oh my post wasn't anything against what you said but rather i was just stating that that what i said is a "hardcoded" fact about computers...as of all these situations your stating, all i have to say to that is two things
a) end-users fault if the computer is dirty and fans are dieing.
b) can of compressed air...
i am not saying never ever ever ever turn that computer off or you'll never be able to turn it on again....of course you have to turn it off and clean it...this is common sense, almost like you should get an oil change every 5000 kilometers (approx 3,100 miles for you old school folk that never converted yet ) ....
anyways the point of the matter is, is that all that you say is cool and are all fact, but as of the computer and dust and dirt, thats the endusers responsibility...and my point (b) i through in there is just to state whether the computer is on or off, a can of compressed can be easily used, and is by far the best and easiest way to remove the dirty crap and dust buildup in the machine.

the kind of dirt i've seen sometimes, like gravel road
type dirt, and candle wax, and pizza grease, don't really
come off. I've had computers brought to me that
people have seen this dirt in it, and tried to blow it out
with an air compressor, and killed something inside.
the high pressure air made some static. dirt from smoking
collects inside the floppy drives and cdrom drives, and
clogs up the case input and output holes. that stuff will
come off with a qtip or a rag, but the inside of the
drives aren't going to get cleaned.
a computer hooked up to a c & c router are going to
get lots of wood dust in them..
pizza grease is so gross. the whole inside of the
compter is sticky.
but in all these situations, the owners don't have a
choice. they have to leave them on.
many years ago i had a job to go around and put
modems in several old computers around the state,
so the owner could monitor the managers. it was
pizza stores. these computers were generally left on
all the time. 3 of the 7, when turned off wouldn't come
back on. 1-monitor wouldn't come back on. really old.
2- hard drive crash-less than a year old. 3 - unknown
computer death. you could make the case either
way with these machines.
anyway, i'm just adding data and stating my opinion.
when i first heard the "leave the computer on argument"
over 10 years ago, i was already turning the machine
on and off all the time, so i didn't believe it, and my
friend's that left their computers on all the time would
have more fans and power supply's going out.
it's hard to really leave a computer on at my house all
the time anyway. there's so much lightning around here
in the south, then ice storms in the winter. the power
gets knocked out about 50 times a year for a total of
about 4 hours. most times i'ts only out for 5-30
seconds.
one of my best friends leaves his on 24/7 and probably
uses it 5 minutes a day.

My Fellow Citizens!

I think that it would be in our own best interest that we should all just agree to leave all our computers turned on; in fact if I were the president I would demand a law be passed requiring everyone to leave their PCs on 24/7.

Why I've had my computer running continuously since 1975.
I even go so far as to leave it on while doing repairs and upgrades to the hardware.

Thank You for taking time out of your busy schedule to read this.

Actually now that I've thought seriously about this matter, I think maybe the question really should be :


How safe is it to never turn pc on?

Not very if it's anything like mine with a million wires trailing across the floor!!!

At work our servers on on for 364 days, 22 hours a year. The other two are for when the electricboard screws up and cuts the power and the UPS's run out of juice (now the petrol generator will solve that one!).....

The desktops are on 24/7, although as they are running Windows 98 they are rebooted a million times a year....

As for me - i turn it off when i go to bed!

For five and a half years I've left my computer on 24/7. I had to reboot it until I kicked windows out. I had to replace the cpu fan once. That's it. I replaced the hard drive with a bigger one and put the old one in another machine and it's still ticking. Now, the only time I turn it off is to clean.

BTW, it may add $1 a month to my electric bill. If you want to save electricity then insulate your house or clean your heat/air filter.

We are USA we have plenty of power!
That massive blackout on the east coast recently was just a fluke.

The blackout was caused by the heat wave and people using air conditioning. I guess everyone could turn their air conditioner off, or like I said, clean their dirty filters.

Just another add .... my pc's are working for me 24 hours a day and guess what ? No blue screen

I've just added a UPS Backup just in case ....
I am a happy guy now

Welcome to LQ Tanc.

It's nice getting up in the morning and picking up right where I left off. When I tried that in Windows I woke up with a froze screen

Right on! It was the heat! and Air Conditioners!
Nothing to do with a few people leaving their computers on.

I live in the USA and if I want to leave my computer on 24/7
I will!


Hey!
The majority of car engine wear comes when starting the engine, it would be a really good idea to allow your car to idle 24/7.

Remember electricity is a renewable resource we've got plenty of coal, oil and hydro.

Conserving energy is for Dirty Hippies!

Turning off/n your pc stresses (sp?) the harddrive moter, It using as much force/energy/lifespn turning on than leting it run non stop for 2 days. just my 2 cents