"Leave your PC running 24/7"
You do, and your asking for
trouble. You will only suck up "dust bunnies" and run out
of RAM (your active memory), even if you are using power standby or hibernation. The "dust
bunnies" can eventually cause shorts. When you are low on RAM,
your PC will function slowly and lock up, and may not even have enough kick
for your modem to connect to the Internet. Even if you don't run much,
you have to completely turn off your computer at least once a week in order
for it to function. And speaking of "turn off," if you either
deliberately or accidentally turn off the power, you should wait 10-20
seconds before you turn it back on. If you don't, you may literally
blow its brains (your PC holds power in reserve).
Remember RAM is not unlimited. If your computer has been on for several
hours or you have been playing some heavy duty games, restart your PC before
you try to go onto the Internet or do anything more. It's like shuffling
the deck of cards so you can play another set. Re-booting (restarting)
refreshes your RAM.
"Screen Savers prevent image burn-in on your monitor"
Screen
Savers were important years ago to prevent the image burning into your
monitor screen if it stood still too long. Newer monitors in use today
don't have that problem, by design. Screen Savers are for amusement
only and mean nothing to your computer, but they eat up RAM. Unless
you want some amusement while sitting at your PC doing nothing, click on
a blank spot on your desktop and choose Properties and make Screen
Saver say "None."
© 8/16/01 The Internet Store
248 Washington Street
East Stroudsburg PA 18301
computers@tiscomputers.com