Why the Reboot is a fix-all

Ever wondered why turning your computer on and off seems to fix nearly every issue? Or have you ever paid a technician a high fee only to have them instruct you to reboot? We got curious about the apparent reboot fix-all and asked Jason Jones, a computer technician on JustAnswer if he could explain why rebooting your computer fixes nearly any problem, from a slow program to a frozen screen. Here’s how he explains the reboot fix-all: “When there is a problem with a program on your computer, simply restarting that program will usually fix the issue because it will erase all the faulted data that was put into the memory by that application. When the application is restarted, all the faulty memory information is no longer there, which allows it to start new with no problems. Restarting the whole computer works in the same way; when it is turned off and back on, all faulted memory information and values are erased and the computer should start with no problems.”

Essentially, memory is allocated to the different applications on your computer so that they can run. If an application sends back faulty information to the memory, your computer will get stuck trying to process that faulty information. Rebooting wipes all the faulty input away and returns the operating system to its original state.

However Jason also warns that if you continually have to restart your computer, there could be a more serious issue with one of the programs on your computer, your computer could be infected by a virus or have another big problem that rebooting just can’t stop. “If you continually have to restart your computer, this means that there is either a problem with one or more programs installed on the computer. It is also possible that there is a faulty setting in the operating system.”

If your computer constantly gets stuck, one of the best ways to fix the issue is to have a technician access your computer remotely and fix the problem while you watch.

JustAnswer technicians are available for this service at an affordable price now.