Q: Im going away for long projects keeps me away from home for 3-4 months at a time . Do I have my desktop off for the duration of my absence, or should I keep them running? Which would be better for the mechanical machines?
I usually keep my machines on 24/7/365, but when I have not disappeared.
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Re:i shall unplug my machines then. thanks for the info ^_^
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Re:ugh, yeah, don't forget to unplug the network cable from the cable modem/whatever you have.
i've had an unfortunate experience when I forgot to unplug the cable modem cat5 during one bad storm.
The One Month Magnate
Re:Although I'm a big fan of Distributed Computing, I have to agree with the others that if you're gonna be gone for that long a time, you're best off powering off the PCs and unplugging them from the wall to be safe.
Electrical outlets aren't the only way for electrical spikes and transients to get through and damage equipment, so I'd unplug the network/modem cords too just to be safe too. 
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Re:Unless you are running any distributed computing such as Prime95, SETI@home or something, turn it of and save worry and power.
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Re:Echo Zypher's words. I have had it happen – and luckily I unplugged everything when I left. While gone, we had a lightning strike, and I lost my entire security panel for the house. None of my computer stuff was bothered. Besides – why waste energy? That just helps drive up the cost of oil.
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Re:Totally agree with Magnus, unless there is a good reason such as needing to remotely access it for some reason, there is no reason to keep it on, All you will be doing is wasting power, risking damage due to power surges or lightning strikes, and even having a risk of fire since you aren't there to monitor it through things such as a surge. Also, don't forget as mentioned, if a fan quits working while it is on, you could overheat a component or two and lets just say it can get expensive
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Re:Originally posted by: guy
Short and sweet. Turn it off and unplug it.
Ditto!
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Re:Short and sweet. Turn it off and unplug it.
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Re:you have various factors at work, expansion and contraction from heat, cold, but even while the computer is left running, if it has bad cooling, it may be best to leave it off then. You'll save some cash on electricity.
other factors: what if something bad goes down that affects your hardware while you're gone? fire? power surge? PSU goes bad, starts smoking?
etc.
you could lose power, and your UPS could shutdown your boxes, or drain the battery dead if it isn't configured to shut them down.
> you never absolutely know what could happen, thus you may want to be 'proactive' to avoid possible problems outlined above.
> lets not even begin with HDDs. (you didn't mention them, I know) If you don't backup your data, one day you will get burned, regardless of how well you've treated HDDs.
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