When to Shut down vs. Sleep

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It said in the little booklet that if you will be away from the PC for "less than a few days, put it to sleep" And for more than a few days, shut it down. Is that what the manufacturer recommends? Or should I do differently?

I have been just putting it to sleep when I go to work (away about 7 hours) and when I go to bed. (about 6 hours not using) and if this is the case, is it okay to just set it to sleep every time?

But I am curious if I should be shutting it down because I noticed today that the back of the monitor is a bit warm. Is it normal to do that? I've only been using it today for about 4 hours. Thank you.
 
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I haven't put mine to sleep once, just incase it has a nightmare - lightning strikes, power surges, power cuts and what have you. Much safer to shut it down and unplug it.
 
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The very first time I put my IMac to sleep I had the pinwheels of death and had to restart my IMac. Since then I put it to sleep 1-3 times a day with no issues. I do agree if you want to play it super safe shut it down and unplug it but in close to 20 years I,ve never had a power surge or lightening strike that affected my computer.
 
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It said in the little booklet that if you will be away from the PC for "less than a few days, put it to sleep" And for more than a few days, shut it down. Is that what the manufacturer recommends? Or should I do differently?

I have been just putting it to sleep when I go to work (away about 7 hours) and when I go to bed. (about 6 hours not using) and if this is the case, is it okay to just set it to sleep every time?

But I am curious if I should be shutting it down because I noticed today that the back of the monitor is a bit warm. Is it normal to do that? I've only been using it today for about 4 hours. Thank you.

Hi,
It would help if we knew what specs your equipment has. Go into your profile and add them in to your signature or membership title. You can find this info by clicking on the Apple icon/About this Mac.

Putting your Mac to sleep does absolutely no harm at all, it shuts done all the heavy stuff but leaves the Ram alone so that the Mac wakes up with what was on the desktop at the time... and you are following a good regime already.

If you are concerned about inclement weather then it's best to shut down and disconnect the power cord.
 
C

chas_m

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In other words, the original guidance as posted by the original poster still stands.

The only thing I would add to the original advice is that any sort of desktop computer needs an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to protect it from *both* surges *and* brownouts. Momentary losses of power are just as damaging as momentary surges of power.

If you happen to live somewhere that is prone to extreme weather (like say Florida, the Lightning Capital of the World), then unplugging the device during storms is prudent advice (the downside is that you'll need to replace the PRAM battery somewhat more often than is typical).
 
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TilkiliKiz
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Ok I have added my specs. And thanks everyone for the info.

I will certainly be turning it off when we have electrical storms here, which do usually occur during the summer months. I had been doing it with my Windows PC and agree its just a wise thing to do. :)
 
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You don't always know when a storm will develop, so I'd advise shutting down and unplugging whenever you'll be away from the Mac for more than 3-4 hours. This includes night time -don't want to have to get out of bed to shut down because a storm has come up and you might be too late! Macs boot so quickly in any case...
 

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