Ed Rooney Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 I've had some mixed messages about what's best for my MacBook: just close the lid and put it to sleep or shut it down sometimes. And the story may well be different with Windows PCs. I'm not talking about a battery issue. What do you guys do? Edo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 On a PC or a Mac? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 Okay, thanks. I'm on a Mac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starsphinx Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 I always shut mine down at least periodically (both laptop and desktop - windows) if I have had them working non stop for a few days (I sometimes set up large data transfer over night). The reason I was told for doing this should hold true for any machine regardless of operating system. I was told to imagine my machine as being full of filing cabinets containing information and super secretaries who know what to do with it. Each time you set a task a secretary goes and gets the relevant information uses it and places it in an out tray. If the information is needed a second time it is retrieved from the out tray. Now just like in an office over time the odd bit of information can get stored slightly out of sequence - increasing the time it takes the next secretary to retrieve it. A restart or sleep mode results in the secretaries going through the out trays making sure everything is in order - and will help a little bit. A shut down means every super secretary takes every bit of info from the out trays and refiles it in the original cabinet - and those odd scraps of paper that are found at the end of the office day are also carefully filed or binned. If you imagine an office over time with no real filing being done just stuff retrieved from out trays you know as time goes on piles in the trays get higher in no particular order and efficiency goes down - so actual filing into proper cabinets has to be done regularly to uphold efficiency. It is the same with a computer - that shut down (even if you switch it on again 2 minutes later) is when all the information is checked and filed properly again rather than being stacked in the out trays. As I said this should hold true for macs as well as PCs - a periodic shutdown allows the machine to check its files properly and run more efficiently when turned on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gervais Montacute Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 iMac Pro always shut it down at the end of working on something unless I'm going to start using again within a short space of time. MacBook Pro usually shut it down if I'm not going to use it for quite a while, or just close the lid if I'm going to use it say, in the next 15 minutes or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 I only shut my MacBook down about once a month or when an update requires a reboot. I just use sleep when I've finished what I'm doing. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert M Estall Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 I run a 27" iMac about 6 years old; before they got ridiculously thin top & bottom. Hardly ever shut it down except when it very occasionally behaves badly. By bad behaviour, I usually mean applications refusing to respond and demanding a force quit. Word is the usual culprit. When I get too much of that nonsense, I shut down and disconnect from my Uninterruptible Power Device. I used to be told the Mac would power up in the middle of the night and do some maintenance. That may be complete bollocks! When I had a black Powerbook, I used to shut it down, but that was mostly down to saving the battery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Always shut them down, Mac desktop and laptop, when iam finished for the day. Wake them up when I start next day. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Woods Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 iMac 27 inch here. I just let it sleep until it starts to drag its feet, usually once every 6 weeks to a couple of months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Brooks Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 I turn on my 27" imac only when I am going to start a session, usually around noon after spending the morning on my photo walks. I close it down completely at dinner time for the computer health reason so well explained by Starsphinx. I sometimes leave imac off for days at a time. Smartphone on in the interim but for telephone only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 Well . . . as you all can see, the ways of dealing with this question are all over the place. I haven't found anything to believe in on my WWW research either. ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 6 hours ago, Starsphinx said: I always shut mine down at least periodically (both laptop and desktop - windows) if I have had them working non stop for a few days (I sometimes set up large data transfer over night). The reason I was told for doing this should hold true for any machine regardless of operating system. I was told to imagine my machine as being full of filing cabinets containing information and super secretaries who know what to do with it. Each time you set a task a secretary goes and gets the relevant information uses it and places it in an out tray. If the information is needed a second time it is retrieved from the out tray. Now just like in an office over time the odd bit of information can get stored slightly out of sequence - increasing the time it takes the next secretary to retrieve it. A restart or sleep mode results in the secretaries going through the out trays making sure everything is in order - and will help a little bit. A shut down means every super secretary takes every bit of