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Ok so i ahve 2 diff laptops (well one is my moms) that are used in different ways and I am trying to find out whether I should be powering off/hibernatin/stand by to best prolong the life. Another thing is i have been told it is best to let the power run down and recharge too (i.e. its not good to leave them plugged in 24/7?).

So here we go, PC 1. Its a desktop replacement. I am in nursing school currently and so my schedule is somehwat strange. For the most part this computer gets used a lot. When I am home it probably never goes more then an hour without being used and thats probably not all that often. So in between uses when I am at home I imagine standby is right if I am not keeping apps open and hibernate is right if I intend to keep apps open? Now of course I ahve to go to class and go to the hospital so there are times when I am gone for 4-8 hr stretches. Is it best to shutdown in these cases? I've just heard that complete shutdowns put a strain on your motherboard and that its best to avoid them. And finally, should I be unpluggin and letting the power run down?


PC 2, this computer is probably on no more then an hour a day, it too is also a desktop replacement. So the thing that concerns me with this one is the constant shutting down and turning back on from a complete shutdown and also that my mom keeps it plugged in constantly. So I assume I should instruct her to let the power run down maybe once a week? Should I instruct her not to shutdown every time?

I know I mentioned that both of these are desktop replacements, not sure if this could've gone unsaid or not but as such I'm generally not concerned with them ebing juiced to take out of the home. in general there will 99% of the time be an outlet to plug into.

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Short, practical answer for both machines: use Sleep for short gaps, Hibernate when you expect to be away for several hours or overnight, and do a full shutdown or reboot occasionally (weekly or when updates require it). Modern laptops tolerate frequent state changes; you do not need to avoid shutdowns to “protect the motherboard.” As started, power states are the right tool — here are concrete, actionable rules and a few extra tips.

For PC1 (lots of short uses, occasional 4–8 hour absences)

  • Sleep (S3) for quick returns (minutes to a couple of hours) — very fast resume.
  • Hibernate (S4) if you’ll be gone multiple hours or want zero battery draw while preserving your session.
  • Restart or full shutdown occasionally to clear drivers, install updates and avoid long-running software issues.
    See Microsoft’s overview of power states for the behaviors behind Sleep/Hibernate:

For PC2 (used ~1 hour/day, mostly plugged in)

  • Shutting down after each short session is fine; modern components aren’t harmed by daily power cycles.
  • If the battery stays inside while the laptop is plugged in for long periods, look for the vendor’s “battery conservation” or charge-threshold feature (keeps max charge below 100%) or remove/store the battery if it’s easily removable. For long storage, keep a Li‑ion cell around ~40% and cool — heat and prolonged high state-of-charge accelerate degradation (see general Li‑ion guidance): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery

Quick maintenance checks

  • On Windows, generate a battery health report with:
    powercfg /batteryreport /output "%USERPROFILE%\battery-report.html"
  • On macOS, open System Information → Power to view cycle count and health.
  • Keep vents clear and avoid sustained high temperatures while plugged in.

This balances convenience with longevity: use the simplest sleep/hibernate pattern that matches each machine’s usage, enable vendor battery-preserve options if available, and monitor health periodically.

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Member Avatar for dcc

Nichol Cadmium batteries are the one that you would want to allow to run down before you recharged them.

Laptops use Lithium-ion batteries, here's part of an article that explains the best recharging practices.

A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 discharge/charge cycles. The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible. Instead, charge the battery more often or use a larger battery. There is no concern of memory when applying unscheduled charges.

The rest of the article can be found here.

You should not run the computer continuously off AC, the battery needs to be used to keep it healthy. Your owners manual should have instructions regarding this.

As for power management, if you are concerned about power conservation then I would suggest hibernation.

Member Avatar for Member #136861

Not really worried about the power consumption per se. More so I am wondering if its better for the life of the pc itself to not to a complete shutdown? I thought I had read that you should avoid shutting down the pc completely as it hurts the pc's motherboard to boot up cold???? Not sure if its tru just heard it somewhere along the way.

So I guess I am wondering if I should shut down and leave unplugged, or should I hibernate/stand by and leave plugged in? Or am i making this out to be more the it should?

Member Avatar for dcc

Cold boot aren't hard on it, the only real issue there is that thermal cycles help break down component. But this is happening so slowly that it's really a non issue for most. I know people who keep their desktop computers on all the time, they enable the hibernation and leave it. There are differences between standby and hibernation, you can google "standby vs hibernation" for comparisons. As I said, I prefer hibernation.

As I suggested previously alternate you use of the two power sources to keep you battery healthy.

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