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Basics (101) 

We'll expand on this as time allows

Shut off vs. running 24/7

Always a controversy even within the industry but shutting off and restarting computers does not seem to extend their life.  While the hardware is a little different and more robust, servers all over the world run 24/7 for years and years.  All of our computers run 24/7 and in 20+ years we have never had a failure (see UPS).  But having said that, our computers are replaced every 4-6 years for reliability reasons.

• Leave on:
  • Scheduled items like virus scans and backups obviously require the computer to be running and awake.  See Power settings.
  • If the computer shares data, printers or devices to other computers on your network.  See Power settings.
  • If the computer is responsible for running other things like security cameras, security systems, phone systems, etc.
• Shut off:
  • Hard drives, power supplies and electronics in general do not like sudden loss of power, so unless your computer is on a battery backup device (and sometimes even then), shut it off when thunderstorms are approaching.  See UPS.
  • If you are leaving for a couple of days or more. 

Passwords

See our Passwords article 

Backup your password(s)

If your computer has password, be sure to create a password reset disk (thumb/flash drive).  Especially important with Windows 8 and later... If Windows logons to your email at boot up and you change your email password*, be sure to recreate the recovery disk with that new password! Don't want a password on the computer at all?  Change it to a local account via Start menu > Settings > User Accounts.

* You need to change the email password with the provider first. 

See also this article.