info from the out trays and refiles it in the original cabinet - and those odd scraps of paper that are found at the end of the office day are also carefully filed or binned. If you imagine an office over time with no real filing being done just stuff retrieved from out trays you know as time goes on piles in the trays get higher in no particular order and efficiency goes down - so actual filing into proper cabinets has to be done regularly to uphold efficiency. It is the same with a computer - that shut down (even if you switch it on again 2 minutes later) is when all the information is checked and filed properly again rather than being stacked in the out trays. As I said this should hold true for macs as well as PCs - a periodic shutdown allows the machine to check its files properly and run more efficiently when turned on. Certainly when I ran a Windows PC I always used to shut it down at the end of each day. If I didn't, then eventually it would lock up, presumably due to a memory leak or similar. When I swapped to Mac OS I used to do the same, but it seems to handle RAM so much more reliably and almost never crashes. So in the end I decided not to bother shutting down every day and to enjoy the benefits of virtually instant start up. I do however always save any documents, photos etc. I'm working on before sleeping. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 27 minutes ago, M.Chapman said: Certainly when I ran a Windows PC I always used to shut it down at the end of each day. If I didn't, then eventually it would lock up, presumably due to a memory leak or similar. When I swapped to Mac OS I used to do the same, but it seems to handle RAM so much more reliably and almost never crashes. So in the end I decided not to bother shutting down every day and to enjoy the benefits of virtually instant start up. I do however always save any documents, photos etc. I'm working on before sleeping. Mark Mark when I switch power on to my 27" Mac it only takes about 30 seconds to being logged in. If one of the separate memory discs decides it wants to sleep in it might take 45 seconds. I am not that pushed for time. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 I can't speak for Macs, but I turn my PC off at night and wake it up in the morning. During the day, I put my computer in snooze mode when not using it. I do a restart if my machine starts slowing down. However, my computer-repair guy tells me that he keep his computers running all the time because electronic components like to be kept at an even temperature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Macs all the way. I no longer have a laptop, but when I did, I turned it and my desktop off once I was through working on them. Before I had my iPad to check email and messages...and Alamy a couple of times a day, I let the computers sleep during the day but always shut them down at night. Never had a problem. Betty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 1 hour ago, Ed Rooney said: Well . . . as you all can see, the ways of dealing with this question are all over the place. I haven't found anything to believe in on my WWW research either. ??? Then it's probably just a matter of preference. I've heard that PCs sleep more peacefully than MACs, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 3 hours ago, John Mitchell said: Then it's probably just a matter of preference. I've heard that PCs sleep more peacefully than MACs, though. No no, this is a tech matter, John, not a matter of preference. And what we should do varies with Macs or PCs. But . . . these computers are not going to explode if we exercise a bit of flexibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DickJ Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 I may be paranoid, but I shut down my PC and I also shut off the power to it. I not so worried about wearing out the PC as I am about a power surge during a loss/restart of the power coming to the house. The last one we had blew the timer that ran our front door lights. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 28 minutes ago, DickJ said: I may be paranoid, but I shut down my PC and I also shut off the power to it. I not so worried about wearing out the PC as I am about a power surge during a loss/restart of the power coming to the house. The last one we had blew the timer that ran our front door lights. Dick Dust can be a big problem as well, with PCs anyway. I foolishly kept one of my PCs on the floor under my desk, and the CPU overheated and died in the middle of the night due to dust buildup. When I opened up the case, it looked like the interior of a haunted house. I have dust screens installed on my current machine, which really help, plus I carefully clean the inside every few months. But I digress once again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normspics Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 I have bought from new a Mid 2013 MacBook Pro 15 inch, top of the line with ssd drive and rarely shut it down, only if I leave it at home when I go on a trip or update the software. It’ still working the way it did when I bought it over five years ago. I edit 4K video every week and run Lightroom and Photoshop no problems at all. Your mileage may vary, but no I don’t shut it down and it is just fine, touch wood. Just put the top down and go find a refreshing beverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb photos Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 If you leave laptops sleeping, I would always recommend a restart before taking a laptop out on a live news shoot. That way it helps avoid any possibility of complications when speed is of the essence. Otherwise I leave my Mac's sleeping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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