Disadvantages of leaving your laptop on?

first off, i know this isn't a Dell specific question..but i can't seem to post this in the dummy guides forum.

this is probably a really basic question but what are some things that could happen if i leave my laptop (D630, if you must know) on for days at a time? i'm using it with a targus chill hub so, i'm pretty sure my laptop is adequately cooled. i use an external monitor so the lid is closed at all times.

so, am i okay with leaving it on? would regular reboots (daily, perhaps?) solve some issues?

thanks, and can anyone tell me why i can't post this in the dummy forum?

 

people have been leaving their computers on 24/7 for years now. i wouldn't worry about it if you plan on rebooting at least once a week.

 

I suggest raising the back of the laptop from the surface to ease air flow. That's what I do for my M1730.

 

Question is, what's an advantage? I don't really see a point in doing this, unless maybe your dl'ing large files or something, but I don't see why you'd do this everynight. It's not like anyone will MSN you at 4 A.M.

 

o yea i forgot to mention im downloading a bunch of torrents. if i wasn't doing that then i'd have no reason to leave it on for so long

 

Using laptop for torrents? Oh well...I wouldn't take the risk of damaging the laptop harddisk even I am using SSD...

 

torrents can damage the laptop harddisk?? how?

 

Disadvantage: Your electricity bill may be higher.

 

I leave mine on all the time. Only reboot or shut it down when im on the move or when I have to update or whatever.

 

I don't think they can in and of themselves. I think what the OP meant was that there is a high chance of receiving something undesirable in a lot of torrents (i.e. Virus).

 

A friend of mine left his laptop n 24/7. After about a week or so the Flux Capacitor burnt out.....

 

Did he end up in 1955?

 

According my knowledge, which is very little, is that bit torrent generates a lot of small fragments and keeps the HDD from reading and writing. My previous 40GB HDD was dead just because of bit torrent...

 

Ok, that little interchange just made my day

 

Did you try to defrag it? That would have solved the problem if it was a fragmentation issue...

 

Mine too lol

 

As long as it doesn't get too hot, leaving it on should be no problem. Excessive heat however can lead to things like burned out graphics chips. Not a good idea to leave it on inside a case or bag, although I did that all the time with another laptop, one provided for me but not purchased by me, I'd never do that with my 1530.

 

It's not fragmentation stuff...the HDD started having loud "click" sound then finally it died out...Anyway, after that I told myself that never use laptop to bt.

 

didn't think about that..so would i wear out my HDD faster if i left the laptop on? (edit: guess my question got answered)

now that you mention it, how much power does a normal laptop use (sans peripherals)

 

I usually put my computers on "sleep" mode at night. I shut them completly down probably around 2 times per week.

 

Torrents won't harm your hard drive anymore then normal use would. The difference is that if you're downloading non-stop you're effectively running your laptop 24/7, so sure, it will have above average "wear".

As far as leaving your laptop on, I'd recommend turning it off everynight if you aren't using it. You can optomize your boot time to ~30secs, so booting up will be less of a burden. Also, sleep mode can recover your pc in a shorter amount of time.

I try to shut mine down as much as possible. Not so much for the saved electricity (all inclusive apartment, don't pay electricity), but rather for the dust you're develop from a 24/7 usage. Someone running their laptop 24/7 instead of only when needed (say 2-8 hours per day) will accumulate dust 3-16 times faster depending on your computer habits.

Removing dust from a laptop is a much bigger pain in the arse then clearning out a computer tower is (I left my desktop on 24/7 and would have to clean it out every 2months because so much dust accumulated). High dust accumulation will lead to increase heat on all your components, followed by exceissive damage, which will eventually lead to failure. Not to mention the fact that you're wearing your parts out by having them on. All electronic components, just like mechanical components have a finite life cycle (albeit a much higher one then mechanical parts).

 

Point well stated Kermit.
I was wondering when somebody with the knowledge would step up. It's all about the moving parts.

 

I tend to switch my system off if Im leaving it for more then an hour or so.
If Im leaving it for more then 10 mins or so I close the lid to put it into standby.....

Im buying a cooler soon. Does that mean that the cooler will be the one getting dusty, and the laptop less dust? Since the air going into the laptop should come straight from the cooler.......

 

That's not because of bittorrent, its because it was a rubbish hard disk.

In reply to the thread;

the only thing I would worry about is a build-up of dust in the fan(s) making it noisier. I like my laptop to be quiet.

Other than that, I don't think you'd have any problems leaving it on 24/7. Just make sure the screen goes off when you're not using it to protect our global warming.


Edit: just realised I largely repeated Kermit, above. Good post kermit.

 

Torrent will not damage your HDD because there is something called cache
any Torrent Client can use RAM to cache data to reduce stress on HDD.
My last laptop, the Inspiron 700m was on 24/7 everyday (for over a year) and still working like charm atm... (i sold it to one of my friend)

 

I just shut my down every night.

