Why Does Rebooting Your Computer Fix So Many Issues?

Written by Tina Sieber

January 31, 2014

(http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/author/tinsie/)

Have you tried rebooting?

Its technical advice that gets thrown around a lot, but theres a reason: it works. My own personal experience has been that a simple reboot
can fix a computer issue 80-90% of the time, whether that issue is related to networking, graphics, slow performance, or faulty
programs.And its not just issues with Windows that respond well to a reboot; this method works for a wide range of devices, including
smartphones and routers and even software.
Why is this solution so prevalent? What is it about computing devices that makes rebooting so effective? And why cant these problems be
fixed while the device is running? Read on to find some answers.

Common Issues Fixed With A Reboot

To help you understand the more complex underlying principles that are at the basis of why it takes a reboot to make things work again, well
start with the symptoms and the most likely basic causes you already know.

Symptom:
Cause:

Memory (http://crucial.com) leaks.

Solution:

Stop software or reboot.

Symptom:
Cause:

Windows Blue Screen Of Death

Driver or hardware error.

Solution:

A reboot is enforced.

Symptom:
Cause:

The computer slows down or freezes.

WiFi stops working.

Driver crashed or router software causes a problem.

Solution:

Reboot or perform a power cycle (unplug power for 30 seconds) on router.

Taken together, something stops working, which causes problems, and the fix is to start from scratch.
The root cause can often be attributed to human error. Computers are designed and programs are written by humans. If humans are fallible,
why should the things they create be without fail?All man made things have the capacity to be flawed and as a computers complexity
increases, so does the number of flaws. Now what exactly are those flaws?

How Does Rebooting Fix Memory Leaks?

When you first boot the computer, you can think of it as a clay market place. The clay represents the various resources that are available on
the computer, such as memory (http://crucial.com). The operating system handles the clay (among other things) and distributes it to
programs when necessary. Theoretically, this loop could go on forever without issue. The problem is, some programs waste the commonly
used resources.

In order to run, a program must receive some clay from the computer and it becomes the programs responsibility to account for all of that
clay. The ideal program would clean up the clay and return it to the computer when it finishes, allowing the computer to distribute the clay to
other programs in need.
Now imagine that there are 3 programs, each with their own share of clay. One returns all of the clay without issue. One leaves a chunk of
clay on the ground and only returns half of the clay to the computer. The last one loses its clay and returns nothing to the computer. Now the
computer has less clay to distribute.
Over time, as flawed programs fail to return all of the clay theyve been given, other programs need to wait longer and longer for their share of
resources. This is where memory leaks, program lag, and runtime errors come from.

So your computer has been running for a few hours and now itsslowed to a crawl (http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/slow-computer-4-waysto-speed-things-up/). If we assume that the cause is due to poor clay management (which it most likely is), then what can we do to fix it?
One solution would be to take away the responsibility of clay management from the programs and leave it with the operating system. When
the operating system detects lost clay, it retrieves it. The problem is that this process, known as garbage collection, can be processor
intensive and would impact operating system performance, hence its uncommon.
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The other solution is: reboot!

By rebooting, everything is reset to its initial state and the operating system begins fresh with a full block of clay. Then, as programs start
running and asking for clay, the whole procedure repeats itself until another reboot is later necessary.
This phenomenon can be applied to software, too. For example, your web browser. Ever notice how Chrome or Firefox can get laggy when
theyve been open for hours at a time? Thats because those browsers are flawed AND they have flawed addons. Restarting is one way
tospeed up a slow browser (http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/what-can-you-do-to-speed-up-your-browser/).

How Does Rebooting Or Power Cycling Fix Other Issues?

Basically, the same principle that applies to resource management also applies to issues with drivers or low-level error: All evidence of the
error is wiped away and the computer starts with a clean slate.

Your WiFi router, for example, is run with software, just like your computer. A power cycle, i.e. completely turning the router off for at least 30
seconds, will clear its cache and reset the software.
Jerrold Foutz, an expert in the design of power supplies, offers another interesting view onhow a reset can fix electronic devices
(http://www.smpstech.com/mtblog/trouble_shooting_electronics.html), including household items:

In hardware, there are many causes for what is called a Single Event Upset (SEU). A power glitch, a cosmic ray passing through an
integrated circuit (IC), or an alpha ray from the plastic IC package, can all cause an SEU, possibly changing a logic state (1 to 0 or vice
versa), or triggering latchup in the pnpn layer most ICs have. In software, the computer can get caught in an infinite loop.

In other words, random events can put electronic devices into an odd state that renders them useless. Jerrold explains that one state which
all functioning devices can recover from is the power-off-state. And hence he recommends to turn the device off, unplug the power, remove
the battery, wait for a set amount of time, then plug the power back on and restart.

Why Do Some Issues Mandate A Reboot?

In the case of poor resource management, it is possible to manually track down and close offending programs. But other issues simply
cannot be fixed while the computer is running andthe answer why can be quite philosophical. Einstein recognized that problems cannot be
solved from the same level of awareness that created them. In a way thats also true for computers. Why?

Computers are finite state machines that constantly need to monitor for events and respond accordingly. They operate on an infinite
processing loop (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_loop) to stay alert for new events, even when idle. Events can be anything from plugging
in a mouse to loading a program to shutting down. Each event leads to a change of state.
One reason for a reboot is that, depending on your operating system, the infinite loop cant be modified while its already running. Thats why
driver installations and Windows Updates often require a system reboot to change the way the operating system works at the most basic
level.Hopefully, you wont enter into aninfinite reboot loop (http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fix-windows-7-infinite-reboot-loop/).
If an error affects this infinite processing loop, only a reboot can set it back to its known state, from where it will work again. Barring the fact
that computers lack consciousness (at least as far as we know), this is pretty much the opposite of what Einstein meant; the awareness
doesnt progress, its reset. So maybe ignorance is bliss would be a more apt analogy.

And It All Comes Back To What Is Known

This article can only scratch the surface of what can go wrong inside your computer that can be fixed by a reboot. Sometimes it just works
and even the experts can only guess why. Basically, a reboot works because everything returns to its original state. In this familiar state, the
system knows where to start, like a game of chess, after you forgot whose turn it was.
Apart from being a quick fix to many issues, rebootingalso is a troubleshooting step. If the issue persists after rebooting, the underlying
cause might be much more serious than a random error. Problems such as corrupted software,presence of malware
(http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-steps-to-take-when-you-discover-malware-on-your-computer/), or failing hardware are rarely fixed by

restarting.

Which devices and symptoms have you successfully fixed with a reboot?

Author Credit: This article was co-produced with Joel Lee (http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/author/joellee/).

Image Credit: Computer Comic via Shutterstock (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=127574945),Woman with Clay by Marshall
Astor via Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeontheedge/5570116402/sizes/z/), Ctrl+Alt+Dlt via Shutterstock
(http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=95242360),Slate Board via Shutterstock (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?
id=53976814),Einstein Quote by QuotesEverlasting via Flickr
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/quoteseverlasting/9425918674/sizes/l/in/photolist-fmWied/)

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