laptop power unit

Hello Is it advisable to keep the power unit plugged into the wall after disconnecting the pc? I could turn off the unit or unplug it but I have a new one and did not see anything about this in the manual. I have other things in the surge strip so if no harm done it would be convenient to just unplug the pc but leave the power unit on. If it shorttens the life that is a factor. Thank you

I am not sure I understand. If it is unplugged, the power supply is off. If you are referring to the "master" power switch on the back of the power supply, then it does not matter what position it is in. When on, and plugged in, the PSU provides +5Vsb standby voltages to various parts of the computer, even when the computer has been shutdown. The master switch in the back turns that off too when set to off. If you are concerned about saving power, you can simply set the master power switch on the back of the PSU to off. Or you can unplug. It does not matter - though I tend to use switches first - even when unplugging, if they are available - not all power supplies have master power switches.

it'll shorten the life of it but not enough to be a concern, it also use up electricity but not much, personally i unplug any/all power adaptors until i use/need them, that's not just laptop adaptors but for every electric item that uses them.

Yes, I think I will do the same as you. I do not know how to describe the power picture other than to say; when you want to charge a laptop, you need to plug the power pack or device into the wall and the laptop. I was asking if you are done with the laptop, should you unplug the power device/adapter also as it has no switch. It is a device that changes the degree of power from the wall to the laptop while charging. Having no switch like a surge surpressor, it is either leave it plugged in-on, or unplug it- off. I hope that clarifies the situation and please advise me if it chages the answer.

You probably mean the "battery charger" or the "AC power adapter". Both terms can be used synonymously.

I haven't done any rigorous hardware tests myself, but I'm skeptical about the argument that leaving the laptop plugged into the mains decreases battery life significantly. In the year and half that I've had my netbook, which has a Lithium-Ion battery, I've hardly seen the battery degrade. It's usually plugged in, but I do let it go through a few cycles every week.

I also found this article :

http://news.tigerdirect.com/2008/02/08/fac…m-your-battery/

It says that any degradation from leaving the laptop plugged in is insignificant. It's just not worth the hassle unplugging it all the time.

Like most things in the world, it comes down to your own opinion. You need to read around and weigh up one argument against another, also take what everyone says with a pinch of salt. When it comes to something like this, someone can only ever give an opinion. Even an educated opinion is still an opinion.

My fault for the confusion. I did not pay attention to, or forgot what this thread's title was as soon as I read in your first sentence,

the pc

While notebooks are personal computers, PC generally refers to a desktop or tower model - and that's the trail I followed.

With notebooks, in theory, it should not hurt to leave the power supply plugged in. Since nothing is connected to the secondary side of the transformer, everything should be at idle. That said, transformers are inherently inefficient - hence the heat. So you are wasting power.

I concur with the above (Digerati comment). I have "lots" of experience with laptop power supplies being left plugged in, and no harm experienced over a period of a few years. Specifically, my Son and his Friend will have a few laptops in action, and then suddenly they get a call to go over to someone else's home or some other activity. They typically shut down their system, then simply unplug the machine-side power supply connector, and off they go. What's left is an assortment of laptop power supplies that I may or may not notice. Most of them have a colored light doughnut at the connector, so that after dark their glow is more noticeable. That's when I often unplug them from the house-side of the power supply. The Transformer portions is generally "warm" but not hot. (I'd be somewhat worried if it was uncomfortably hot to hold.)

I think I will unplug both sides when done as it is no great effort. I was wondering about the times we forget to unplug either the cord at the laptop once it is charged or the battery charger itself with the colorful doughnut when the pcs unplugged. I guess we all agree on this rather harmless subject so I conclude either way there is no harm but one way may be a bit better about enegy savings. Thanx all..

Hello I had an after thought about the desktop. I turn it on in the a.m. and off at night. I have the router and modem connected to the sugre srperessor. What do you think about turning the surge surpressor off at night so the modem and router are off? One way allows them to stay set prpoerly upon startup the other saves them from running all the time. Thank you again

I turn it on in the a.m. and off at night.

That's what I typically recommend - turn it on once in the morning, and then off at night. I don't recommend turning it on and off throughout the day.

What do you think about turning the surge surpressor off at night so the modem and router are off?

I am not in favor of that. These "network devices" are designed to be on 24/7. But also, it is likely your IP assignments are dynamic via DHCP. When you unplug the modem and router, you "reset" them. This can result in new and/or shuffled IP assignments for your network, Internet connection, and each computer which can result in lost connectivity in the morning.

Besides, there is a whole, and very large camp of electronics technicians that believe the lifespan of electronics is maximized when electronics are maintained at a near constant temperature. Turning electronics on and off swings them through temperature extremes. As a Law of Physics, matter expands and contracts when heated and cooled. These repeated heat/cool, expand/contract cycles are believed to contribute to aging of the electronics, causing "fatigue" in the materials, eventual crystallization, and then breaking of the device - just as wings on a plane can get "metal fatigue" from being flexed over and over again. Granted, today's electronics are less susceptible than electronics of yesterday, but we know the expansion and contraction still occurs, and we know what happens to matter once it has been flexed over and over again.

Hello D I think I have it; leave the machines on during the day.I have lap and desktop and will leave both on as we are always going to them during the day and I need to transfer files. Do not turn power off to the modem or router when the pcs are off for the reasons you explained. Your answers show a high degree of technical information, so although I do not undertsand it, thoroughly, I do get it enough to know what to do to run efficiently and safely. I think we leave the battery charger plugged into the surge surpressor when the pc is fully charged then back into the pc when necessary. Alternativley, I could just leave the charger plugged in the lap as today's laptops are not negatively affected by constant charging. I may have it all ok except the last part; I would appeciate any corrections if necessary. Thank you.