Hi Most days I start-up my PC at about 9am and shut it down at around midnight. During the course of the day it may stand without use for up to a couple of hours on and off.Apart from the obvious energy saving benefits, is it wise or of any added benefit to the hardware's lifespan to have it hibernate during periods of non-use. I know Nick N suggests switching off hibernation permanently as it is a resource hog, but wondered what everyone else does ? Cheerserich

If it's just a couple of hours, it's best to leave your PC on. Start-up currents (PSU, HDD's) tend to limit hardware lifetime. Many spec sheets include a "Power-Cycle" limitation for this reason. HDD's also suffer from temperature variation.Cheers,- jahman.

As I work from 8:30-19h, I usually turn it on twice a day. It makes no sense to me to have it turned on for 10 hours without any usage. Other days of the week when not at work, I have it turned on all day, since I do come back every now and then to do something, or flying or whatever... even if I go out of the house for couple of hours I leave it running. Only if I am really all day away, then I turn it off... Sleep or hibernation 100% disabled too.

THANKS!