Constant Sleep -> Wake - Bad for hardware?

[dalvin200]

Hi,

Being a recent switcher, I've found that putting the mac to "sleep" one of the loveable features, but the question I have is, is it bad for the system to keep having to wake from sleep mode multiple times per day?

for example: I currently have my energy saver settings set to sleep after 15 mins of no activity (does a running download count as no activity btw? hope not)

so after 15 mins, mac would sleep, maybe 10 min later I realise that I need to check something on the web, so wake the mac up. Again, mac goes to sleep.. maybe an hour or 2 later, wake it up again.. then back to sleep.. few hours later, wake it up again.. etc.. etc..

Does all of this spinning up HDD, decrease lifespan? I mean, putting the mac to sleep is better than actually turning it off right?

I hope there is nothing to worry about, but my habits over the past week have started making me think if I am damaging the hardware in any way..

But I certainly love the quick start up time when it wakes!! Awesome..

Thanks

 

[The Man]

Well, I have an iBook, been using it mainly as a desktop. I also sleep/wake my notebook frequently every day. I haven't noticed any problems with doing it. I think the display lamp is the component to be most worried about. Turning it on and off will put some strain on it. I am less worried about the HD and stuff. After 2 years of high usage, though, my iBook is still fine.

Putting it to sleep seems better to me than shutting down and starting up, as that will put much more strain on the components, especially the HD. Some people keep their Mac on all the time, not even letting it sleep. Well, if you aren't using your Mac as a server, I think that is wasting a lot of energy. It's not good for your bills and not good for Mother Earth. We already waste so much energy.

Is it possible to set the screen saver at, like, 10 minutes and letting the computer sleep at 25 minutes? Or will the screensaver prevent the Mac from going to sleep?

 

[GilGrissom]

Well, I have an iBook, been using it mainly as a desktop. I also sleep/wake my notebook frequently every day. I haven't noticed any problems with doing it. I think the display lamp is the component to be most worried about. Turning it on and off will put some strain on it. I am less worried about the HD and stuff. After 2 years of high usage, though, my iBook is still fine.

Putting it to sleep seems better to me than shutting down and starting up, as that will put much more strain on the components, especially the HD. Some people keep their Mac on all the time, not even letting it sleep. Well, if you aren't using your Mac as a server, I think that is wasting a lot of energy. It's not good for your bills and not good for Mother Earth. We already waste so much energy.

I agree. I do the same. Sleep is generally better than shut down, I think is the general consensus.

Is it possible to set the screen saver at, like, 10 minutes and letting the computer sleep at 25 minutes? Or will the screensaver prevent the Mac from going to sleep?

You can set the display to turn off and then the computer to go to sleep. Its under System Preferences>Energy Saver

 

[student_trap]

i wouldn't worry too much about it, the machines are built to sleep and wake from sleep. I concur with the post above that sleeping is much better than shutting down all the time, although my powerbook probably gets shut-down two or three times a day!!!

My advice would be to get it to turn the display of after say 10 or 15 minutes, and then for it to sleep after about 25/30 minutes, that way you may find that you wake it less often. But in all honesty, i don't think that it is something to put too much thought into.

 

[GilGrissom]

You'll always find that you have to strike a compromise between energy consumed and lifespan of the machine. But generally sleep is one of the better compromises.

 

[dogbone]

I'm confused about the "Put the hard disks(s) to sleep when possible" option.

Is it separate to the "sleep" options?

How does it work in practice. Does it mean the HD can sleep even while using the computer like browsing a web page for example?

Does using this option put more strain on the HD. Does sleeping the HD mean that it powers/spins down?