If your computer is slowing down, or a program is not working correctly, or it won’t connect to the internet, and you contact a technician to help you, the first thing they will likely ask you is, “have you rebooted your computer”?
Computers and the software that runs on them can very rarely run for long periods of time without causing some issue. Programs and computers are complex things and at some point, some untoward thing will happen, and it will affect the performance of your computer. By restarting your computer, you set everything back to zero, and start off with a fresh start.
The first thing you will need to do is to save your work and shut down any programs you have running. If a program refuses to close, refer to our article in the January 2015 issue. Once all programs are closed down, press the Windows button on your keyboard and select the “Shut Down” option from Power options.
If your machine refuses to turn off, press and hold the power button down for 10 to 15 seconds. Once it is turned off, unplug the power cable, and if you are using a laptop, remove the battery as well. Turn the laptop downside up, and locate the battery, which is by the lid hinges. Slide the battery locks back to release it, and it should then simply glide out sideways, away from the computer.
Now leave your computer turned off for a couple of minutes, and once you are ready, replace the battery and plug the computer back into its power source and press the power button to start it up again. If you are suffering from ongoing poor performance, refer to the February 2015 article on CCleaner and also read this month’s issue on symptoms of viruses.
This same technique can work with many other electronic equipment. If you have internet connection issues, locate the router and unplug it for a few minutes. The same applies to phones, such as BlackBerries, which usually have a battery you can remove by removing the back of the phones. At the end of the day, these devices are actually small computers themselves.
