by David Samuel

Created on: March 28, 2009

This topic of interest depends on the computer at hand. A laptop is a different subject matter than a desktop. For example, a laptop needs to be turned off for travel purposes because your hard drive can be damaged while you are moving the laptop around. I ruined two laptops on this fact alone. I was unaware that the hard drive when turned off can handle the shock and awe of being moved around, but when on even in sleep mode, can cause serious damage to the hard drive resulting in data loss. Newer designs have much better shock absorbers in them for this reason alone but it is still a work in process.

Another reason for powering down a laptop is that they are not ventilated the same way as a desktop. They can overheat much easier than a desktop and the heat alone can cause damage beyond repair to your expensive little device. If you are plugging your laptop into the wall it is a good idea to remove the battery from the computer and use the AC unit for the power source. Leaving the battery in can cause significant damage to the life of the battery causing it to loose its charge and ultimately killing the life of the battery all together. Either use the battery alone or the AC plug separately.

On the flip side of the coin the desktop can handle being left on for longer periods of time. You usually have better fans and ventilation in a desk top computer to keep the working parts cooled. Powering down constantly can be very hard on the computer and all of its working parts. If you have heard it saves on the power bill to power down your computer at nights you might want to know that there were tests done that showed otherwise. The tests showed that when your computer is running there is an even flow of electricity and when you are re-powering up the computer that there was a spike in the electricity. This power surge ultimately cost you more in the long run. Using the hibernation or stand-by mode is a great way to cut down on energy and not cause the computer to go through that strenuous power surge to restart everyday.

With all this said and done this does not mean you are to never shut down your desktop computer. It is a good idea to shutdown every few days or at least once a week. The fresh power up cleans up the ram and is good for the computer to receive all the necessary updates. The computer will also repair itself on the restart of little operating system problems. This will result in a faster, smoother, operating computer. If your computer is being a bit

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