Poll Shut down SP3 or just close the type cover

[RémiM]

I'm still unsure what happens when the SP3 is in connected stand-by and you take it outside at let's say -20 degrees Celsius in a car's trunk.

It was -36°C (-33F) this morning when I went outside to catch my bus. I have a 15 minutes walk to the bus and then a 5 minutes walk to work. SP3 in a sleeve, sleeve in a Patagonia messenger back. It's completely fine.

We have cold temperatures (<= 0°C -- 32F) from october to late april and I've never had any problem with any electronic device so far.

The real danger with the cold is to sleep on the ice, fall on your bag and brake your computer.

By the way, I always turn my SP3 off, even when I am at home. It boots up insanely fast, and I have no problem with waiting a few seconds.

 

[leeshor]

While thermal cycling is an issue - it isn't nearly the issue it was when chips were socketed. The thermal expansion and contraction needs to be weighed against a couple other factors. There are pros and cons on both sides. I can tell you that dealing with the number of laptops and tablets I deal with, if you "only" ever close the lid and never at least restart you are playing Russian Roulette with the hardware and the OS.

Windows, and even modern hardware doesn't do a fabulous job of informing the user of some problems. Use any computer long enough without at least restartting and you risk potentially serious issues.

I can't really count the number of laptops I support but I can tell you that the people who shut down their systems if not being used for more than 8 hours generate fewer problem calls. But it's difficult to impossible to convince some people not to just close the lid or with desktops, do nothing.

The very first thing I ask a customer when they call me with a problem is when was the last time they restarted. 90+% of the time the problems solves itself.

I practice what I preach and it serves me well.

 

[GreyFox7]

Certainly the cold is not as much of a problem as it used to be. Id liken this to playing the lottery, the odds of you wining are not great but someone always wins. In this case if you win you lose.

 

[mohcho]

While thermal cycling is an issue - it isn't nearly the issue it was when chips were socketed. The thermal expansion and contraction needs to be weighed against a couple other factors. There are pros and cons on both sides. I can tell you that dealing with the number of laptops and tablets I deal with, if you "only" ever close the lid and never at least restart you are playing Russian Roulette with the hardware and the OS.

Windows, and even modern hardware doesn't do a fabulous job of informing the user of some problems. Use any computer long enough without at least restartting and you risk potentially serious issues.

I can't really count the number of laptops I support but I can tell you that the people who shut down their systems if not being used for more than 8 hours generate fewer problem calls. But it's difficult to impossible to convince some people not to just close the lid or with desktops, do nothing.

The very first thing I ask a customer when they call me with a problem is when was the last time they restarted. 90+% of the time the problems solves itself.

I practice what I preach and it serves me well.

So true. I have to do this as well with my users.

 

[GTiceman]

Close the cover 90% of the time as I use it off and on. Should probably shut it down at night but I don't. However it does typically get restarted once a week.

 

[kristalsoldier]

While thermal cycling is an issue - it isn't nearly the issue it was when chips were socketed. The thermal expansion and contraction needs to be weighed against a couple other factors. There are pros and cons on both sides. I can tell you that dealing with the number of laptops and tablets I deal with, if you "only" ever close the lid and never at least restart you are playing Russian Roulette with the hardware and the OS.

Windows, and even modern hardware doesn't do a fabulous job of informing the user of some problems. Use any computer long enough without at least restartting and you risk potentially serious issues.

I can't really count the number of laptops I support but I can tell you that the people who shut down their systems if not being used for more than 8 hours generate fewer problem calls. But it's difficult to impossible to convince some people not to just close the lid or with desktops, do nothing.

The very first thing I ask a customer when they call me with a problem is when was the last time they restarted. 90+% of the time the problems solves itself.

I practice what I preach and it serves me well.

Thankfully, Windows takes care of the restart thing what with its system updates, which forces the device to reboot!

 

[jnjroach]

Its a S0iX Enabled Hybrid, the SP3 should function more like an ARM Tablet or Smartphone from a power management perspective and if something is causing it not to enter Connected Standby I would look at what you've installed on the device.

I keep my SP3 very lean, the only Win32 Applications I have installed are Office 2013 Pro Plus and 7zip...

 

[VickiFL]

So true. I have to do this as well with my users.

Reminds me of when Sam (in Supernatural) asked the same question about someone's printer, lol

I'll bet a lot of computer techs feel like this sometimes.....

 

[jonypx09]

I shut down my SP3 at the end of the day, before I go to bed. Other than that, I just close the Type Cover.

 

[zhenya]

I don't shut it down, but I have gotten in the habit of hitting the 'power' button to put it to sleep as opposed to just closing the cover. This seems to have made it go to sleep more reliably for me.

 

[ptrkhh]

I don't have the cover, so the option is obvious lol.
Well, not that obvious though, since I hardly ever shut down the SP3. I always put it in standby by pressing the power button, you know, like a tablet normally (even though the SP3 is not a normal tablet ).

 

[silkrooster]

The one time I thought I would show someone how well the pen works with the surface was the day, then pen did not work. Clicking the button did not launch any program at all, wouldn't even bring out of sleep mode. Later on that night, I rebooted the surface and all was well again. The only thing I can think of was before using the pen, I pulled off the keyboard. Apparently it did something it should not have.

So, yeah rebooting once in awhile is a good idea, as you could miss an update.