lesser of two evils

i used to turn off my laptop at night, and give it a "rest". but then i read somewhere that the BOOT process puts more strain on a machine than just letting it run. is this true?

i have seen PC life expressed in terms of "total number of boots", but i don't know how standard this is. i had always assumed the primary yardstick was "total uptime". is this no longer considered the case?

 

Hi,
I think that it is down to personal preference. I always turn off my machines after i have finished using them and, have never encountered a problem through doing this, I am actually using a laptop now that i bought nearly six years ago, and it is probably switched on/off more times in a day than a light switch over a weekend, the only issue i have had is with an inverter power cable that got broken through getting caught in the hinge, would of been alright if i wasn't opening and shutting the lid so often due to powering down.

iain.t :major

 

Me personally, my laptops get shut down regularly. Laptops are more prone to heat issues and leaving them on means leaving them plugged in, which means a quickly useless battery. Desktop, sure leave it on. Besides, most desktop parts draw more power and are generally higher performance than their laptop equivalent, so leaving it on would make more sense.

 

hmmm. i thought DESKTOPS were supposed to be powered down, b/c of the "screen" (tube) issues. laptops, otoh, were the aforementioned line-call.

i have ENORMOUS heat issues with this laptop (still unresolved after 2 years of pulling my hair out!), and when i do (or DID) turn it off, i usually unplugged it as well. something i would never have even THOUGHT of with a half-decent one! but i will now in the future.

as to iain's "never encountered a problem", i guess the bottom line is: will a laptop last longer if it is left on 24/7 or if it is treated like the proverbial light switch? i guess you're both voting "light switch", huh?

hey, what's a good run for a laptop anyways? my last one lasted 3-4 years; the one before that like 18!

this one was a lemon from the gitgo, so i'm just praying it lasts until my next backup.....

 

Do you run your laptop from the mains with the battery in ?? I ask as this can create a lot of heat, have you tried a fan assisted cooling pad, I use an Akasa AK-NBC-01 (got it the same time as the laptop) twin fan with 4 extra usb 2.0 ports, I also use a can of compressed air every 6 month or so just to blow away the cobwebs, especially around the air vents.
You can also monitor your temp with this free tool.....

http://majorgeeks.com/SpeedFan_d337.html

This will give you insight as to what is causing the high temp's.

iain.t :major

 

Desktop monitors had issues to begin with, but thats why they came up with sleep mode, hibernate mode (same thing, but a few differences), and screen savers. Most folks just turn off the monitor and leave the pc running.

Laptops have hibernation and sleep modes, which almost shuts down but not quite, so you can leave it sitting for a few hours then come back to it. In general, laptops aren't designed to run continuously, they're designed for portability. This means they don't cool as efficiently because of the space requirements. Nowadays people think of a laptop as their main PC, but originally they were designed to be a backup, portable PC you used on the run till you could get to the office/house and get on the big dog.

Laptops are generally good for 5 years, depending on usage. Because of their portable design they are hard to upgrade and keep current. Whereas a desktop is full of 'field replaceable' parts the laptop is considered 'field replaceable' as a whole. As I said it depends on usage: if the laptop exists purely for internet and email it'll last a long while (barring malware attacks). More and more laptops are designed to go the distance. I have an Alienware M17X that thing is massive but has zero cooling issues, and is upgradeable. It's built to be a mobile gaming platform, so it has to have some of the flexibility and power of a desktop, and the portability of a laptop. Netbooks (much smaller laptops) serve the purpose the original laptops did, a portable you use till you can get back to the desktop or, in these days, laptop.

I don't think it'll be long before laptops are gone completely, replaced by the increasingly powerful and much smaller smart phones out there. I'm interested in seeing which one is gonna die out, cause before long they'll be serving the same purpose. Guess it just depends on the spread of wifi.

 

You might already know this but some don't: when using compressed air on a laptop you want to remove a panel so that the force of the air is pushing out of the laptop case, not into it. When ya blow into it, it pushes the dust further in and seats it deeper between contacts inside, so it can actually make the issue worse.

