Why Does Restarting a Computer Fix So Many Issues?
“Try Restarting Your Computer”
Few things cause more eye rolls than being told to restart a device. Most of us are used to hearing it by now. Many of the people that we help have already restarted their computers before they even call us, and there are some people that tend to have a “face-palm” moment when they’ve forgotten this technology fix-all.
Other people almost seem to take offense when they hear it, like they’ve somehow been insulted with this too-simple-to-help advice.
But guess what? It Does Work! We estimate that more than half of all issues in technology can are fixable with a simple reboot.
But why does rebooting fix problems?
When you are using your computer, you’re opening programs, installing and installing software, and moving files around. Sometimes windows like, internet browsers are open for hours, or even days at a time. There are a lot of background services that stop and start too, but you never really see these services.
We use our computers a lot, especially over the course of weeks or months.
What you may not realize, is that a lot of what you and your operating system does, is leaving behind a footprint. Usually this footprint is in the form of background processes you don’t really need running anymore or programs that didn’t quite close all the way.
These “left-over” items hog your system resources, and usually, your RAM.
When too much of this happens, you start to get problems, like a sluggish system, programs that won’t open anymore, etc.
When you reboot your computer, every single program and process ends as the power leaves your computer during the restart process.
Once the computer starts back up, you will have a clean state (of sorts) and more than not, a faster, better working computer.
Note: Restarting your PC is the same as rebooting or powering it off and then on. Restarting is not the same as resetting, which is a much larger process and usually includes erasing everything and returning to “factory defaults”.
Frequently Restarting May Indicate a Bigger Issue
Restarting your computer occasionally, is perfectly normal, and if you’re doing the type of work that requires multiple programs, it is encouraged.
However, if you find that the reboot is only a temporary fix for you, there may be a bigger problem at hand.
Hardware may be failing; important operating system files may be damaged or you may even have virus or malware files on your machine.
Give us a call, and we will work with you to find a solution any computer or network issues impacting your business. We’ll get the computer problems slowing down your office resolved quickly, and if you’ll allow us to, we’ll perform an assessment to determine what is causing your problems in the first place. This is called an IT Network Assessment, and we’ll do it for FREE! Call us now at (888) 799-4777 and we’ll start working on resolving your pressing computer issues.
