Who likes to reboot....often ?

[StormPC]

Reboot? What's that?

Actually they usually don't lie. Most programs require a reboot to be fully operational whether it's the initial install or an update. This is required for a variety of reasons, but basically it's because programs or processes need to be shut down so that changes to the registry and certain system files can be properly updated.

[ajbrun]

Shut down on a night, but no reboot during the day unless I have to.

Same .

[shiato storm]

i don't reboot, just turn off at night then turn back on again the next day...

[Paul Adams]

I rarely reboot, just when a driver installation or Windows Update prompts me to.
3 PCs in my apartment basically run 24x7, 1 is a server, 1 runs Skype and 1 has my mail client.

[phunkygal]

I have heard a few people in the past say that the more you reboot, the more you reduce the the lifespan of your hardware. I think due to the effect of the chips and soldering expanding and contracting as they heat up/cool down. Think there is anything in this?

i heard this, and if you never turn your computer off it lasts longer. i have probly only rebooted about 8 times in new computers 3 month life and always leave it on 24/7 except when i had to take it home from uni. its getting so when i dont sleep in a room with a computer on i find it even harder because im used to the noise.

[mike_w]

I only reboot when it tells me I need to, or when I want to boot into a different OS (which is pretty much every day)

[MAdMaN]

Never leave my computer on 24/7 as it increases the electricity bills, and why would I need it on if I'm not there.

There's only three times I have to reboot while using the computer:

Updating the Linux kernel.
Changing from Linux to Windows or Windows to Linux.
Updating stuff under Windows (drivers or Windows itself).

[unrealuniverse]

i never restart on my linux box even when i've done a kernel update. i just wait untill i shutdown at night and restart the machine again in the morning. Windows has to restart even if you move the mouse or so it seems. it is getting slightly irritating.

[Butcher]

I like to leave my comp weeks between reboots. I'd rather not waste my time with them. Only time It normally gets rebooted is when I switch it off.

[Butcher]

I have heard a few people in the past say that the more you reboot, the more you reduce the the lifespan of your hardware. I think due to the effect of the chips and soldering expanding and contracting as they heat up/cool down. Think there is anything in this?

Not really. Full power cycles with a cooldown period (i.e. leaving it switched off for over an hour) can cause some thermal cycling stress, but it not going to significantly affect anything. A warm reboot doesn't cause any real temp changes so it's a total non-issue. The only thing likely to have issues with a lot of power cycles is your HDD anyway, and they're rated for 50,000 start/stop cycles at a minimum in general. So yeah if you turn your comp on and off 50+ times a day, you might shorten the lifespan of your HDD a bit, but realistically it's a non-issue.

[Yohji]

I reboot when I need to. And after most updates/installs etc.

[këö¬t]

I only reboot when forced to by a new software update.

[ice]

I try not to reboot much, like to leave my machine on 24/7.

However I do sometimes just reboot because I feel like it...

[Chemical_Ali]

i reboot after playing battlefield 2

[Matt1eD]

Shut down on a night, but no reboot during the day unless I have to.

Same here. Why leave it on overnight? I just run all day, switch off at night. Very, very rarely reboot unless just installed something I must use and it really does require a reboot... see below

YES, YES THEY DO! That annoys me so much. "You must restart your computer"... /runs program... clearly I don't need to restart my computer!

It's like getting one up on the guy who scripted the installer.

Sometimes it is needed for the registry to do stuff, but on some freeware which blatently don't use the registry or anything, just basically puts a shortcut in the start menu and puts a single exe in program files (actually a partition for me) it pisses me off. And don't restart.

I have heard a few people in the past say that the more you reboot, the more you reduce the the lifespan of your hardware. I think due to the effect of the chips and soldering expanding and contracting as they heat up/cool down. Think there is anything in this?

Nope. I pretty much agree with butcher. It's more strain on the HDD rebooting, but otherwise I would guess it lasts longer rebooting (or rather switching off).

[BenW]

I never reboot.

Even when it says 'would you like to reboot' i say no. Only when i try and open that app and it come up with some error will i reboot.

So that means a reboot of probably once a week. Never need to reboot due to slowdowns either