Advisable to Let Laptop Run 24/7?
 

I'm running Mandrake 9.2 with WindowMaker on a Dell Inspiron 5000e. What I'm wondering is the following: is it advisable to leave the computer running constantly (only shutting the monitor off with "apmsleep -S hh:mm" each night) or would it prolong the life of the computer if I were to shut it off when I'm not using it? I've heard that it's better for the hard-drive to remain on, but then there is an issue with the high temperature at which laptops run....however, I've noticed that Mandrake usually only consumes about 1.3% of the 600mHz processor, so perhaps I should not be concerned about the operating temperature?

Thanks!

Ian

Every electronic device will only have a ceartain amount of time to live in. But if you treat it properbly you will have bought a new one before it dies.

One thing you should do if it always runs on AC is to deattach the battery (let there be appr. 50% charge on it) since it will shorten the life on the battery heavily.

If it´s just because you don´t want to wait for the system to boot and shutdown you could just put it in standby mode. Then there is only power to the motherboard and ram.