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Logging out versus restarting

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by dsnethen

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We as a company are running on a Novell Network, with workstations running NT. For the last year, we have been telling our end users to log off/and on as a different user at the end of the work day. There is a pocket of us that would rather see staff doing a restart and/or a power down. We believe some of our apps are causing us problems because of memory leaks. What I am looking for is any recommendation or confirmation that a restart is better than a logout that I can put in front of our executive staff that states that from whomever (Microsoft, Gartner, etc)this is the recommended procedure. Can you help?

7 replies

by olisao55

There are many advantages to rebooting versus just logging off. The memory refresh is a big advantage. There are many known errors caused by apps that happen where a simple reboot will take care of the problem. When leting the computer refresh the memory, go through the post process, and giving those apps a chance to choose a different memory address, the errors will go away.

by semi-pro 64

Yes, it this is a good idea to not only log off but turn off the computer over night A: because it saves on power over night B: Restarting computers fixs memory leaks. Turn off the power total resets your computer so nothing stays in memory.

I got the follow off a web site:

Every program that you run in Windows uses a certain portion of memory to operate.

Let's say that your system starts with 95% system performance available. (Your actual starting point may vary and it is rare to find a system running at 100%)

Start or use any program, Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.

While any of these programs are running, system performance will decrease a certain amount. (You can actually check the performance level from Windows control panel while running any program)

While running Word with only one document open, you may be at 85%. (Your actual percentage may vary depending on size and complexity of your document and other variables)

Exit the program you were using and check the performance level again.

Logically, you should be back at your starting point of 95%.

But are you? Probably not. You may be at 92%, or even 90%.

Where is the extra 3% or 5%?

It leaked.

All programs may not leak the same amount every time. Some programs may not leak memory at all. But over the course of using your computer, you will find system performance level decreasing.
Restarting the computer restores the memory that leaked.
http://www.pcmaestro.com/restart.htm

by mdelyea

Also, you can always say that leaving the computers on 24/7 is a security risk. All it takes is one unprotected port on the network to make your whole network vulnerable.

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