Posted on 11/30/09

MacMost Forum / Shutting Down A Mac Too Much?

I recently heard Gary say its not a good idea to shut down a Mac all the time.

How often is too often and why is it bad for the Mac.

I usually do it once, at the end of a day, thinking I’m reducing the wear on the machine while it’s not being used all night. Is that faulty thinking?

Thanks.

– Bruce

6 Responses to “Shutting Down A Mac Too Much?”

  1. Gary Rosenzweig says:
    11/30/09 at 10:06 am

    You must be referring to episode 240: http://macmost.com/shut-down-or-sleep.html
    I think that having your Mac sleep is probably just as good as having it shut down. It uses almost no power, and the moving parts of the drive are off. My argument in the video is that it saves YOU time but not having to shut down and start up.
    I don’t think shutting it down is a bad idea, just not as much of a benefit as people think and there are some advantages to only sleeping. I never shut my Macs down.

    Reply To This Comment
    • Bruce says:
      11/30/09 at 3:49 pm

      Gary – Thanks. That was a fast response. I heard you mention the sleep vs. shut down during a recent MacAnwsers on reducing the volume of the start up sound.

      I did just watch episode 240 and your right, I just switched from a PC and I always shut it down at night.

      I have a follow-up question: What if the Mac will not be used for several days while I’m out of Town? Shut it down then or let it sleep.

      Thanks again.

      Reply To This Comment
  2. Michelle says:
    11/30/09 at 12:11 pm

    And, if I’m not mistaken, Macs run utilities overnight. If you shut the Mac down, it won’t run those utilities until the next night.

    I’m with Gary – I put my machine in sleep mode at night. I use the machine over 12 hours a day, for nearly two years now. No problems here!

    Reply To This Comment
  3. golp says:
    12/1/09 at 7:26 am

    hm…interesting…

    Reply To This Comment
  4. Gary Rosenzweig says:
    12/6/09 at 7:51 pm

    While it is true that they won’t run if your Mac is sleeping, they will run at a later time. These processes aren’t as critical as some people make out though — there are ways to run them manually if you like, but they really aren’t that big of a deal as most people think.

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