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mbp owner

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 1, 2011
24
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How often should i turn off my Macbook Pro? Every night? I turn on my computer on every morning.
 
I understand that but at night before i go to sleep should i turn it off. and should i turn it off every night?
 
if what you are asking is should you turn it off or not? you do not have to ... just put it to sleep ... however turning it off each nite is also OK :cool:
 
From what I have heard, its better not to turn off your computer. Something about the hardrive having to spin up everything you do so, which causes wear.

Is it true? I dont know. But I only turn off if I have to (Leaving for a few days, reboot, installing updates, etc)
 
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From what I have heard, its better not to turn off your computer. Something about the hardrive having to spin up everything you do so, which causes wear.

Is it true? I dont no.
Total B.S. Don't believe it.
The OS spins the drive down anyway during idle times, unless you change Energy Saver prefs to disable that.
 
i normally give mine a good shutdown for the night if i do straining work like finale music software, handbrake or protools for a long time like half the day. i restart it when it starts to get slow. besides that just close the lid.
 
i normally give mine a good shutdown for the night if i do straining work like finale music software, handbrake or protools for a long time like half the day.
You realize computers aren't like people. They don't require a solid night's sleep after hard day. :D
 
So can I just close the lid but with the charger in? I've gotten in the habit of just closing the lid but I'm somewhat nervous of having it next to me on my bed with the charger plugged in....:confused:(Yes I sleep next to my MacBook and my phone...sometimes I feel the need to look something up in the middle of the night or ill get a burst of genius and need to type it up right then and there!).
 
Actually, there is some advantage to leaving the computer on at night. There are some lower level Unix nightly, weekly, and, monthly scripts that run to do some routine maintenance, like rotating old log files and things like that. it's not a big deal if the computer is off and they don't run. They aren't critical and they will run as needed when it's on again, but I prefer to just have it all execute when I'm not using it otherwise.

So can I just close the lid but with the charger in?...
Yes, it's perfectly normal to do so.
 
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So can I just close the lid but with the charger in? I've gotten in the habit of just closing the lid but I'm somewhat nervous of having it next to me on my bed with the charger plugged in....:confused:(Yes I sleep next to my MacBook and my phone...sometimes I feel the need to look something up in the middle of the night or ill get a burst of genius and need to type it up right then and there!).

I wouldn't leave the charger in.

Fully charging and then running down the battery is the best way to keep the battery in shape. If you leave the charger constantly plugged in, the battery will wear out faster over the years.
 
From what I have heard, its better not to turn off your computer.
Absolutely not true.
i know. it just makes me feel better giving my cpu a rest even though its not really :)
Your CPU doesn't need rest. It's not a living thing. Also, the CPU is completely inactive when the computer is in sleep mode. Shutting down has no different effect on the CPU.
So can I just close the lid but with the charger in? I've gotten in the habit of just closing the lid but I'm somewhat nervous of having it next to me on my bed with the charger plugged in....:confused:
It's perfectly fine to let it sleep while plugged in. It will not overcharge. Once the battery is fully charged, it stops charging. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions: Apple Notebook Battery FAQ
Fully charging and then running down the battery is the best way to keep the battery in shape.
Not necessary. Read the Battery FAQ for facts.
If you leave the charger constantly plugged in, the battery will wear out faster over the years.
Only if you leave it plugged in 24/7 for long periods. Batteries need to be used regularly. Again, read the FAQ for details.
 
Now that i have an ipad i dont use my laptop everyday. I s/d my MB everytime i use use as it may be 2-3 days between use. I wouldnt want it sleeping during that time.
 
I think the total time my computer has been shut off since I got it (when it wasn't sent out) was perhaps 48 hours in the past 1.5 years. Sleep and hibernate functions will not have any impact on the battery health in themselves, and there is little to no evidence showing changes in longevity (for better or worse) regarding sleep v. turning off. You may however want to restart once your free RAM drops and your inactive RAM spikes.
 
Same here, I`ve gone weeks between full shutdowns with no problems at all.
Windows on the other hand...

It is interesting that you bring this up. I've used laptops for years and I initially had Windows 95, then 98/SE, then 00, and then XP. 95 and 98 had so many issues when it came to both going into and coming out of sleep and hibernation that I eventually stopped using the features. Windows 2000 was honestly only a little better. Once I went to XP however, this problem was largely solved and to this day, when given the choice for a Windows computer, I still flock to XP as it has always been capable and very reliable. Furthermore, the actual XP OS itself did not seem to 'clog' system memory as much over time.

At the same time of 95/98/00, the Mac OSs also had many sleep and hibernation issues as well.

At this point, the issues of sleep and hibernation have been resolved in a software sense. Snow Leopard is a great system for people like myself, who go in and out of sleep at least 10 (yes, ten) times a day. Windows 7 however, has also reached a point of reliability and sleep issues have largely become a thing of the past.

Today's laptops seem to only have major issues with sleep and hibernate features if there is an actual hardware problem or a issue with software, which is usually user error.
 
Mine is never turned off shutting the lid puts it in sleep mode which shuts down the HDD so its like being switched off but with a super boot up time ( i.e open the lid LOL )
 
It is interesting that you bring this up. I've used laptops for years and I initially had Windows 95, then 98/SE, then 00, and then XP. 95 and 98 had so many issues when it came to both going into and coming out of sleep and hibernation that I eventually stopped using the features. Windows 2000 was honestly only a little better. Once I went to XP however, this problem was largely solved and to this day, when given the choice for a Windows computer, I still flock to XP as it has always been capable and very reliable. Furthermore, the actual XP OS itself did not seem to 'clog' system memory as much over time.

At the same time of 95/98/00, the Mac OSs also had many sleep and hibernation issues as well.

At this point, the issues of sleep and hibernation have been resolved in a software sense. Snow Leopard is a great system for people like myself, who go in and out of sleep at least 10 (yes, ten) times a day. Windows 7 however, has also reached a point of reliability and sleep issues have largely become a thing of the past.

Today's laptops seem to only have major issues with sleep and hibernate features if there is an actual hardware problem or a issue with software, which is usually user error.

I take your point, Windows is certainly better than it ever was in this respect but I still found my last 2 Win laptops (Vista and 7) would start to get flakey and unreliable after a week or so at best.
I understand others have not had such issues but I still feel windows "needs" periodically restarting to keep it running at its best.
(I`m not anti-windows by the way, I run 2 windows machines (XP and 7)
 
I take your point, Windows is certainly better than it ever was in this respect but I still found my last 2 Win laptops (Vista and 7) would start to get flakey and unreliable after a week or so at best.
I understand others have not had such issues but I still feel windows "needs" periodically restarting to keep it running at its best.
(I`m not anti-windows by the way, I run 2 windows machines (XP and 7)

I agree with you on that too. I would imagine it has to do with the allocation of memory, but I am not 100%. Also, I do periodically do restarts (although it is always a restart and never a shut down), so I can't say if the same is for SL or not. I have not seen any issues with system uptimes around a week or more, but I may not be the best judge.
 
Just reboot when you need to. Stop worrying.

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