Keeping imac on for numerous days straight.

Question

Level 1

30 points

Keeping imac on for numerous days straight.

I use my elgato eye tv to record tv shows and then I convert it to ipod format so that I can watch it on my ipod video. However, converting numerous tv shows takes a while so I leave my imac on overnight quite often. My question is: Is it harmful to the imac if you keep it on running, for example, 3 days straight? I usually keep it on overnight but when I wake up I just jump right back on it and dont shut it down. And when I get back to bed I do the same thing. I check the temp of the cpu and it never really goes over 63.7 C. Just wondering so I know im not harming my computer in the long run because I've been doing it for quite a while now.

ibook G4 1GHz, iMac G5 isight 20" 1.5gig ram, Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Posted on Jan 20, 2006 8:17 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 20, 2006 8:30 AM in response to Danny Tso

No, there are many people here who never sleep any part of their computer except the screen. You won't hurt your mac by letting it run 24/7.

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Answer 2

Jan 20, 2006 10:08 AM in response to Danny Tso

Danny, according to the G5 20" iSight Manual, page 9:

"When you have finished working with your iMac G5, you can put your computer to sleep or shut it down.
If you will be away from your iMac G5 for less than a few days, put the computer to sleep. When your iMac G5 is in sleep, it's screen is dark & a small white light below the lower-right corner of the display pulsates. You can quickly wake your iMac G5 & bypass the startup process."

On page 10:

"If you will not be using your iMac G5 for more than a few days, shut it down."

G5 20' iMac w/iSight/Remote, 2.5GB RAM, 250GB HD Mac OS X (10.4.4) OS 10.4.4

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Answer 3

Jan 20, 2006 10:47 AM in response to Danny Tso

I don't think is harmfull mine has been running for about a week now non stop only the screen goes to sleep and my imac is fine, no fan noise, nothing I'm pretty sure is ok to leave it on all day all nite,

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Answer 4

Jan 20, 2006 12:38 PM in response to Danny Tso

I leave my system on 24/7 and just have the screen sleep. I use it everyday and also there are scripts that run at night. Even though the scripts can be run using a 3rd party util like Cocktail or Onyx I still keep it on. Everytime I want to use it I don't want to keep turn it off and on. If I know I will be away I will turn it off.

One piece of advice though. If you are going to keep it on I would get a UPS. You don't want a power outage or a brown out hurting the system.

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Answer 5

ScotMij

Level 7

21,913 points

Jan 20, 2006 1:48 PM in response to Danny Tso

I run mine for long periods. iMac uptime right now is 8 days but most nights I do sleep it. Always use Display Sleep.

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Answer 6

Jan 20, 2006 2:51 PM in response to Danny Tso

There is absoultly no harm in leaving your computer on 24/7 unless you are going to be away from it of course. I lave mine on all the time and only allow the monitor to sleep - no system sleep.

If there is any danger of overheating, the iMac will shut itself down. There are sensors all over the midplane that will detect and dangerously high temp and shut it down before any damage occurs.

I do suggest that you invest in a good UPS if you haven't already. Macs can be more sensitive to power fluctuation than other PCs, so protect your investment.

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Answer 7

Danny Tso Author

Level 1

30 points

Jan 23, 2006 3:20 PM in response to Danny Tso

Thanks for the heads up from all who replied. From the sound of it I generally dont have to worry about leaving it on. But i'll still shut it down once in a while. Another thing, does restarting the mac reset the ram? I remember I used to do that for my pc Im not sure if it applies for macs as well.

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Answer 8

Pondini

Level 8

38,873 points

Jan 23, 2006 3:29 PM in response to Danny Tso

I agree about leaving it on. Mine's been on for 16 months (except for two days when there was no power after a hurricane). Also ditto about UPS.

Just one thing you might check -- be sure the "put the hard disks to sleep when possible" box is checked on the Energy Saver screen of System Preferences. I think it comes that way by default, but it's worth a quick look.

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