I have the Vista Media Center.
So I went out and brought a TV Tuner for my laptop.
Im have
120gig HD
2gig ram
320mb graphics
And im just wondering whats best for me to do to get all the stuff I have added to the sceduele to record.
Thanks,
Daniel
There is no real best.
Both have good features.
Sleep: Turns off all computer funtions and leaves power to the memory so that your memory doesn't erase allowing a quick access to the computer.
The bad thing about this is because it still has to provide power it must keep the power supply running. Taking electricity and having a noisy fan running constantly.
Hibernate: This moves all the files from the memory to the hard drive. So when you boot up your computer it moves them back from the hard drive to the memory. Doing this allows the computer to completely shut down and have no fans running. The bad thing is this requires more time to boot up.
Either way you must shut down your computer at least once every week to clear this memory up. Other wise it gets clogged down with useless data that didn't get removed properly. Like say a program crashes or something. Otherwise your computer will start to run sluggish.
Either way. You MUST have your computer running in order to record. Sleep will not right or read from the memory until the computer is "awake" again. So if you schedule a bunch of stuff it will not record.
I tryed it out last night just keeping my laptop on.
When I woke up in the morning it was sleeping.
The programs were recorded.
So as long as I turn my laptop of at least once a week it will be fine?
And I heard computers like to be left on, is this true?
Is it safe to leave my laptop on, btw I have a curcuit breaker as well.
Thanks,
Daniel
It is best not to shutdown computers (the hardware, the software may not like it because of cluttered memory) because when things heat up they expand, and when they cool again they get smaller. This may cause damage, if it happens too often. Leaving a normal PC on at night however costs more then buying an new one every few years, so it's only recommended for servers etc. If you need to leave your PC on for prolonged periods I recommend you first try out of your PC can handle it, so make it use 100% CPU for a few hours while keeping track of the CPU temperature. If it gets too high you'll need another fan/cooler or open the case. This is the prevent your PC from overheating when an app starts crashing and uses 100%.
Why would you want your PC to run at 100% the would require more power and would cause more stress on the computer.
