Should a Computer be Shut Down at Night?

I'm sometimes asked if a computer should be shut down at night while one sleeps. Although it can be easy and convenient just to leave it on, there are some good reasons why you should either shut it down--or at least hibernate it--when not in use.

1. FANS. Since fans are mechanical, they're usually one of the first things to die. If you leave your computer on when not in use, the fans keep spinning, putting hundreds of thousands of pointless revolutions per minute (RPM) on the little guys, ultimately reducing their life.

When a fan dies, your computer will not be kept cool, and its temperate will rise until it hits the "auto-shutdown" threshold set to protect the more expensive parts. Your computer will then shut down "hard," many cleanup tasks will be omitted, and it will turn off quickly.

Not recognizing the signs, a user will often try a bunch of times to reboot their machine--particularly if they really need their machine. Some computers may actually be set to immediately reboot on a "hard" shutdown, leading to a loop of reboots/hard shutdowns. Either way, the user ends up with many "hard" shutdowns in a row, which sooner or later cause operating system trouble--think blue screen of death.

Now, you're stuck with two problems: a fan replacement, and an operating system problem. All from a $10 fan that failed.

2. POWER SURGE. Sooner or later a thunderstorm is going to blow in at 3:00am. If your computer is on, it is at risk for damage from a near strike of lightning.

3. WASTE OF ELECTRICITY. At a minimum, leaving your computer on all night wastes electricity and money.

4. HACKERS. This is less of a concern than the above, particularly if you've got some decent security software installed, but why tempt fate? Idle computers make great targets for hackers. Spiders crawl the Internet looking for machines that are left on, and your machine and data could be hacked while you're sleeping.

5. FIRE. Again, generally less of a concern, but given its risk to health and safety, deserves mention. Yes, computers do occasionally go "up in smoke." Leave your computer on at night, and there is a chance that it could start a fire.

In sum, I recommend shutting down your computer at night. In addition, I also recommend setting up the "auto-hibernate" option for two hours of idleness. Happy computing! ~kjm~