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my new ibook is here!! but... shoud I put it to sleep, or shut it down, when I'
- Thread starter chungbob
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Congrats on your new iBook!
I shut down my Powerbook when not in use. Some people say you never need to shut down, just sleep it, but I've never really heard a good reason to do so. I would think shutting it down would add some benefits like resetting your ram etc.
I shut down my Powerbook when not in use. Some people say you never need to shut down, just sleep it, but I've never really heard a good reason to do so. I would think shutting it down would add some benefits like resetting your ram etc.
Well I have heard (don't know if it is true) that when you shut down and boot up a machine the CPU will expand and contract and it the core may crack! Well I don't know if this is true.......I have never heard of it cracking....
Do you realise how many new mac owners will now not shutdown their precious new babies because of what you just said?
Generally their will be slight expansion and contraction of the CPU due to it warming up and cooling down when in use and not in use. But not to the point of causing the CPU to crack...
trainguy77 said:
I've always heard the most wear and tear on an electronic device is when you start it up because that is when things heat up, move, etc. but that it really shouldn't be a problem unless you spend day after day starting up and shutting down your computer all day.
For a desktop, I rarely shut mine down except when I leave the house for school since that is what is convenient for me. I like waking up and slapping at the mouse to get the computer to start up instead of having to reach behind the iMac and push the button (oh keyboard power key, how I miss thee) but I shut it down for school, which is two days a week, so that the system gets a nice reset for the week.
I don't have a laptop, but if I did get one, I'd probably sleep it if I knew I was going to use is soon after, (e.g. transporting it between classes) or if it was hooked up to an external power supply and I'd shut it down if I was going to leave it unattended for a long while. You can check your User's Guide and it will tell you when Apple recommends sleeping and shutting down. Also, I'd assume that it uses quite a bit of energy to start up a computer so you might take that into account if you'll be using it soon and if you're running on the battery.
But really, it is all your call. Mac OS X is robust enough to run nonstop for long periods of time without having too many problems, but it is still a personal computer doing a variety of tasks and running lots of different programs, so restarting it every so often (i.e. every night or every few days) is probably easier than waiting for Mac OS X to sort out any problems errant apps may have caused on its own.
This has been posted in many threads before - do a search.
Basically just put it to sleep. U should shut it down if u are not going to use it for say a week or so. But if u use it everyday just put it to sleep. For one thing its quicker! You don't have to close all your programs - just leave them open.
From what I have read in the forums here it is better to sleep your machine rather than continually shutting it down each day. The most wear and tear on your hardware occurs when you boot up. So if u are doing this all the time it is doing your machine some damage. So thats why u sleep it.
That being said you shouldn't leave ur machine in sleep mode for 3 weeks when u go on holiday because i think it would make it unstable. Like on windows, if u sleep it it completely f***s up! But not so on macs.
I never shut my PB down. There is no need to. And I always have multiple programs open - multiple word docs, Safari, iTunes, multiple PDF docs in Preview, iCal etc... Thats the great thing about macs. If I was on a PC I would have to save and close all these programs down and then shut my machine down at the end of the day. On my PB I just close the lid and tomorrow morning when I go to work again I just pop the lid and all myu work is still there.
You will see people complain in threads here when I new system update comes available because they will have to restart their machines and it ruins their up-time count. People like to see how long they can keep their machines running without having to reboot.
Sleep stops your HDs from spinning etc... but also puts your machine in a state of cat-like-readiness - ready to go back to work at the touch of a button or movement of a mouse as the case may be.
Any tech heads out there please correct me if I am wrong.
Basically just put it to sleep. U should shut it down if u are not going to use it for say a week or so. But if u use it everyday just put it to sleep. For one thing its quicker! You don't have to close all your programs - just leave them open.
From what I have read in the forums here it is better to sleep your machine rather than continually shutting it down each day. The most wear and tear on your hardware occurs when you boot up. So if u are doing this all the time it is doing your machine some damage. So thats why u sleep it.
That being said you shouldn't leave ur machine in sleep mode for 3 weeks when u go on holiday because i think it would make it unstable. Like on windows, if u sleep it it completely f***s up! But not so on macs.
I never shut my PB down. There is no need to. And I always have multiple programs open - multiple word docs, Safari, iTunes, multiple PDF docs in Preview, iCal etc... Thats the great thing about macs. If I was on a PC I would have to save and close all these programs down and then shut my machine down at the end of the day. On my PB I just close the lid and tomorrow morning when I go to work again I just pop the lid and all myu work is still there.
You will see people complain in threads here when I new system update comes available because they will have to restart their machines and it ruins their up-time count. People like to see how long they can keep their machines running without having to reboot.
Sleep stops your HDs from spinning etc... but also puts your machine in a state of cat-like-readiness - ready to go back to work at the touch of a button or movement of a mouse as the case may be.
Any tech heads out there please correct me if I am wrong.
Maedus said:
I transport my PB to uni everyday and just put it to sleep and have had no problems. From what I understand u don't need to shut them down to transport them. I always chuckle when Im on the train using my PB and I hear the Windows chime of someone booting up there PC laptop - suckers! Im typing away while they wait 5 mins for XP to load.
GASP...think I'll start sleeping the thing now
I'm curious as to what is still running during sleep besides the RAM. Anyone know? I always thought it was nice to give any computer a good rest after a few hrs of use.
I'm curious as to what is still running during sleep besides the RAM. Anyone know? I always thought it was nice to give any computer a good rest after a few hrs of use.
