Can someone tell me if it's best to leave your computer on all the time or shut it down when you're not using it? Does leaving it on all the time lower your hard drive's life span?

> Can someone tell me if it's best to leave your computer on all the time or shut
> it down when you're not using it?

I assume that by "best" you mean "best for the life of the equipment".
If everything is properly cooled and grounded (and I mean everything: cpu, mobo, drives, cards, psu, whatever), there should be no big threat in leaving it on. Moreover, in general the MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) of hardware working at constant temperatures and conditions is longer than the one of devices being switched on/off over short periods.

> Does leaving it on all the time lower your
> hard drive's life span?

Au contraire. What really kills a hard drive is the spinup/spindown that happens when you turn the pc on/off. A disk that constantly turns, if properly cooled (did I mention that you have to cool it down?) could even last longer.

Obviously, a bad hardware would make any caution futile, together with the assumption that this rule is valid for hardware designed to be frequently switched on/off and stay on just for a few hours. I wouldn't leave a laptop turned on forever.

Thanks for all the info, but what would you consider, adequate cooling? I have 2 system fans in the back and 1 in the front and a gaping hole above it because I put in a non-standard-shaped CDRW so the front panel won't fit anymore.

I've had this computer and monitor for over 4 years now. The average times that I turn on and off this computer is about 2-3 times a day. Whenever I know I'm not going to be using it for more than half an hour, it goes off.

So far, nothing has gone wrong yet. So I don't think turning it on and off is as bad for the computer as they say it is. But that's just my opinion.

> Thanks for all the info, but what would you consider, adequate cooling? I have
> 2 system fans in the back and 1 in the front and a gaping hole above it because
> I put in a non-standard-shaped CDRW so the front panel won't fit anymore.

A fan or two constantly blowing air on each of your drives should be fine. Also, make sure your PSU doesn't feel like a boiling teapot. Your setup is fine if the air can flow through your case - it comes in fresh from one point, and comes warm out of another point.