Windows won't auto-sleep

[stefan]

The first and foremost reason for me would be power saving. The total power consumed by things standing running or in standby in the european union is astonishing. It takes between two and three nuclear power plant reactors just to power these things in standby...

The second thing would be noise. If the computer is in the same room as yourself when you're trying to sleep, and the computer is noisy, then you'd want it to hibernate

[jonb1974]

I use hibernate, it's great, starts up before recordings, etc. Hibernates again when done. I had heaps of problems with stand-by - Remote wouldn't start working, etc. Having PC shut down or hibernate is better for the hardware than leaving it on 24/7.

[stefan]

Having PC shut down or hibernate is better for the hardware than leaving it on 24/7.

What do you base that statement on? It's not that I doubt you, it's just that I just read the opposite somewhere else.

[jonb1974]

Desktops weren't designed to be kept on 24/7. Servers are, in saying that I see server hardware fail at least once a day. There will be more dust inside, more wear and tear on moving parts. As such there is more chance of hardware failures.

[barbarian]

It appears that the problem was caused by a windows update notification in the taskbar.

[23skidoo]

Desktops weren't designed to be kept on 24/7.

Do what? Says who?

Servers are, in saying that I see server hardware fail at least once a day. There will be more dust inside, more wear and tear on moving parts. As such there is more chance of hardware failures.

Oh that's hooey. lol

I mean, maybe there'll be more dust inside if you don't keep the machine clean. I dunno. But the truth is, nowadays the only factors relevant to the question of whether to power off your workstation at night are the following:

1. Power consumption. Turn it off and some people say you might save a hundred bucks a year.
   
2. Patches and updates. Personally I'd rather let my apps update themselves at night. Windows too.
   
3. Convenience. I like to sit down at the computer and go.

It's perfectly reasonable to leave your computer on 24/7. It won't limit the life of the machine one iota. Been doing it for years and years on lots of PCs. Just check your fans every so often and make sure they're running. Especially if you have serious graphics hardware. But you should do that whether you shutdown at night or not.