Learn tech support in 5 minutes…RESTART your computer!

I can’t even count how many times I’ve been called to assist people with computer based problems which I was able to fix by simply having them restart their computer or finding out once I’ve gotten on site that they haven’t restarted their computer for quite some time, and doing it for them. About 50% of the time, a restart is all that is needed to fix some of the more nagging system problems. On top of that, it’s also amazing how many people will actually lie to your face and tell you that they have restarted the system just because they think they’re smarter than you and that a simple solution such as this couldn’t possibly be the problem. So, why exactly is a restart such a helpful action when it comes to dealing with computer problems? Think of it like this; when you were younger and you sat around all day playing video games, what would you do when your game console wouldn’t play a game properly or froze up? You restarted it…or hit it, both of which usually work for computers as well (caution: hitting your system could cause serious damage…to your hand!).

Humor aside, what are some of the more technical reasons that create the need for a system restart? To start, there are plenty of software applications available that after being installed, request that the system is restarted. In some cases, this is not necessary, but unless you’re computer savvy enough to know when it is and is not needed, I would suggest that you just do it every time that an install recommends it. Restarts after an install are needed for some software packages because it is necessary for the computer to 1. Dump some of the remaining temporary files so that they don’t clog up your hard drive and 2. So that certain programs and processes that may interfere with the installation can be shut down before the program finishes its install. Neglecting these types of restarts can often create problems both for the operating system in general and for the specific software package. Luckily these issues are fairly easy to resolve usually by just uninstalling and reinstalling the software package.

A second reason why restarts are often necessary is simply to clear out your RAM. While your system is running, you are constantly opening up new applications. For some users, the concept of the close and log off buttons are very foreign. This can become especially problematic if you have more than one user accessing the system throughout the day. As the day goes on, more and more applications are being accessed and more of your RAM is disappearing. If you have five instances of Internet Explorer open along with Microsoft Word, Windows Media Player and Paint, and your six year old son Bobby who is also signed onto the computer is running a complex brute force algorithm on your parental control software, naturally you are going to notice that your system is running pretty slow, if not completely locking up and going to our favorite blue screen. This happens often because you have run out of RAM (memory) for the system to store those running processes and their temporary data in. To give you an example of this if you hit CTRL+ALT+DEL right now and go to the performance tab in your task manager on Windows™ you will see a section labeled “Physical Memory”. This is basically how much RAM you have and how much you’re using. If you’re using almost as much as you have, than it’s either time to get more or shut down some of those excess programs that are running in the background. While a restart may not be the most effective way to deal with this problem, it will quickly take care of any junk that may be hanging out, clogging up your RAM. As a side note, it is important to remember to save any of your unsaved information BEFORE you restart the system!

Now, after reading all of that, have I convinced you that sometimes you really do need to spend the 2 extra minutes that it takes to restart your computer before you call up the Tech Support guy? Hopefully.