Yet another silly question...

Zuzzie

Hi all,
I know this sounds daft but can anyone tell me if there is any advantage to leaving the desktop plugged at the socket even though the PC has been shut down? I am going abroad for a month so if I shut it down and pull out the plug is this better than leaving it plugged in but switched off????

superscaper

Transformers etc can get quite hot etc even when switched off unless it's switched off at the mains. Which if anything is quite wasteful. Personally I switch off my PC and monitor and all the peripherals at the mains every single night.

Zuzzie

thanks superscraper. I was in two minds but now I shall definitely shut it all down and pull out the plugs. cheers.

real1314

Also if your house takes a lightning strike and it gets through to the power cables, it could fry your pc, but unplugging it stops this. Also worth disconnecting your phone/broadband cable from it too

adonis

But i thought it had to stay plugged in to stop the cmos battery going flat?

Mr-Ebeneezer

It takes more than a month to go flat, think how long they can sit in a warehouse all boxed up before finally seeing a power point.

Domokun

Urban myth, perhaps. I have heard that your PC is at risk if lightening were to strike your home, should it be plugged in.

Lokolo

Domokun wrote: »

Urban myth, perhaps. I have heard that your PC is at risk if lightening were to strike your home, should it be plugged in.

And has this ever happened to you?

I have always had my PC plugged in through numerous thunderstorms nothing.

I always thought the Earth wire was there for a reason but maybe I am wrong?

Marty_J

Lightning strikes do happen, and will destroy anything plugged in. The fact that it is unlikely to happen doesn't mean that people should not take precautions. Even a surge protector will be completely useless against a lightning strike.

I remember awhile ago some woman was on the news after a particularly big storm here. The lightning hit her house, travelled through the wiring (burning the walls as it went), and then blew her phone across the room.

totalsolutions

adonis wrote: »

But i thought it had to stay plugged in to stop the cmos battery going flat?

They are single cells, not charged, and last over 6yrs

Turn off the house mains power switch for over a month (any alarms?), empty the fridge/freezers, turn off the mains water.

superscaper

Back in sixth form I helped out in the IT room and overnight the school got struck by lightning and destroyed not only a couple of the computers but actually melted some of the electrical wiring. Only a few months ago lightning struck the street outside and the EM field was strong enough to completely distort the picture on my CRT TV in my bedroom (I was lucky, across the street at least three of the houses had their TVs completely destroyed). Had to degauss it a few times to fix the colour and picture. As Marty J says, if your house gets struck by lightning then your electrical equipment (whether PC or anything else) is at risk if left plugged in.