Do you leave PC on 24-7?

[johnb41]

I'm getting a new PC (hopefully will come next week), and I will use SageTV with it. (haven't used SageTV yet) Normally I like to shut down the computer at night if I don't expect to use it the next day. But to fully take advantage of SageTV, the PC would need to be kept on all the time.

In your opinion, is is harmless to keep a PC running ALL the time? Or should I expect a shorter life span for the computer if I do this?

Thanks!
John

[ke6guj]

Yup, harmless to leave it running all the time.

Some people even think its better to run 24-7, that way all the components stay warm, and don't heat cycle and possibly crack when the computer is turned on and off. Sort of like a light bulb, when do they normally blow out, right when you turn it on.

And the electricity costs aren't that high for a computer running 24-7

[JUC]

24/7 no problems at all. I also believe you can setup standby (S3 i think) and sage will wake up the computer for a recording--someone else may need to verify this one though. I would suggest monitoring the temps once you get everything assembled but you should not have any problems running the PC 24/7. If anything-i would think you would get a longer lifespan on a computer running 24/7 because of the reduced strain of startups (but don't quote me on that either)
JUC

[nielm]

24/7: otherwise there would be no way to access the Sage webserver from outside of home! (not to mention various motherboards/graphics cards little 'ideosyncracies' with Suspend/Resume)

[JasonJoel]

Well... That depends on your definition, and what you have in the server.

A server can easily use $7-10/month in electricity. Depending on number of HDs, processor, and power saving settings.

Jason

Originally Posted by ke6guj

And the electricity costs aren't that high for a computer running 24-7

[Ralphjb]

I've got three PC's in the network and I leave them all on 24/7. Have done so for over 2 years now (maybe over 3 years, can't remember for sure ).

[samgreco]

I have 3 PCs on 24/7. I have never had an issue, except for one (unfortunately my Sage server) that had a cheap PSU go. I have replaced it and not had a problem since. They have all been on for months now.

[sleonard]

Originally Posted by ke6guj

Yup, harmless to leave it running all the time.

Some people even think its better to run 24-7, that way all the components stay warm, and don't heat cycle and possibly crack when the computer is turned on and off. Sort of like a light bulb, when do they normally blow out, right when you turn it on.

I saw a story on TV many years ago (early to mid 90's) about one of Edisons first light bulbs that had never been turned off and was still working at the time of filming.
The power cycling causes far more damage to electrical and electronic componenets than anything else. While electrical/electronic systems are running there is zero or next to zero degradation. Mechanical systems (hard drives) OTOH, are just the opposite.

[malore]

I leave both my computers running continuously and participate in distributed computing projects in the background.

[johnb41]

Originally Posted by sleonard

While electrical/electronic systems are running there is zero or next to zero degradation. Mechanical systems (hard drives) OTOH, are just the opposite.

Well, my new PC will have two 160 gig drives. I was intending on using one of the drives mainly for SageTV recordings, and the other one for the OS, software and saved files. Is it possible to tell Sage to only use a certain Hard Drive?

Thanks in advance... have to leave now for a 1 week vacation. I'll check back when i return!

Thanks,
John

[malore]

Originally Posted by johnb41

Is it possible to tell Sage to only use a certain Hard Drive?

Yes. You can also allow it to use the whole drive, a set amount, or require a certain amount of space be left free.

[CobraJay]

24/7 here too. I put my HTPC together back in January, and it has never been off more than one hour after all this time.

I run SETI's BOINC so the computer could do something productive.

[acrowe]

How else do you get good uptimes?

As an IT professional I tell people who ask this question that they should leave the computer itself on but the monitor off. Monitors (well CRT's mostly) are the largest part of the engery cost for a computer. Leaving them off reduces the cost. And this way you can schedule system miantenance when the computer isn't being used.

I'm a new sage user myself, and have yet to play around heavily with the power mgmt of my dsage machine, but I'll probably just leave the machine online and running all the time for many of the reasons people have already stated (webserver, etc).

[rich_l]

I must be cheap. During the summer its too hot to leave the computer on 24/7 so i turn it off at night since i do not turn the ac down very low. During the winter, i pretty much refuse to use the heater so i leave the computer running..lol. Winter electric bills run about $30/month.

[Wakecrash]

I leave mine on 24/7, I recall from somewhere a good rule of thumb is unless you are going to leave the PC off for at least 24 hours the cost of wear and tear of power cycles off sets any power savings.

[aperry]

Mine's on 24/7.

One thing to remember if you go this route is to set your power outage settings in your BIOS. I have mine set so that the system will return to whatever state (on/off) it was when the power was interrupted. So, if it were off when the power went out, it would stay off when the power was restored. If it was on, it would turn back on.

Of course, the "stay off" option rarely if ever happens...

[teknubic]

Bad things happen when you turn off a server. If you have the resources, put your new sage server on a UPS as well. You may not be able to watch during a failure, but you'll be able to record and you can configure it to shut down gracefully when the battery runs out.

[ke6guj]

Originally Posted by teknubic

If you have the resources, put your new sage server on a UPS as well. You may not be able to watch during a failure

You can if your TV is on a UPS also

[waynedunham]

Originally Posted by ke6guj

You can if your TV is on a UPS also

In November of 2002 we had a bad ice storm here in CT, and up through New England. I lost power for 4 days. This was before I started using Sage, but I did have 2 ReplayTV's. After my 3rd book read under hurricane lamp I got REALLY bored, so I fired up my generator which I'd bought when the storm hit to keep the fridge, freezer, and water pump going periodically. I ran an extension cord over to the power strip for the TV, ReplayTV's, VCR, and Surround sound system. I watched several shows I'd recorded prior to the power outage. Actually a couple of the shows I watched were recorded after the power went out. The ReplayTV's and VCR's were plugged into UPS's and kept going for 2-3 hours after the power went out with the UPS's beeping away.

Needless to say I've got my Sage machine on a UPS. We had some decent thunderstorms roll through the last couple days and my power went out for 1-2 minutes at least 4 times. Sage machine never even hiccupped!

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering what you miss most about the power being out? Is it the heat in November? The fridge? Lights? Not if you are on a well and septic tank. It's the water pump you miss the most!! I can put some logs on the woodstove, coats and blankets to keep warm, move the perishable's to coolers with ice, fire up the hurricane lamp for light. However when you can't flush the toilet for several days you get the incentive to spring for that generator REAL fast!!

[greggerm]

I've been having my SageTV turn itself off at night (around 12:30AM) and power back up in the morning so my girlfriend can get the morning news.

Given the testimony above, I took a look at the old electric bills to see if there was any remarkable power/money savings (which was the reason to do it) - The savings did NOT amount to the expected 25% of Sage's daily consumption, so I think I'll keep her running 24/7 myself!

And being an IT professional, I'm smacking myself in the head for not practicing what I preach in my server room - were everything stays up all the time, including my desk PC, and I leave my W.A.F. critical home PC to cycle every night.

-Greg