Author Topic: How often do you reboot your primary workstation? (Read 31818 times)

Ralf Maximus · « **on:** November 23, 2007, 12:48 AM »

By "reboot" I mean turning your machine on in the morning (if you do that) or any time you do a shutdown/restart, whether forced into it by circumstance or just because you're mad at your computer and want to show it who's boss.

This one's open to anybody, regardless of operating system. Laptop users can vote, but unless it's your primary workstation that's kind of silly.

If you select "Only as needed" please provide clarification about your tolerance for pain: if you reboot because things seem "a little slow" or you typically wait until the mouse stops responding.

People whose machines reboot spontaneously without user intervention are NOT allowed to vote and are urged to seek technical assistance. Go! Go take care of it now.

Grorgy · « **Reply #1 on:** November 23, 2007, 12:57 AM »

Wellll once a day is what i voted, I usually turn it off at night or whenever i decide to go to bed whenever that may be, but i will reboot at other times if/when needed

app103 · « **Reply #2 on:** November 23, 2007, 01:05 AM »

"Only as needed" is defined as once every 2-3 weeks when things start going wrong and I can't do what I want, such as getting Paintshop Pro to open.

I think I need to adjust this value a bit more.

I am running XP Home, this PC is heavily used for a gazillion things, running 24/7, running an average of about 90 processes at all times, and hosts a chatroom that usually averages about 14-16 people.

I don't mind rebooting, but my chatters mind when I do. I really do need another PC to use as a dedicated box for things like that chatroom.

nosh · « **Reply #3 on:** November 23, 2007, 01:39 AM »

I haven't had to restart just to make the OS run smoother for a long long time, XP is surprisingly stable that way, as long as I restart Firefox once a day, I'm fine.

On average, once every couple of days - over 90% of the time coz of new installations. Voted: only as needed as that's more appropriate.

Renegade · « **Reply #4 on:** November 23, 2007, 02:25 AM »

I sometimes go months without rebooting. I answered a week or more though. Sometimes I just reboot because it's been a few weeks and I want to "clean up" so to speak. Especially if I'm doing an interview and need to record.

f0dder · « **Reply #5 on:** November 23, 2007, 07:28 AM »

I tend to boot my machine in the morning, and turn it off in the evening.

Sometimes I leave it on for some days, if it's doing work of whatever kind, and other times I do a reboot if updating drivers or something. Very seldom do I reboot because of instability.

Josh · « **Reply #6 on:** November 23, 2007, 07:37 AM »

Vista usually stays up at least a week or two before requiring me reboot it due to some software install that just wont function right without it.

cranioscopical · « **Reply #7 on:** November 23, 2007, 10:49 AM »

Sometimes mine's on for weeks.
Sometimes it's off overnight.

Depends on whether I want the machine to act as an alternate heat source

Depends on whether I'm busy trying to earn a dollar (on 24/7) or relaxed.

As far as I can tell XP pro seldom needs to be rebooted for reasons of stability.

Lashiec · « **Reply #8 on:** November 23, 2007, 05:13 PM »

Reboot, only when it's needed (program or updates installed that demand that). And it's turned off before I go to bed, or when I leave home. Sometimes I leave it on if I'm downloading something, but it's not usual.

AndyM · « **Reply #9 on:** November 24, 2007, 04:58 PM »

I selected "every couple of days" even though it is more like every 3-5 days. Unless I'm having a problem, I only reboot just before doing an image backup, which I do twice/week.

I hibernate the machine (Dell desktop, XP Pro SP2) any time I'll be away from it for more than a few hours, never had a problem with hibernation or sleep mode.

nite_monkey · « **Reply #10 on:** November 24, 2007, 05:31 PM »

I usually restart a couple of times a day, whether I'm installing something new, or uninstalling something... or like yesterday and today where I've restarted a bunch while trying to get windows to stop using one driver for a device so I could put a different driver on it.

CleverCat · « **Reply #11 on:** December 08, 2007, 05:13 AM »

Only as needed - On in am - off in pm around 4pm (can't leave on if unattended as we get 'load shedding' power cuts'...

AND if a update to KIS needs a reboot....not often but twice this week....

Silverchip · « **Reply #12 on:** December 08, 2007, 01:55 PM »

I reboot when it is needed, I also turn off my PC at night ( as well as my monitor ).

f0dder · « **Reply #13 on:** December 08, 2007, 05:27 PM »

Btw., remember to either unplug your PC, hit the wall switch, or flip the power switch on the PSU. I've just purchased a power measuring meter thing, my box draws ~6 Watts even when turned off (yes, *off*, not standby. Standby is ~9 Watts).