 

Good tip that!!, i forgot to add!!
I also can remove the keyboard whilst i do the clean out, remove the ram also whilst the hatch is open also to clean the gold contacts and to make sure they are re-seated firmly, as you know laptops get clashed here there and everywhere, which can result in loose ram modules and displaced HDD's.

iain.t :major

 

uhg I hate the ones you have to pop the keyboard to get to. both of mine its just a couple panels on the bottom and you can tinker with the RAMM and HDD, its great lol.

 

OK, i'm not about to open my laptop. Out of my league.

I did open the panels to upgrade RAM once, but that's about my limit. I got enough problems without MY clumsy fingers in there!

Anyway, dust probably IS an issue. And heat is DEFINITELY an issue (noticed a brief improvement after buying a chillpad a year ago). But I am not sure either of those is the primary issue -- I've got this ridiculous "IE hang" issue which strikes me as more of a software matter.

Where were you two a year ago when I tried (repeatedly) to resolve that?!

Maybe I'll give it another go. Lemme go find the threads....

EDIT:

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=213470
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=226497

 

also:

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=205940
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=206134

includes failed attempts at deciphering SpeedFan....

 

(MISPOST)

pls delete!

 

we're all volunteers here, we tend to linger in the forums we have some expertise in. i've tinkered with tons of hardware but know only rudimentary software and networking. I read over the other posts you linked, and the first thing that jumps to mind is malware. I suggest you do three things:

A: start looking for a PC repair shop local to you that has a decent reputation and get a quote on a physical cleaning of your laptops innards.

B: surf on over to the malware forum, follow the Read and Run Me First (http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407), then post your results (even if you're clean, it can't hurt to try)

C: go into control panel/add remove programs and uninstall any toolbars you don't actively use.

If you run into anymore hardware trouble, I'll be happy to try and help. Good luck and happy surfing.

 

before i do all that, what is your opinion of the TEMPERATURES i posted in that other thread? normal ballpark? abnormally high?

tx!

 

Hi,
Those temp's aren't too bad just above the average bench marks. I would do as magical2099 has suggested and do a thorough house clean of un-used programs, run the scans in the malware section, the scans will more than likely remove the tool bars that you have installed for web software, I personally will not download any toolbars as they are very vunerable to attack and let shed loads of "crap" into your system.
Can you also tell me the make and model of your laptop, so i can have a look at its service manual, as that will tell me more about the systems benchmarks and how easy , or not , it is to strip your machine enough to give it a good clean out.

iain.t :major

 

Yeah I hate it aswell!! though I've got it down to a fine art now with the amount of times I've done it, mine has the split ram modules, one under the keyboard and one under a panel on the base.

iain.t :major

 

OK, I'll do a fresh batch of AV/AM scans/purges, altho I'm pretty anal about doing those already anyways.

Shall we take this to one of those other threads, tho, seeing as this one was supposed to be about boot/sleep/hardware life specifically?

I'll post my results anon (along w machine specs). Pls be sure to come following!

:-D

PS: Speaking of popping the KEYBOARD out, how about popping the SCREEN out?!

www.dell.com/InspironDuo

I predict an untimely death....

 

Hi CatT,
The people over at the malware forum will not mind that you have posted logs for them to check because of an un-related post thread, just point out that other issues have been discussed and that you have been adviced to have the logs cheecked. Hopefully they will be given a clean bill of health, I will follow your progress though I will not be able to pitch in as only specialists in that section are allowed to post. As soon as you are given a "clean bill of health" post back here and let us know what the malware experts have suggested.
As for the Dell duo I can see there been lots of issues arising there, plus the cost of a repair if anything goes wrong will be astromical, it gets a big NO NO from me!!!

iain.t :major

 

just to note that since an AV scan runs about 16-17 hours, and there's 7 or 8 of them to go thru, it will prolly be a week or two before i "post those results"....

cheers

 

Hi CatT,
How comes it takes that long for you to run these scans?? they should take no more than 3hrs at least, the longest one is the super-anti-spyware one, which does take quite awhile about 90mins,the others should only take around 10 to 20mins. Even so still post back here to keep us informed!!

iain.t :major

 

if you change the settings in SAS here properly before you run it it doesn't take near that long. CatT, you are following the Read and Run Me First right? I linked it earlier. I can't help with the malware either, but iain.t is right, they won't mind looking. probably make their day if there is no malware lmao!