my son says its better to keep the computer on 24/7 is this true?

Yes and no. Speaking generally, the moving parts and power supply in your computer (fans and hard drive motors) suffer from being run constantly. The electronic components suffer from voltage spikes when being powered on and off. Many people argue that leaving the computer on constantly makes more sense; it's easier and cheaper to replace a fan motor than it is to replace a motherboard.

Technical considerations aside, leaving you computer running 24/7 will not do any serious harm to your system. Neither will shutting it on and off once or twice a day. Rebooting several times a day, every day, may have a measurable effect on your computer's lifespan, but it will probably make no practical difference. It's much more likely that your computer will be obsolete before components actually start wearing out.

The overheating argument is moot. You computer should NEVER overheat. If it does, you need to fix your overheating problem, not ignore it by rebooting constantly.

One important thing to consider: Windows XP has an inherent memory leak. It constantly writes to the cache while it's running. Over time, this sucks up RAM resources, and makes your computer run more slowly. This problem is less noticeable with high RAM machines, but most computers running XP will have a noticeable loss of system performace if left running for a week or more. Unless you have special software for configuring your system cache (available on the internet), the only way to clear the cache and reset your memory is to restart the machine.

That is a constant argument between IT professionals on every scale. Both yes and no answers have been proven.

I personally don't see why it's better to keep it running 24/7 however I do. I haven't had any problems with it and the last time I shut my computer off was a few months ago.

Now, some will argue that it will overheat (most PC's won't overheat unless they are in a small, enclosed area), some will that the PC will slow down (this is a myth), and some say that it will damage your hard drive (haven't experienced this yet).

But I leave mine on due to personal preference, not because it's better for the PC.

Many factors have to be said to keep this true. If you have more than one computer (such as 2 or 3) that are networked together and share printers etc then it might be safe to say yes keep them on especially if they use Windows 98. If your son has high speed connection and is always downloading music, games, movies, large files, etc, then yes it is understandable for him to say that because downloading takes long hours, stuff that you can do when your asleep. If neither of these conditions are true then don't worry. It's safe to turn it off. And if your son is knowledgeable about networking then just let him network the computers over and over again restablishing connections. Also if your worried about the usage of electricity on a computer. It really doesn't use a lot. You can use it for a whole year without turning it off and youll pay no more than 150 bux for electricity. It doesnt use as much unless your blastic the music. Also keep in mind that the longer you use it, the more it will wear down. A computer can only last for so long so it really depends. For me personally, I would tell him to leave it off unless he has something MAJORLY important that he needs to leave his pc on. Hope this helps =D

If you are using it 24/7 then yes but since most people do sleep once in awhile a good rule to follow is that if it will not be used for at least 8 hours, turn it off. Shutting down also clears out the cache which sometimes improves how it runs. If there is an electrical storm it should also be shut down and unplugged.

This is an argument which has been since the PC hit the market en mass 25 years ago. There is no CORRECT answer to this. My suggestion is to consider this:

A. If you are running to and from the computer often or needing quick access, leave it on (Save wear on the electronics and mechanical devices - Like not flashing a light on and of repeatedly until it burns out)

B. If you are worried about power consumption and you hardly use it, you could use sleep mode (If equipped) or turn it off when you know you're not going to use it for several (10+) hours.

It's really only good for convenience so you don't have to turn it on and off all the time. Leaving it on all the time does not hurt it at all. It may add extra wear to it but these computers last long enough anyway that you will need a new PC before it wears out.

Plus you should restart it 1-2 times a week to clear memory leaks. I leave mine on all the time but like to shut it down completely at leat 3 times a week. You will aslo notice that the PC runs better when you shutdown and/or restart after it's been on for awhile.

Rebooting (turning your computer off and on) puts more stress on the hard drive and some other components than just staying on. They are built to handle this, but every reboot potentially shortens the life of the computer by a tiny fraction. Not to worry, most computers are built to survive tens of thousands of cycles - they'll be obsolete long before they stop working.

Thre are however, some good reasons to turn your computer of when you won't be using it for a while.

1. Security - if you have a broadband Internet connection, your computer may be open to viruses or other attacks while its on. Especially if you don't have good antivirus/anti-spyware software.

2. Energy - computers use about as much energy as the lights in teh room they're in, you can knock a few cents of your electric bill by turning them off or hibernating them.

3. Memory - Some Windows operating systems continually write to certain files for as long as they're on. Rebooting clears these files, which can get large enough to hamper performance.

Personally, I hibernate or turn off my computer if I won't be using it for more than a few hours.

Another debatable question,lol.A comp is much like a car in the sense that,the more u turn it off and on the more wear and tear it will suffer.Now,if u do not use ur comp on a daily basis then it makes sense to shut it down,but if ur comp is used on a daily basis then most techs will tell ya that leaving ur comp on and rebooting it every 3 days is far less damaging on ur OS than constantly turning it off and on.I host a chatroom and have my comp on 24/7 going on 2 yrs and reboot every 3 days,i have had no viruses,no over heating and no os probs.

A long standing argument. The ones that say 'leave it on' cite the voltage spikes of turning it off and on, and the wear. The ones that say 'turn it off' cite that you probably need to reboot, so why not?

I personally say leave it on all day, turn it off at night. Why? Well, ever see a power supply short out and catch fire? I have. I don't want it to happen while I'm sound asleep several rooms away, thank you. Even if you have it set to hibernate after a certain time period, the power supply is still on...

Depends on the cooling you have,

If your computers temperature stays cool leave it on, The risk from hacking is not very high as long as you have good security, the major parts that break have been shown to break most during power on because that is when the system is at most stress with everything starting at once. but If it runs hot over time turn it of to prevent heat damage.

I leave most of my computers on, and have maintenance tasks run on them while I am not using them, my server has been on for about 11 months without being turn off, had no problem.