Good practice IMO. Also, over extended use, your HDD begins to decrease in performance. Letting it spin and cool down for a few hours really helps IMO.

 

My inspiron 1520 has been running 24/7 since I got it in November ... with the exception of moving around with it.

 

for 24/7 operation like for torrents, I would recommend buying the cheapest laptop. (you can get one for $300-$400)

this is what I do, for video I use 1530, for HTPC purposes 5920G and for download torrents old toshiba laptop

 

Wow, I can't believe nobody has mentioned about power surges. Leaving your laptop on all the time can potentially lead to increased chance of exposure to sudden power surges which could damage either your power brick/charger or your notebook motherboard. Use a quality surge protector and not a cheap dollar store power bar, and get it replaced after a few years. The price you pay for these items is far lower than the repair bill or your downtime having to warranty the item.

 

hm... no one one mentioned because it's somewhat a common sense, doesn't matter if you leave your notebook on 24x7 or not, you should always use power surge protector.

 

I usually dont leave my laptop on often, since I have my laptops for mobile use, but my desktops are always on at home. Sometimes I use my laptop at home and it usually stays on. I see no problem.

 

Look at the poll here to see what the majority of the forum members do! Please go ahead and vote and let others know what you do!

 

Just a couple thoughts as I came across this thread..

1) If you leave the lid closed, it seems more heat gets trapped, especially when running processor intensive tasks, will the amount of heat make a difference to the life/wellbeing of the laptop?

2) If you leave it on and plugged in all the time, would taking the battery out be better for it? Will the battery life be lengthened if it is removed during long periods of AC power?

 

maybe and no!

 

One thing to keep in mind is that the components in a laptop are just specialized versions of their desktop counterparts. They have no cognizance of whether they're in a laptop or a desktop. I think the difference to us is primarily psychological. Either way, its a motherboard, monitor, drive, and keyboard.

The biggest operating difference between a desktop and a laptop are, more than anything, electrical; battery versus non-battery. If you are keeping it running constantly, it goes without saying it is left attached to AC power, so the battery element is substantially eliminated. So you've got a PC running all the time.

That brings the issues down to essentially the same ones that affect desktops, and that boils down primarily to heat. Most new laptops are built with the idea of heat dissipiation at its very heart, so it would seem to me that running it continuously would be no more deleterious than running a desktop continuously. Given that a laptop is probably more likely to be sitting on a desk or a table rather than tucked under an enclosed space with less airflow, I might even be willing to contemplate that running a lappy continuously might be less adverse than running a desktop or tower continuously; that said, I have multiple desktops that run continuously, as I personally believe that greatly enhances the longevity of the components - particularly the hard drive - as they are not subjected to repeated power up/down cycles. But I have no data to back that up; I readily offer it only as opinion.

I wouldn't let it run continually if it is stuck in a bag or case, of course, but in general, sitting on a desk or table, I don't think running continuously would harm it a bit.

All standard disclaimers apply.

-SD

 

There is one advantage to leaving it on all the time. It makes for an incredible boot time.

 

lol that is so true! I turn both my desktop and laptop off
at night. It's recommended to do it. So I do.
J

 

Right, but you'll be surprised how many actually use one.

 

I still use a D600 that I left running 24/7 for the first two years of it's life. Only disadvantage I noticed was that that the fan assembly got dirtier faster, and really needed to be cleaned in about 3 years. If you're one to open you laptop (I have a D630 and it's easy to open anyway), then dust accumulation shouldn't be a problem if you clean it out ever couple years.

From what I can tell, computers are no longer the fragile equipment they used to be. Even if they were, that's a Latitude warranty you're talking about.

Regards,
Paolo

 

these responses are great. keep 'em coming!

not sure if this was already addressed..would a fan notebook cooler increase or decrease the amount of dust in the notebook itself? i know that, at least for mine, the fans draw out air from the bottom and out the back.

 

Yeah this thread has been a massive help to me as I'm a notebook noob XD

 

Actually leaving your laptop on 24/7 may actually make it last longer than shutting it off. Thermal expansion is one of the main causes of electronics failures. By leaving it on all the time it never goes through the cool down and reheating phases thus quite possibly making the components last longer. Only down side is electrical bill and the fan assembly.

A disadvantage could be though that you are leaving the door open longer for potential threats such as hackers etc. Also, trojans that feed off of your computer being a bot will get extra time to rain havoc.

Personally, I turn on my lappy when i wake in the morning and it stays on all day. I put it to sleep if i need to bring it with me, and i shut it off at night. I'm more worried about the electrical bill than parts lasting. (One of the reasons i got a laptop to replace my desktop when they had the same performance but my desktop uses at least 6x as much electricity.) If you don't pay the bills i guess it doesn't matter.