Peter Griffin said:GASP...think I'll start sleeping the thing now
I'm curious as to what is still running during sleep besides the RAM. Anyone know? I always thought it was nice to give any computer a good rest after a few hrs of use.
Well all the major computers parts have some electricity still going through them so the parts stay warm. Like the CPU, HD, Ram, etc. The CPU goes into a super power saving state. It is off really, but as i said power still runs through it to reduce the shock of expanding and contracting. The HD I believe barely spins. I mean barely to reduce the stress on the barring's in the HD's. I keep mine on all day then put it to sleep at night. Occasionally I will let the computer stay up and run its maintenance programs.
Sleep or shut down: it's your choice, and either way is perfectly fine for the computer. There will always be little reasons not to do one or the other, but in the end neither will really harm your computer. My dad would always shut our family Macs down and sleep the ones at his office, and the only thing he noticed was that there was no difference. I have Quadras (I <3 my 660AV!)that were on or asleep more than 99% of the time between 1993 and 1999 or so, and they work beautifully to this day.
I only shut down my Powermac when I'm going to be gone for a few days. During the day, I keep it on in case I need to access files remotley, and when I go to sleep, it goes to sleep. As for my PowerBook, I never shut it down. When I'm not using it, I close the lid and let it sleep.
Shutting down is an inconvienence IMO. I remember when I got my very first computer, I would shut it down whenever I wasn't using it. If I left the room for 30 minutes to watch TV or something, I'd shut it down. What a pain that was.
Shutting down is an inconvienence IMO. I remember when I got my very first computer, I would shut it down whenever I wasn't using it. If I left the room for 30 minutes to watch TV or something, I'd shut it down. What a pain that was.
it really doesnt matter-my rule of thumb-if im gonna use it later, put it to sleep, if im not gonna use it for more than a day, shut it down.
inlimbo said:This has been posted in many threads before - do a search.
Basically just put it to sleep. U should shut it down if u are not going to use it for say a week or so. But if u use it everyday just put it to sleep. For one thing its quicker! You don't have to close all your programs - just leave them open.
From what I have read in the forums here it is better to sleep your machine rather than continually shutting it down each day. The most wear and tear on your hardware occurs when you boot up. So if u are doing this all the time it is doing your machine some damage. So thats why u sleep it.
That being said you shouldn't leave ur machine in sleep mode for 3 weeks when u go on holiday because i think it would make it unstable. Like on windows, if u sleep it it completely f***s up! But not so on macs.
I never shut my PB down. There is no need to. And I always have multiple programs open - multiple word docs, Safari, iTunes, multiple PDF docs in Preview, iCal etc... Thats the great thing about macs. If I was on a PC I would have to save and close all these programs down and then shut my machine down at the end of the day. On my PB I just close the lid and tomorrow morning when I go to work again I just pop the lid and all myu work is still there.
You will see people complain in threads here when I new system update comes available because they will have to restart their machines and it ruins their up-time count. People like to see how long they can keep their machines running without having to reboot.
Sleep stops your HDs from spinning etc... but also puts your machine in a state of cat-like-readiness - ready to go back to work at the touch of a button or movement of a mouse as the case may be.
Any tech heads out there please correct me if I am wrong.
Newbie doesnt know how to search yet, in all probability. took me a while to figure out.
I'd sleep it if it were on battery, either by closing the lid or sleeping with the lid open (doesn't matter much). If on AC, I'd normally leave it on and have it set to power off the display after like 30 minutes while on AC power (screensaver comes on after 3, w/password of course).
It's nice to read this and get confirmation of what I've always done:
I pretty much always put my computer to sleep. I only restart it when I need to--and I try to limit that as much as possible (update software all at once). If I'm going on vacation or will be away from my mac for more than a day or two, I shut it down.
I don't do this for uptime, just convenience. I just got my first laptop and am already abiding by the same rules.
Of course, nobody should be scared of shutting down their computer. If it was as bad as a CPU cracking, they wouldn't make "shut down" a big, fat, easily accessible option in the apple menu.
I pretty much always put my computer to sleep. I only restart it when I need to--and I try to limit that as much as possible (update software all at once). If I'm going on vacation or will be away from my mac for more than a day or two, I shut it down.
I don't do this for uptime, just convenience. I just got my first laptop and am already abiding by the same rules.
Of course, nobody should be scared of shutting down their computer. If it was as bad as a CPU cracking, they wouldn't make "shut down" a big, fat, easily accessible option in the apple menu.
quagmire said:
The RAM is the only part that is still 'active' in a sleeping Mac. The HD does not spin. It is completely spun down. Your hard drive does this a lot, so no big deal in terms of wear/tear. The CPU is waiting for a signal, but otherwise, it is off too. Letting electricity run through the parts will not keep them 'warm', I sleep my PowerBook sometimes at temperatures of ~70 C and when it wakes up, it is at ~18 C. It is 'warmer' after a shut down, 8 hour wait, and then a start up.
Here's what I would do. Shut down your computer whenever you feel like it for a week. Then the next week, just close the lid and use Sleep. The week after, you whatever you prefer.
Hint: It will be sleep.
Definitely sleep it. I always have about 10 apps open on my pbook, as well as a million documents, and being able to just pop open my computer when I get back from school and continue where I dropped off is just too convenient not to do.
If you're going away for an extended period of time, then shut it down, but otherwise, it's better to stick with sleep.
-d
P.S. This is not because of "better for your computer reasons", it is more for "ease of use" reasons.
If you're going away for an extended period of time, then shut it down, but otherwise, it's better to stick with sleep.
-d
P.S. This is not because of "better for your computer reasons", it is more for "ease of use" reasons.