tropical country so I need to install AC in our room. I hope my laptop would work for long too! I just bought it last year.
Gee, thanks for sharing.
• Philippines
11 Mar 11
That is good to know! You never turned them off? You might have money-generating softwares like CashGopher installed in your devices so you keep it running.
You might have a fully air-conditioned that you can keep your gadgets running 24/7. Unluckily, we haven't installed AC yet -- hopefully maybe on the next month.
Have a good day!
@mturacom (632)
• India
11 Mar 11
The answer is yes. All electronic appliances have a limited life span. I myself use my laptop for long hours. I usually download stuffs using torrents and I let my laptop running overnight. I can remember that I had my laptop continuously running for more than 3 days(72 hours). The reduction of life is due to damage caused by heat. If enough heat is not being dissipated then your laptop may get permanently damaged. Think of big companies having large servers. They all have fully air-conditioned rooms for their servers as heat dissipiation is of great importance for long life of their servers.
Though I don't have AC room but I make sure that there is enough air circulation around the laptop to keep it cool. If you feel the lower portion of laptop is getting too hot then it is best to shut it down for half an hour. It is also a good thing to use it in cooler environments with low humidity.
• Philippines
11 Mar 11
I, too, don't have a fully air-conditioned room. However, I installed a hardware called laptop cooler. It is a stand (maybe, if that's what you call that?) under the laptop which consists of 2 mini-fans like what a computer have inside it. So, I was wondering, is it only the heat that affect the life span of the computer/laptop? And, is my cooler enough? I need advices. Thanks.^^
Keep sharing.
@mturacom (632)
• India
14 Mar 11
It depends upon the amount of heat produced by your laptop and the power of the laptop cooler you are using. Also resource intensive tasks like playing games, video playback etc generates more heat.
You should make sure that your laptop doesn't get too hot.
• Philippines
11 Mar 11
So, how long have you been using your computer? No frequent crashes or anything? Do you always have proper cooling and etc? I need advices. Thanks.
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
11 Mar 11
I don't know if it will last longer or not. I leave mine on all the time until I go to sleep and even then I just put it in sleep mode. If I'm going to be away from it for more than a short time, I put it to sleep, but I almost never shut it down all the way. I'm sure a real computer geek might know the right answer to the question, but I wanted to share what I do anyway. Have a great day!!!
• Philippines
11 Mar 11
Yes, sometimes I do the same the way you do too. I really don't shut it off but, like you, put it too sleep. So, how long are you using your computer per day?
1 person likes this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
11 Mar 11
It really depends on how long I am awake. If I get up at 10am and turn it on and it is on until sometime 1 or 2 am that is a lot of hours, maybe 14-16 sometimes more, sometimes less.
@vathsala30 (3732)
• India
12 Mar 11
Hi friend Grace PhoenixPrincess
I too will keep it open always,even do not bother to sign out my mail inbox or chat box. in the nights too it will be kept open only with the sleeping mode.when we are going outstation we will shut down. otherwise it will be turn on only always
@sunny4691 (546)
• India
11 Mar 11
I dont think it reduces the life of your components unless proper cooling is given to them. Computers and laptops are made to be run whole day long, imagine computers and laptops in banks , offices and other purposes
• Philippines
11 Mar 11
Hi, sunny! Yes, I had thought about that. How about the programs you run, your gadget's memory, etc? -- Do they also affect the life span? I'm really curious. I need advices. Thanks.
