Laptop on for hours at a time, harmful?

techguy

Does it matter if I have my laptop on for hourse on on end?? I mean 7 or 8 hours straight??
Is it bad for it? I know it is okay to leave a desktop on 24/7 considering there is enough cooling..
But how about a laptop??

Tom Dunne

Nope. Same as a desktop. As long as it is properly ventilated, it is fine.

I have a HP P4 laptop as my Home theatre PC. I've used it for music for parties and had it on for up to 20 hours without problem.

That's not counting the length of times I have had it in standby mode - 1-2 weeks at a time.

Ghost Train

I wouldn't worry too much. I do take out my battery if I'm running it for long periods plugged in. And have the screen off if it's just transcoding files or something. Laptops are tough enough to be bounced around a bit, so sitting on a desk shouldn't be too hard on it. Also if it's still under warrenty, you should be covered if the thing craps out

techguy

Not in warranty anymore..I had thaught of taking out the battery but never bothered now my batterys only lasts about an 1.5 - 2.0 hrs..

qwertplaywert

same........but never take out battery..........always using laptop lieing on bed.....it on legs,so risk of wire comming out and losing info

Ruu_Old

Keep it well ventilated but you shouldn't have too many problems.

loismustdie

should you take battery out every now and then? ah i
'm hopeless, am new to the laptop world and don't have a clue about them!

trout

We have a bunch of Dell C600's and IBM Thinkpads in work, used by shift workers for over 3 years now ... and these are rarely, if ever powered off.

In terms of hardware faults or support calls there is nothing between these 24 x 7 laptops and those laptops used by our 9 to 5 workers. (same models / vintage)

The 24 x 7 machines have a distinctive 'fan' sound, and battery life is poorer than their 9 - 5 counterparts... otherwise, no issues.

It seems to me that the laptops with most failures/faults and shortest working lives are those used by our mobile workers, who are on the road and on customer sites daily. These machines get dropped, rained on, thrown about in cars & suitcases and rarely last more than 2 years ... they also require much more support.

If you were really concerned about ventilation & overheating, I know some people who like these cooling pads, specifically for laptops ... http://img.nextag.com/image/PPA_Clear_Notebook_Cooling/0/000/005/106/309/510630908.jpg

tom dunne wrote:

I have a HP P4 laptop as my Home theatre PC. I've used it for music for parties and had it on for up to 20 hours without problem.

wow ... 20 hour parties ? you live like a king:)

Tom Dunne

trout wrote:

wow ... 20 hour parties ? you live like a king:)

ROFL.

I should point out that includes "warm up" time. You know, when you practice your "moves" and of course line up the music for the following 12 hours.

Sparks

At the risk of resurrecting a zombie thread...

...trout, those IBM thinkpads; did you ever see a failed motherboard sata controller on one of those inside 3 years from new perchance?

Currently looking at "failed command: READ DMA EXT" and "device error" in /var/log/syslog here and just hoping it's the drive and not the controller. Dammit, I bought a thinkpad specifically so it wouldn't pack it in like that! :mad: