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michael180 · Sep 17, 2006, 02:37 PM

I know this is probably going to be seen as a dumb question, but here goes.

I have a Mac Pro, and am wondering what is the consensus about powering down my computer.

brokenjago · Sep 18, 2006, 12:53 PM

I believe it is to go to the Apple Menu->Shut Down...

Am I missing something here?

seanc · Sep 18, 2006, 01:40 PM

I think he's asking about whether he should leave it on or shut it down. Leave it on, but put it into sleep mode.

michael180 · Sep 18, 2006, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by brokenjago

I believe it is to go to the Apple Menu->Shut Down...

Am I missing something here?

What I meant to say is I'm wondering if it's all right to let the computer run all the time, within reason.

Thanks

mac128k-1984 · Sep 18, 2006, 01:46 PM

I put my computer to sleep as opposed to powering down.

I may start leaving it up though. I just installeda raid 0 array and I'll want to run nightly backups to my external drive. I may develop a script that backups the computer and then put it to sleep - but that's a topic for another thread.

vegumkoho · Sep 18, 2006, 04:01 PM

The manual says to shut it off if you aren't going to be using it for 1 day or more. I don't really have any personal advice though.

brokenjago · Sep 18, 2006, 05:36 PM

I don't see a problem with keeping it on 24/7. I do that with my PC and it's fine, so it better be fine with my soon-to-arrive Mac Pro

driven · Oct 7, 2006, 09:32 AM

Unless I'm going away on a long trip I leave mine on 24/7. There are some *nix cleanup scripts that run at night during downtime.

SpaceMonkey · Oct 8, 2006, 12:12 AM

Originally Posted by driven

Unless I'm going away on a long trip I leave mine on 24/7. There are some *nix cleanup scripts that run at night during downtime.

Are you running Tiger? If so, then don't worry about it.

Gossamer · Oct 11, 2006, 12:37 PM

It's good to restart every once in a while (few times a month maybe). We have a user on our network that never ever restarts...her computer gets so slow and bogged down that it's ridiculous, but a simple restart clears everything up.

brokenjago · Oct 11, 2006, 05:21 PM

On Mac OS X?

Gossamer · Oct 12, 2006, 09:11 AM

Originally Posted by brokenjago

On Mac OS X?

Yes. It's a 700MHz iMac G4 running 10.4. She also doesn't quit applications very often, which adds to the dragging.

driven · Oct 12, 2006, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey

Are you running Tiger? If so, then don't worry about it.

Why? Did Tiger change things in this regard?

Nivag · Oct 12, 2006, 09:46 AM

regardless of the pros and cons of Sleeping/leaving on a Mac 24/7, unless it's actually doing something there is no need to leave a computer on. it uses power which in turn costs money out of your pocket and costs the environment in resources.

NeverTriedApple · Oct 12, 2006, 11:40 AM

i too see no point of rebooting unless mac becomes obviously slow.. why to come to your work place and start up all apps with all your files again and again?? waste of time when you run the business. i don't even send it to sleep as it may not wake up properly one day.. it is a computer and must work for your convenience

brokenjago · Oct 13, 2006, 12:20 AM

Originally Posted by driven

Why? Did Tiger change things in this regard?

Yes. Now, if your computer if off when the job needs to be done, it's done on next boot.

driven · Oct 13, 2006, 08:20 AM

Originally Posted by brokenjago

Yes. Now, if your computer if off when the job needs to be done, it's done on next boot.

Cool. Good to know. Thanks ...

GSixZero · Oct 13, 2006, 01:16 PM

I once accidently left my computer asleep while I was gone on a three month around the world trip.

Oops.

seanc · Oct 13, 2006, 01:30 PM

Big Mac · Oct 13, 2006, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by Nivag

regardless of the pros and cons of Sleeping/leaving on a Mac 24/7, unless it's actually doing something there is no need to leave a computer on. it uses power which in turn costs money out of your pocket and costs the environment in resources.

Many people shut their computers down at the end of the day instead of using sleep mode. They do not realize that booting consumes a lot of electricity; it is far more wasteful to constantly boot than to use sleep mode.

alligator · Oct 13, 2006, 08:33 PM

You do realize that it will suck a LOT more power left on than in sleep mode. Sleep mode is like 2-3 watts.

UnixMac · Oct 15, 2006, 10:36 AM

But does sleep mode have any stability issues, i.e. can you wake from sleep for a weeks straight every morning and not suffer any system slowing? I've found that nightly shutdown keeps the system fast and snappy... but maybe it's a placebo.. after all, I've not tried to keep it on for longer than a day since I've gotten the Mac Pro.

So many conflicting views on this just in this thread..