Never sleep or turn off display?

[Ken Isaacson]

Vista Ultimate SP1

Is there any detriment to my desktop computer if I set my power options to
never turn off the display and never put the computer to sleep?

Thanks.

Ken Isaacson
SILENT COUNSEL, a legal thriller
www.KenIsaacson.com

 

[Mike Brannigan]

Vista Ultimate SP1

Is there any detriment to my desktop computer if I set my power options to
never turn off the display and never put the computer to sleep?

Thanks.

Ken Isaacson
SILENT COUNSEL, a legal thriller
www.KenIsaacson.com

No as long as you have a screen saver to avoid screen burn or you turn off
the monitor.

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

There is no real detriment, but not restarting explorer can have a small
negative effect on your performance. The browser caches files that you have
viewed, consuming memory. If you fail to restart the browser after extensive
data handling, you might slow the system down, over time. The Vista 'client'
is designed to handle data quickly, with indexing. If you never restart your
machine, I would suggest you restart the Explorer.exe task in Task Manager
occasionally. A Desktop computer is just not a 24/7 system, like a server.
To restart Explorer, rightclick the taskbar, and Task Manager, end the
explorer process, and use the 'new task' button to type in 'explorer.exe'.
An average user should probably do that once a month, at some point when not
much is in use in their system.
On the other hand, if you only open a few folders, over and over, even that
would not be needed. On my system, the regular updates I allow will restart
my system enough to make it a moot point.

--
Use the "Ratings" feature. It helps the new users.
Please use the Communities guidelines when posting.
http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales/help/help_en-us.htm
Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Mark.Ferguson

 

[Opinicus]

No as long as you have a screen saver to avoid screen burn or you turn off
the monitor.

Does that even apply any more with LCD monitors?

 

[Michael Walraven]

The backlight tubes in most LCD monitors will dim as they age. If you leave
it on for several years you would notice the difference between it and a new
one. But by then you will probably want a new 3-D display. (Advantage to
newer LED backlight units is longer life).

Fans have a lifetime, they will eventually fail. Hard disk drive motors
(motors in general) have a life expectancy rated in thousands hours of
operation.

Biggest objection is power consumption. If you leave it on it will cost you
$.

My setup: Vista Home Premium, CRT monitor. Power configuration is set to
turn off monitor after 15 minutes, put computer to sleep (hybrid) after 30
minutes. When coming out of sleep it takes only a few seconds (not sure as
the computer is awake and ready before the CRT monitor has warmed up).

The computer wakes up by itself to perform maintenance operations and to
record TV shows (I also have a TV tuner).

Free advice, worth every penny.

Michael