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Sleep or Shutdown

oldschool

oldschool

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Now that i've got a newer mac, that doesn't have problems waking up from sleep, I want to know if I should be sleeping my powerbook or shutting it down every night.

I saw the other thread about the length of uptime, and most of you are keeping your computers on for days on end.

Is this fine?
 
You should have no problems leaving your mac up for days and weeks at a time. The system almost completely shuts down. The computer can stay in sleep mode with out being plugged in for a rather long time.
 
lots of debate on this, a search will yield me arguing with many ppl who do not sleep their computers...its all good fun
 
Originally posted by Kwyjibo
lots of debate on this, a search will yield me arguing with many ppl who do not sleep their computers...its all good fun
Click to expand...

I'll shut it down every five days. Good compromise.

I haven't had to restart my computer in a long time on purpose.

One question though, wheres the force restart button? that forces my laptop to restart? will i have to? i used to use my imacs once a day.
 
If you hold down the power button, that should force restart.

Otherwise, (I'm sure someone will point out the senseless risk this places on your machine) you can unplug it and remove the battery.
 
Never force your computer to restart until you've exhausted all other options. (Had to tell my little sister that over and over again due to her impatience) Try force quitting a frozen app first, that solves the problem maybe 90% of the time.

As far as shutting down and sleeping, I'd say sleep, but it's not a bad idea to restart it every now and then. I know Jobs said at one point that he wanted people to be able to just put it to sleep so that it's ready to work for them instantly. Also, when asleep, it uses barely any energy, so don't worry about electricity costs.
 
I put my macs to sleep unless I know I won't be using them for a few days (like I'm on holiday or something) in which case I shutdown.
 
there is absolutely no reason to shut down at all, unless you're moving it or leaving for a long period... the system is designed to be left running for years at a time (thanks to software updates, it's usually more like a month or two), so why the hell shut down? Also, if you want to get technical, it's harder on the equipment to shut down, as the HD needs to read all of the system files when it shouldn't need to, creating wear on the disk.

shutting down an OS X machine is like people who leave the plastic on lampshades-- it pisses me off! 😡🙂

(by the way, leaving plastic on lampshades is a fire hazard)

pnw
 
paulwhannel is right , with the new os i dont shut mine down much anymore. one great point is that it fires right up in a few seconds from sleep which beats the heck out of booting it up from off. another thing is ill leave it on all night once in a while and let it rebuild itself.
 
Originally posted by Dont Hurt Me
paulwhannel is right , with the new os i dont shut mine down much anymore. one great point is that it fires right up in a few seconds from sleep which beats the heck out of booting it up from off. another thing is ill leave it on all night once in a while and let it rebuild itself.
Click to expand...

Let it rebuild itself?

I can move it while its sleeping right?
 
Mac OS X runs maintenance scripts in the wee hours of the morning, but not if sleeping or shut down. Sometimes it's wise to let your computer run its thing all night so it can clean itself (or "rebuild" itself). Or you could just get Maintain Your Mac.
Of course it is completely safe to move your Mac while it is sleeping. The real danger of moving it while it is awake is the chance that the needle that reads off of the hard drive will jam into the stacks and essentially destroy your hard drive. While asleep, the computer stops the drive from spinning and secures the needle (you can tell because of the cool *zip* sound it makes just after you sleep it).
I am curious, though, whether it is bad to leave my Powerbook on all night while plugged in. I'm on a university network sharing iTunes with lots of people, and I'd rather not stop my network services by sleeping it. Are there any disadvantages to this?
 
Originally posted by Marble
I am curious, though, whether it is bad to leave my Powerbook on all night while plugged in. I'm on a university network sharing iTunes with lots of people, and I'd rather not stop my network services by sleeping it. Are there any disadvantages to this?
Click to expand...

Not really, aside from the disk use that will obviously occur, you might also watch for heat (since laptops are generally less heat efficient when left on a non-heat-conductive surface)... but other than that, i don't see any reason not to.

as to the general thread, a couple of points: OS X does run daily, weekly, and monthly maintenance routines if the computer is awake at night. It certainly doesn't hurt to let it do this. Since most people don't want their computer powered up fully all night, my solution: turn "Spin Down HD when not in use" on in the Energy Saver control pane, and set the display to go to sleep after an hour or so. The computer won't technically be asleep, but it will be pretty close, especially if your computer doesn't have a fan in it. my machine does this automatically every night, so i don't have to worry about it at all. you can also do things like downloading/sharing all night if you use this method.

also, yes you can move your machine while asleep (or awake, really), as long as you are careful not to disconnect cables... USB for your keyboard and mouse aren't that important, but if you unplug a FW drive or internet connection while it's in use adverse reactions may occur. But, if your question is whether you can move it far-- like unplug it and carry it to another room-- you need to shut down, as sleep does depend on a tiny amount of AC power.

🙂
pnw
 
-OS X is BSD UNIX - an OS specifically designed for maximum uptime - e.g. never to be turned off on purpose with the exception of updates of course.

UNIX, by design, should not be turned off, whenever possible.
 
And what happens if i connect/disconnect an external montor to my powerbook while it's sleeping?
This is the only reason why i turn it off, but is it really important?
 
Originally posted by stylum
And what happens if i connect/disconnect an external montor to my powerbook while it's sleeping?
This is the only reason why i turn it off, but is it really important?
Click to expand...

-stylum

The worse that should happen - depending on you model, is you'll wake it up.

I perfer to do the monitor thing while awake so I can see what I'm doing. 😀
 
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