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lAwrencex · Apr 16, 2003, 01:32 AM

i have a flat pannel imac 800 superdrive and i was just wondering how often i should shut it down. as of now i never shut it down for the night or anything, i prefer to keep it on and have my aol instant messenger running, but if this will do damage to the computer in the future i will make a point to shut it down more often.

vvedge · Apr 16, 2003, 03:45 AM

Main concerns are your LCD and your Hard drive.

Both which can be put to dim or spun down. Just make sure you make them both do so in the Energy Saver Preference panel.

The ethernet, AIM and stuff should all work find even with both the screen and the hard drive off.

If this is obvious to you... i think you should shut down if you're going on vacation or when you're gone for extended periods of time.

Mohammed Al-Sabah · Apr 16, 2003, 04:03 AM

just leave it on

well thats what i have doing for the last hmm 3 years :d no probs what so ever

good luck

murbot · Apr 16, 2003, 04:11 AM

Your LCD only has so many hours of life in it... turn that sucker off as much as possible.

I have mine to shut off after 10 minutes.

mbryda · Apr 16, 2003, 07:07 PM

Hard Drives love to be kept running. (In fact servers often loose drives when they are shut off and the drives get old...)

I'd not spin it down for something like 2-3 hours. This way the constant start/stop cycles won't be messing with it if you use your computer in spurts.

As for the LCD, that's the main concern, and I'd say about an hour's time would be a good compromise.

AssassyN · Apr 17, 2003, 07:43 AM

I would only shut down my machine if I was sure I was not going to be using for a period of time of 24 hours or more. If less than that, I'd simply put it to sleep.

Azzgunther · Apr 17, 2003, 09:43 AM

You should at least put it to sleep....what's the point of wasting all that energy just to leave it on and add wear and tear to your system?

dampeoples · Apr 17, 2003, 09:53 AM

Personally, I only shut my stuff down if i'm leaving for an extended period of time, other than that, I sleep my LCD screen, and let the rest of it run, unless I'm going to bed at night, then I sleep the machine

boardsurfer · Apr 17, 2003, 03:01 PM

My iMac 800 gets shut down about once a week. Other than that it gets used frequently. It sleeps all night and is ready to go every morning, whether I am or not

jszrules · Apr 17, 2003, 04:20 PM

does putting the computer to sleep still mess up internet connections and stuff? i figure i will ask this question before i try it out again.

murbot · Apr 21, 2003, 01:12 AM

I never have problems with my cable connection. Basically instant-on when it wakes up.

Well, 10.2.3 was another story... 10.2.4 and .5 have been perfect.

rafaelperini · Apr 21, 2003, 11:18 AM

Originally posted by jszrules:
does putting the computer to sleep still mess up internet connections and stuff? i figure i will ask this question before i try it out again.

Not the internet, but if you run a Airport network with it, once it sleeps, the network id dead.

I used to have my computer on all the time (sleep mode after 30 min)... I don't know if this is the problem, but I got home, tried to wake it, never came back.. restarted and my Video RAM is gone (posted here elsewhere)... Will have to send it back to be fixed. I have the line filter etc, but I am still wondering if this is a problem related to leaving the computer on all the time...

macmad · Apr 25, 2003, 02:33 AM

I think sleep has replaced powering off (thats why the power button is now round the back on the iMac!).
My choice is:
After 10 mins or so, let the LCD blank out.
When you go to bed, sleep
When you go on holiday, power-off.

WJMoore · Apr 25, 2003, 07:07 AM

Originally posted by macmad:
I think sleep has replaced powering off (thats why the power button is now round the back on the iMac!).
My choice is:
After 10 mins or so, let the LCD blank out.
When you go to bed, sleep
When you go on holiday, power-off.

That sounds excellent to me and is basically what I do. I'll share a quote with you all from the Switching to the Mac.pdf (page 11) file I found on my iMac today.

If you use your computer more than every few days, it's best to put it to sleep rather than shutting it down. That way, when you wake the computer, it is ready to go almost instantly.

The file is in /Documents/Learn More About Your Mac. Yes that's /Documents not ~/Documents.

Wesley