Which is best for a Laptop?

[Rockrz]

Which is best for a Laptop?
Sleep mode when not in use, or turning it off and rebooting all the time?

My laptop that is being delivered soon is going to be a secondary machine but will be used at least once a day on most days.

So, I'm curious what the resident experts think would be best for the laptop as I obviously want it to last as long as possible.

[pharoah]

hmm if its going to be plugged in all the time.just leave the batt out,and go to sleep mode.if its going to have some portable use i say turn it off.

[Rockrz]

I've got numerous replies from others on different boards saying that they all put theirs into hibernate.

Any specific reasoning behind turning it off?

I was trying to not have to reboot all the time as I've always heard that was hard on the hardware

[Alan]

Its only hard on the hardware when you boot up many times a day, I would go with Pharoah's suggestion. With my laptop, because I use it as much as my desktop, it is usually switched on in the morning and off at nightime.

[Rockrz]

So, would putting it in hibernate have
any adverse effect on the hardware?

[Alan]

No absolutly not! my own preferences are to leave it on, most hard drive problems start with constanly turning it off and on. Once a day (in my case) dos'nt do any harm just as allowing it to go into 'sleep' mode wont hurt it.
It comes down to a personal choice, if you are only going to use the laptop once a day for a short time, I would turn it off. If you are going to use it a few times a day to check email etc, leave it on in either sleep mode or plugged into the mains and running, neither will harm you laptop.

[Rockrz]

What about battery management?

Is it best to let the battery get down to about 25% before fully recharging it?

[Alan]

A few years ago I would have said it is much better to drain then recharge your battery, but these days there is nothing to be gained from it. In other words, modern lithium ion batteries can be charged when ever suits.

[Rockrz]

I've heard from numerous sources not to do this with cell phone batteries, so I assume this is much different than the type of batteries used in cells phones.

Having a laptop oughta be fun, so I wanted to make sure I knew a little something about 'em.

Thanks for the tips.