Darwin · « **Reply #14 on:** December 08, 2007, 05:56 PM »

That's crazy, f0dder. Thanks for posting about it - I'll be unplugging my computers at night from now on. Probably wise to do the same with TVs, stereos, and other non-essential appliances. You know what they say "Think globally, act locally".

Good tip

f0dder · « **Reply #15 on:** December 08, 2007, 06:02 PM »

Crazy indeed, I just wrote a post about it. TVs also draw power like mad, just like CRT monitors. Funny thing is that both TFTs and CRTs seem to draw power depending on the kind of image (ie, brightness and probably speed of change) - I expected that for CRTs, but not (as much) for TFTs. "Ant wars" (ie., static/snow) on a tube TV draws power like mad

Darwin · « **Reply #16 on:** December 08, 2007, 06:04 PM »

Heh, heh - I just read your other post and came back here to direct everyone to it. Interesting/scary read. Funny, isn't it, how 15 years ago the received wisdom, at least in Canada, was that the power drawn by a televsion that was powered off wasn't worth worrying about. How times change.

CleverCat · « **Reply #17 on:** December 09, 2007, 03:48 AM »

Doesn't unplugging PC every day shorten your Power Supply unit life?

masu · « **Reply #18 on:** December 09, 2007, 04:30 AM »

I just reboot, if I need to (e.g. due to software updates)

f0dder · « **Reply #19 on:** December 09, 2007, 05:48 AM »

Doesn't unplugging PC every day shorten your Power Supply unit life?
-CleverCat (December 09, 2007, 03:48 AM)

Good question, dunno about that really... but can't see why it would induce more stress on the components than booting your computer, which gives power spikes...

Lashiec · « **Reply #20 on:** December 09, 2007, 12:03 PM »

No, it doesn't. From time to time, the neverending discussion between plug or unplug arises. Even reputable PSU makers got in the fray, like the CTO of PC Power & Cooling, stating:

Our position is let it run. That's for voltage and temperature stabilization. Anytime you can keep the computer components at a stable temperature, it's better than expansion and contraction. That's what wears them out.

Of course, letting things work means that they'll work better each passing year, and their lifetime will improve to ad infinitum. That's why Google never buys new components for their servers. </sarcasm>

Seriously, I plugged and unplugged my old computer for more than 7 years, and still works like a charm, and it was not using a fancy PSU, more the opposite. It's your own choice, the quality of modern components is high enough for them to be replaced before they actually fail.

EDIT: Some rephrasing

Arizona Hot · « **Reply #21 on:** December 09, 2007, 03:18 PM »

I rebooted Windows XP yesterday because the computer couldn't see that a disk was in the drive while burning files to a backup disk. I reload Windows Explorer more often because it keeps adding extra "Shared Documents" and "My Sharing Folders" to the folders structure.

brotherS · « **Reply #22 on:** December 09, 2007, 03:23 PM »

"Only as needed" is defined as once every 2-3 weeks when things start going wrong and I can't do what I want, such as getting Paintshop Pro to open.
-app103 (November 23, 2007, 01:05 AM)

Same here. I can get my Windows 2000 to run for a maximum of about 4 to 6 weeks, then things tend to get ugly. Sometimes even a BSOD.

Ralf Maximus · « **Reply #23 on:** December 09, 2007, 04:48 PM »

I reload Windows Explorer more often because it keeps adding extra "Shared Documents" and "My Sharing Folders" to the folders structure.
-Arizona Hot (December 09, 2007, 03:18 PM)

Gadzooks! What would cause that? Never seen that behavior before.

The little green people icon -- is that MSN?

OldElmerFudd · « **Reply #24 on:** December 13, 2007, 08:42 PM »

I selected "every couple of days" even though it is more like every 3-5 days. Unless I'm having a problem, I only reboot just before doing an image backup, which I do twice/week.

I hibernate the machine (Dell desktop, XP Pro SP2) any time I'll be away from it for more than a few hours, never had a problem with hibernation or sleep mode.
-AndyM (November 24, 2007, 04:58 PM)

Well, I use 3 "primary workstations", with the work load divided between graphics, audio, and general duties. They all stay on for days, sometimes a week or so. I image the primary partitions in those boxes when there's significant changes, at least every 2-3 weeks. Data's backed up daily; more often when I've been working on something major. My laptop's only on when I'm updating or traveling.
I'm not a big fan of hibernation; I prefer sleep or "standby".
Every one of them is running XP Pro SP2. I just hope MS supports the OS for more years than they say they will!
OEF

Poll

On average, how often do you reboot your primary workstation?

Author Topic: How often do you reboot your primary workstation? (Read 31818 times)