Probably one of the first questions we are all asked when calling tech support for assistance is “Have you tried rebooting?”.  While this may seem like a flippant response or even maybe a stall for time, there are a number of really sound reasons why your Client Solutions Manager might suggest rebooting before further troubleshooting an issue.

Throughout the day, your PC may experience a number of minor software or hardware errors that you probably wouldn’t even notice.  The longer your workstation is running, programs will read and write to local and temporary files, and hardware and peripherals are continuously being accessed and used, potentially causing a series of glitches resulting in your PC to act sluggish or even freeze. Your PC needs assistance to wipe away any problems that have developed and start over from square one. Many computer users are unaware that when they reboot their computer, it runs diagnostics on itself, automatically fixing minor errors. These errors can range from buggy or glitchy applications to problems with the Random Access Memory or RAM.

Rebooting your PC will also stop memory leaks.  Memory leaks occur when a program doesn’t close properly. Every program on your PC uses memory and when you close the program the memory it has been utilizing should return to your computer. If a program doesn’t close properly, and memory usage runs higher that it should, your workstation’s performance will seem sluggish.  Rebooting the computer will resolve this by properly closing any programs that are still running in the background.

If you are experiencing internet connection issues, rebooting or power cycling a router or modem can sometimes help. Be sure to not confuse rebooting the equipment with resetting it. If you reset the unit you will wipe the configurations and programming and it will revert to the factory presets.  To properly power cycle a router, unplug it, wait ten or twenty seconds and the plug it back in.  The power will have fully drained allowing the internal software to refresh and it should re-establish it’s connection to your internet service provider.

So the next time your Client Solutions Manager suggests rebooting your equipment, just remember that even if the issue isn’t completely resolved after the restart, it’s easier and more efficient to start from a clean slate to identify and resolve more serious problems.

For more information on solutions for running your businesses’ technology more efficiently, visit our website or contact Megan Meisner at mmeisner@launchpadonline.com or 813 920 0788 x210.