Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > Do you shut down your Macbook Pro when you are not using it?

Do you shut down your Macbook Pro when you are not using it?
Thread Tools
DavidCart
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: May 2010
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2010, 03:56 AM
 
Or is it better to leave it on for weeks?
     
AKcrab
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Wasilla, Alaska
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2010, 04:30 AM
 
I don't shut it down unless it's going to be asleep for an extended period of time- like 24+ hours.
     
P
Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2010, 04:36 AM
 
Generally I leave laptops, and for that matter desktops, in sleep mode all the time. Sleep them as soon as I can, and then leave them like that unless I'm going to be away for more than a week. Sleep mode is highly efficient these days, and booting a computer uses a lot of power for a short time, so it's just as efficient to do it that way.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
OreoCookie
Moderator
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Hilbert space
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2010, 04:59 AM
 
I typically don't shut down my notebook unless I have to. It's not harmful and you're back at work within seconds.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
     
B Gallagher
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New Zealand
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2010, 05:52 AM
 
My screensaver's password locked after 5 seconds. I think even when I go away for a week or more I just put the computer to sleep. Why would I waste time for it to boot up when I don't have to?
MBP 15" C2D 2.2GHz 4.0GB 500GB@5400
iPhone 4 32GB Black
     
ghporter
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: San Antonio TX USA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2010, 07:04 AM
 
If I'm not going to use it in the immediate future, say in the next couple of hours, I shut mine down. But it's not my only Mac-I use my iMac more. Still, start up time on any MBP isn't that long, so it's not like you'll be waiting for a long time to use it if you have shut it down.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
imitchellg5
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Colorado
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2010, 09:37 AM
 
Apple's official line is to just use sleep unless you're planning on not using it for 2 weeks or more. IMO, it doesn't really matter.
     
Oisín
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Copenhagen
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2010, 10:12 AM
 
Originally Posted by OreoCookie View Post
I typically don't shut down my notebook unless I have to. It's not harmful and you're back at work within seconds.
Same here. My portable Macs have gone several weeks asleep several times, probably even over a month on a few occasions. Never done any harm.
     
amazing
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2010, 10:53 AM
 
Even with 4 GB of RAM, the page-outs occasionally start creeping up--that's about the only reason I'll do a restart. Or if something is getting wonky, beachballing or stuff like that. Just go get a coffee and the restart's up and running.
     
SierraDragon
Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Truckee, CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2010, 01:33 PM
 
I don't shut down MBP or MP unless I will be gone for more than a day or two. However I will restart the MBP if I want to be sure my limited 3 GB RAM is fully available to an app like Aperture.
     
Cold Warrior
Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Polwaristan
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2010, 01:37 PM
 
If I'm in transit and won't be using the machine, I'll shut it down to flush the filevault keys from RAM. Otherwise I never shut it down unless I don't plan on using it for a day or more.
     
-Q-
Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Atlanta, GA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 1, 2010, 01:56 PM
 
It's incredibly rare for me to shut down my MBP. A reboot only occurs if I get a system update that requires it. Otherwise, it just says sleeping.
     
Mike Pither
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 12, 2010, 07:38 AM
 
I have an iMac that I leave on all the time but the battery life seems to suffer on my MacBook Pro if it is not switched off and restarted regularly. From a fresh boot the battery lasts around 4 hours but if I leave it to sleep for a couple of days the fully charged battery lasts only 2 or 2.5 hours. I have never worked out why, my old power has never suffered from this problem. Probably something not quite right somewhere that a reinstall might cure, I have tried everything else.
iMac DVSE 400 640mb + AL PB 15" with 1 gig + iMac 2,8 with 4gb + MacBook Pro 2,53 with 4gb
     
aehaas
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Osprey, Florida
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 14, 2010, 09:10 PM
 
I use sleep except maybe once a year when off for a long vacation. I only restart after an update that requires one. This is for a desktop and a MBPro.

aehaas
MBP 3.06 8G RAM 500G HD, 8 core 3.0 8G RAM 8800GT all OEM Apple. Where to buy Polarion HID Searchlights
Home Inspection, whole house approach, Sarasota Home Inspections, we are your investigators.
     
SSharon
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Teaneck, NJ
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 16, 2010, 10:55 AM
 
Take a guess what I do with my laptops...

AT&T iPhone 5S and 6; 13" MBP; MDD G4.
     
The Final Dakar
Games Meister
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Eternity
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 16, 2010, 10:56 AM
 
Avoid running software update?
     
SSharon
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Teaneck, NJ
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 16, 2010, 11:16 AM
 
Originally Posted by The Final Dakar View Post
Avoid running software update?
The computer was always useful so I never bothered. It was running 10.4.7, but never slowed down enough where it needed to be restarted so I only ran software updates that didn't require a restart. I used the machine daily for 5 years until I got my MBP last summer.
AT&T iPhone 5S and 6; 13" MBP; MDD G4.
     
Tuoder
Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Here
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Jun 16, 2010, 11:23 AM
 
I have left my MacBook on or asleep basically constantly for 5 years, with no ill effects that I am aware of. There might be a bit more battery wear, I suppose, but whether or not you'd come out ahead depends on how much power it takes to boot compared to how much power would have been used while asleep.

At the University I work at I've had to order a couple of new batteries because a professor leaves their MBP asleep for a month over winter break, draining the battery completely, and then it will no longer take a charge. If you drain a Lithium Ion battery completely, and then leave it sit that way for a while, it will self discharge to a point where it will no longer recharge.

So the 2 week rule is a good rule of thumb.
     
   
Thread Tools
 
Forum Links
Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Top
Privacy Policy
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:58 PM.
All contents of these forums © 1995-2017 MacNN. All rights reserved.
Branding + Design: www.gesamtbild.com
vBulletin v.3.8.8 © 2000-2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.,