I shut down at night.
It's on all day except if I'm going to be gone for most of the day.

Mine is on from about 4 am until I go to bed...usually midnight. If we are leaveing for a few hours I will shut it down.

Mine is on all the time. I just got an info email from a computer hint place that said we should turn it off once in a while just to let it clean out stuff but not necessary to keep on and off.

I only shut mine down if I'm going to be out of town. I use a laptop at home and just shut the lid. If it storms I just unplug it.

At work I just turn off the monitor. It takes forever to shut down or reboot because I always have so many programs open.

Linda

If I leave for more than a day, I shut down. Otherwise it is on 24-7.

I do shut down and unplug when stormy weather approaches though.

I have my computer set to spin the drives down after 30 minutes of inactivity. The monitor also shuts down after 30 minutes of no activity. So it is not cranking away all day and night - just when I am using it.

I can go for a month easily without ever shutting it completely down.

Always on.

Depending on the use and your personal philosophy, shutting down is usually the wisest procedure for a lot of reasons. One is heat. Another is dust accumulation. Often I see people leave them on 24/7 and never clean them out (inside the case) and that's a very dangerous practice. Computers, especially desktop types are very effective air cleaners and thusly accumulate a lot of dust bunnies inside. Dust is an effective insulator and keeps heat inside the machine and close to the processor and other heat-generating components. Today's processors generate a lot of heat and the tightwad manufacturers seldom put adequate fans in them IMO. Eventually the machine will overheat and potentially be damaged by this misuse. Plus, why use the electricity if you're getting nothing out of it? There are power saving modes and the like that help and yes, turning off the monitor is a good idea and a good start. Also you should shut off any peripherals, like printers, scanners, etc that aren't needed.

Each person's situation of course is different but if you're not using it for a few hours, there's really no sense to leaving it on.

I usually work off and on from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM, so I only shut down (and unplug) when it storms or I'm going to be gone for a few days.

I also shut down and restart if I'm having "issues."

:-)

I have the computer on from 5am until after dinner. Then if I am going to watch TV for a few hours (fall asleep for who knows how long) I shut it down. I always shut it down for the night. If we are going to be gone I shut it down also.

Mine gets shut down every night and when there is a storm during the day. Otherwise it is on all day.

I turn mine on 1st thing when I get up in the morning, and shut it off last thing at night. If I'm going to be gone for a couple of hours or more, I shut it off. And I always shut down if it's storming.
Leslie

i used to leave it on all the time...until I read these hints in Readers Digest this month...

Here is a link that might be useful: Helpful Computer Hints

I shut down every night. It seems to work better for me if I do that, it's less glitchy. I put it in standby when I'm not using it.

When I leave the house or go to bed, I always shut my computer down.

Carol

My desktop stays on 24/7. I turn off my laptop when I'm through using it. I saw on tv the other day that turning your computer off when not in use can save up to $200 a year. I turned mine off after that for several nights, but then forgot about it.

I shut mine down nearly every night. I figure it saves electricity.

This is my favorite from the article.

10. If you want to see less of me, get a Mac. That's what we use. "Macs are actually a little bad for my business," says Schildkraut.

Linda (I love Mac!)

I turn mine off each night too (or when gone for the day) also shut down when storms are approaching...always unplug phone line & disconnect Dish phone line too. TV, phones, & computer were all ruined during a storm- telephone repairman said they had more trouble with Dish attracting lightening than any other reason.

Going over phone bill I noticed the 'inside repair' fee wasn't charged & called them right then. Found out DH had canceled it! I told 'em it was an error & please add it back...storm mentioned above happened the very next day! If I hadn't, they'd have charged $80.00 an hour! Yikes!!!

Suzi

I shut the computer down every night - as well as the coffee maker, the TV's, the stereo, and anything else that has an "instant on" feature.

All of these appliances suck power continually, whether they are in use or not.

Yes, I leave the computer on during the day, because I'm in and out all day. But the TV in the living room gets turned on and used maybe twice a week - so it's on a surge protector outlet with an off switch, and I turn it off until I need it. The same goes with other small appliances all through the house.

That settles it for me so I'll continue shuting off when I go to bed or leave the house.
Thanks for all your input.
Lois

When i was working (for the federal govt) we were told to leave our computers on all night. It just seemed wasteful. I disobeyed and put mine in standby mode.

I always shut mine off at night and when I leave the house. Living on an island we never know when there might be a power surge, brown out and occasionally lightening.

Just had to replace my hard drive.They told me turn it off every night cause if it is on the hard drive is spinning when you are not using it. Soooo, I shut down every night now.