do you normally shut down or put your macbook to sleep?

should I be shutting down my macbook when not in use (more than 8 hours) or is it ok to primarily use sleep mode while not in use ?

4 computers in use here at home - basically, none of them get shut down unless it will be 2 days or longer prior to next use.

Mine get re-booted as required by updates and shut down (sometimes) during multi-hour road trips.
Wife says she powers hers down about once a month - just because - she doesn't know why.

(This includes two 6+ yr old Macs.)

Absolutely. I would recommend it over shutting down. In the 4 years I've owned my macbooks the only time they've been shut down is during a restart cycle.

Same here, I only restart to free gummed up ram or turn it off off to save battery if I want to use it when traveling.

if i am not going to use my macbook for an hour i power down...... switch on 4 or 5 times a day!

is that bad?

joyseeker said:

if i am not going to use my macbook for an hour i power down...... switch on 4 or 5 times a day!

is that bad?

Click to expand...

Starting the computer from "sleep" is certainly MUCH faster than having to reboot the computer.

Technically speaking...rebooting the computer 4-5 times a day will put additional "wear & tear" on the hard drive (because of the rebooting process)...but whether this actually leads to significantly shorter hard drive life is probably hard to quantify.

Most folks simply put their computers to "sleep"...it's MUCH faster to "wake" it up (just a few seconds and it's ready to go)...rebooting takes MUCH longer.

And there really are no significant advantages to shutting down all the time...except on a laptop...where you may save a very small amount of battery charge from "sleeping". But the reboot process "sucks up" MUCH more "battery juice" than what's lost during sleeping (especially if you use the computer 4-5 times/day). And if the laptop is plugged in most of the time...then the battery will stay fully charged anyway.

HTH,

- Nick

During our rather dry and fairly warm Winters here in the Dallas Forth Worth area, I seldom shut down. As Nick says, shutting down and starting up puts extra wear and tear on components. However, during late Spring and Fall we get thunderstorms that are nasty. Along with that come power fluctuations. That's when I shut down and remove the machine from the AC main power. I also use an UPS.

chscag said:

However, during late Spring and Fall we get thunderstorms that are nasty. Along with that come power fluctuations. That's when I shut down and remove the machine from the AC main power.

Click to expand...

Great point! Whenever we get thunderstorms...I get a little concerned. With all the computers I have plugged in...I could lose quite a bit in one electrical spike.

Many times I actually do unplug my most valuable computer & monitor (17" 2011 MBP and 30" Cinema display)!

- Nick

I think the last time I shut down I was on a flight. I never shutdown, only sleep. Then again, nothing is spinning.

sleep from now on then.... thanks all.