Powering off your computer every night is just plain hard on your computer. It can even shorten its life span. We recommend leaving it on, and putting it to sleep when work ends. Sleep mode uses very little power, and doesn't hurt the computer.

However, rebooting your computer on a weekly basis is a quick and easy way to maximize its performance.

Rebooting clears the computer's memory, and wipes away temporary files. Think of a water pipe in your house. Over time, it can collect gunk, which slows the water down and could lead to blockages.

Flush the pipe with a cleaner, and it goes back to smooth flow. The same thing happens when you reboot.

Tip:  Rebooting means clicking “Restart” not “Shut Down.”  Restarting is better for the computer's performance. Why?

• Restart clears everything out of memory.
• Shut Down saves what's in memory, in case it needs to remember something you did. This won't mess up the computer, but it can slow the reboot (and you) down.

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