Usually when discussed about turning off computer all that is discussed is power.
Here I discuss why you may want to turn off your computer.
- At night to get to sleep I have my computer scheduled to turn off so I’m less likely to use it at that time and so it doesn’t make noise nor be bothersome with light. That’s also a good reason to have computer or TV in a room other than the bedroom.
- Another reason to turn off a notebook / laptop / netbook (portable) is so you don’t damage parts like hard drive or overheat when transporting.
- To repair, maintain, or upgrade internal components on a computer (it should also be unplugged and if portable the battery may need to be removed)
- It can make the log in password appear at start up.
- if you have malware /trojen it may stop your computer from doing further damage.
- Of course it will save power too (if you don’t turn it back on again all the time).
On the other hand…
- If your computer doesn’t bother your sleep it may not be necessary to have it shut down.
- It can sometimes be hard on hardware the more you shut off and turn back on.
- Sometimes just putting laptops to sleep may be OK for transporting. Solid State Disk drives or flash memory can greatly reduce hard drive problems with moving (but can be expensive)
- You should probably have your computer go to a login screen automatically after a period of time or just log out.
- There other power reducing options.
I usually have my computer turned off after a while at night, so now you know what I do.
–Nate
see also http://www.natesservices.com/2010/05/08/power-saving-tips/