Is it Okay to Use a Computer Everyday, All Day?

I work from home; therefore, I have to use my laptop all day. I turn it on from the time I wake til' the time I go to bed, which is at least 14 hours. I do this everyday, unless I am out and about. I have had my computer for two years and I am worried that if I continue on this trajectory, my computer is going to fail sooner, rather than later.

I know that everything fails when it pertains to technology, but I would like to have at least 5 - 6 years with it before having to worry about buying another computer or computer parts. So, does having my computer turned on all day shorten its life-span?

 

It is my understanding that turning a computer on and off causes more problems.
A spike/surge in power is the cause of many failures for anything electronic.

While you have turned the computer off check that the vents are not blocked
it's likely with the use you describe the vents may become blocked sooner.

A quick blast of air using a garage air line will be a free and effective way.

 

True, I've always been told that the constant on and off of your computer is harder on it.

That said, I made a big mistake (two times, no less) with my computers when on vacation. I would often turn off some of the power saving features, such as shutting down the hard drive after a certain amount of inactivity. This was mainly because I didn't want my computer shutting down automatically when I was trying to download some large files.

However I didn't think to turn these back on when I was on vacation. I wanted to leave my computers "on" in case I needed to remote access into them while I was away. When I got back after being gone for a week or two, my hard drives were dead both times. I think it was having them constantly "on" but not doing anything for a prolonged period of time that caused them to get damaged somehow.

You should be fine as long as you don't have the vents blocked which would cause your computer to overheat.

 

It depends on your computer. I leave my iMac on all the time, but I would not do the same for a laptop. Overheating may be an issue.

 

My friend who repairs computers and laptops actually told me most laptops can be left on for very long, and this practice is even better than turning the laptop on and off constantly. I actually left my laptop on for days in the past, I'm taking about my old Toshiba Satellite, of course! It still is with me to this day... minor issues tho, but it still works! Sadly I killed its battery, lol.

 

I am on my computer the same way from the time I wake up till bed time. I am so addicted to be online or working on my computer. I spend about 15 hours and get up an go to work. I need a work from home job and I'm good.

 

Computers can work 24/7 and will still have no issues. That is just how they are designed to work. So long as you are not running heavy stuff such as games, your computer will be good.

 

I would suggest that you shut down the laptop when not in use. This is to prevent you the fan in the laptop to spoil. Like the heart, you do not want to overwork it.
Also, I would recommend you to save your necessary files on the cloud storage just in case your laptop fails on you.

 

You should definately shut it down each night when it's not in use. But I think it should last about 5 or 6 years easily if you shut it down routinely and keep the maintenance up in it.. It's almost like a car lol.

 

I'm not sure, but I think this also depends on the kind of computer you have. But it is generally advised for you to shut down the laptop or computer when you're not using it because, while the laptop/computer itself may function well, the utilities and other things inside it might not be able to last for long.

But considering your situation, I think you have a sturdy enough laptop. I guess what you could do is to either shut it down whenever you're not going to work, or at least devote your vacation days to let it rest before working on it again, to at least make sure it gets to rest.

 

So is it good to keep your laptop on all day and plug it in the charger ever now and then? Or is it good let its battery run out, charge it, and repeat?

 

i use my laptop all day everyday as well. nothing wrong with it unless you're using too much power. i use my computer for work too. i've noticed my power bill is always higher than before so i'm trying to save on power by letting it charge and using it till it almost runs out.

 

I've never had to face such a situation. Normally I use my laptop for just a couple of hours daily and hence, I do not have such issues.