Turning the PSU off?

IwantanewPC · 3 May 2006 at 15:12

when i shut down my pc at night i always turn my PSU off at the switch round the back of my pc.

for some reason i always seem to have trouble with my pc in the morning, be it games freezing or my computer randomly restarting.. today while playing cs:source my PC restarted and then started beeping without loading anything up.

do you guys turn your psu off or just shut down the pc normally? do you think me turning the psu has anything to do with my problems?

Pulsedriver · 3 May 2006 at 15:21

I shutdown the PC then turn the plug off at the mains.

Andelusion · 3 May 2006 at 15:23

I leave my PSU on, afaik turning your PSU off for long lengths of time can cause the mobo battery to drain.

I unplug my PSU during storms incase of lightening.

semi-pro waster · 3 May 2006 at 16:14

My PC is always plugged in and the switch stays on even when the PC is off because the power drain is minimal and the risk of fires etc is small, I do have surge protection strips though just in case of spikes.

What is the specification of your PC? Switching it off at the back shouldn't lead to problems switching on although as Andelusion says it may cause the motherboard battery to drain due to it having to 'work' to store the settings.

binaryknight · 3 May 2006 at 16:19

on the very rare occasion that my pc is turned off its still plugged in and on at the wall and back of the psu same with all my electrical devices!

my sister drives me nuts unplugging stuff at night!

hedgey · 3 May 2006 at 16:20

When used over extended period of time (1+ years) as well as 24/7 PSU will start loosing its initial wattage. Electrolytic capacitor aging.

squiffy · 3 May 2006 at 16:23

hedgey said:
When used over extended period of time (1+ years) as well as 24/7 PSU will start loosing its initial wattage. Electrolytic capacitor aging.

Capacitors last a lot longer than that, 15+ years.