Is it safe to always leave a laptop on?

[Zylstra]

I asked a similar question a while back: "Is it fine to always leave your computer in standby?"
This one is a bit different.

I am wondering if its fine to leave a computer on all the time, never shutting it off (unless it went idle for, say, 2 days, then it might hibernate)

I would like to be able to remotely access my computer from school since, well, my computer is just a whole lot more powerful than any of their computers, and I dont feel like dealing with some of their... erm... nonsense... (eg: not having FireFox, OpenOffice, my own documents, my own desktop whatnot, my own documents folder, my own Photoshop, etc)


I am considering installing a good mirroring program (UltraVNC) and forwarding the ports.

Or, I could just enable "wake on LAN" and hope it doesnt constantly start itself up, that way, it will only wake up when I need it, and will go back to sleep later on.

I have a fast enough connection, as well as the school, to do this.

What do you all think?

Thanks for your replies,
Zylstra

[patio]

Since it's a laptop which are more prone to heat issues i would say wake on LAN would be the best choice...
Hibernation would also be a better choice than standby.

[Zylstra]

This laptop is actually quite well ventilated, (when its on a flat surface, which it is)

I am going to attempt the Wake on LAN (via the Ethernet cable that is so wonderfully plugged in right now...) (it seems to be logically foolish to use the WiFi card in that manner)

Are there any security precautions I need to look out for? I know for sure I am going to change the default incoming port for this program, as well as make sure that encryption is enabled, and as obvious, the most secure password to go with it (or even the Windows Logon).

 

[SilentAssasin64]

How does Wake on LAN work anyhow?  My board supports it but I have no idea how it works.

[Zylstra]

How does Wake on LAN work anyhow?  My board supports it but I have no idea how it works.

Personally, I am not 100% sure, but, just as a word of precaution, do not use this with just your cable modem, as it tends to be that any network refresh data (pings or whatnot) will cause your computer to suddenly resume...

Basically, whenever your computer gets the proper request, Wake on LAN will either:
Resume your computer from standby
or
Power it on for you if its not already

Its kind of like "Wake on Modem Ring" in your BIOS
It might be that your computer is for receiving faxes, for example, and when the phone rings, it needs to turn on and receive the fax.

[Calum]

It should be safe to leave your laptop on as long as necessary, as long as you're not running at 100% CPU the whole time.
My advice would be to leave it on overnight sometime, and install something like RMClock or similar to monitor the temperatures and generate a log file, which you can hen review to check the temperatures.  That would only give you an idle reading, but it would at least give you a clue as to whether the temps would keep rising, and what thy would stop at so you'd know if it was safe or not.

[beyourownit]

I agree, laptops can be funny about heat though so I honestly would err on the side of caution.  Even if it is cooled correctly laptops are flaky.  best to shut down but thats just my opinion