IT Tips - January 2013

It Tips – January 2013 

Ah, January has arrived.  Snow is falling, birds aren’t chirping L, and best of all, the world didn’t end.

If you’re feverishly trying to figure out how-the-heck you’re going to get the money back from your apocalypse bunker, relax, and take a moment to enjoy this shiny new IT Tip! 

What’s Inside:

Tech Section

·         Reboot!

Reboot!

The curious relationship between man and machine: is it ever reciprocal? Your computer warms up, hums and illuminates the pixels on your screen. The sea of tiny dots on your screen appear cognizant, as they change form with a flick of your wrist and a tap of your finger.

The personal computer is deeply integrated into our lives. PCs help us to work, live, shop and play. Are the machines alive and learning? Are they more than machines? The answer, my friends, is no. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reciprocate some love!

Our inanimate computer overlords friends help us all the time and in a variety of ways. Why not give back? Let your PC have a break every now and then to collect his or her thoughts. A reboot is just that: a chance for the computer to rest and start refreshed.

The amount of work your computer does on a normal day is pretty incredible. For example, as I type this tip, my machine is effortlessly running 90 simultaneous processes.


Look at all those processes! Pure excitement.

It’s amazing (to me, at least) how well our modern operating systems handle all this work. Your computer may run for days, or even weeks without a hiccup. Inevitably, however, something will go wrong and you might curse, “Why the [snip] won’t Outlook open!”

I’ll tell you why: reboot!

The computer doesn’t need rest like a person; why does a reboot really help?

Sometimes a process simply encounters something it didn’t expect and needs to be restarted. Perhaps the process you’re trying to start was recently updated and needs to be refreshed to work.

You may have noticed (reluctantly) that Windows updates sometimes require a reboot. This happens when the files to be updated are in use by the system. They cannot be modified while they’re being accessed, so Windows reboots, updates the file while it’s not in-use and then reloads the file(s). This simply cannot be done without the reboot.

C3PO CAN think for himself and he STILL
requires the occasional reboot

Suffice it to say, there are many reasons our systems like to be restarted. Remember, a sure-fire way to unstick a stuck process, is a reboot.

Until the day comes that our software does think for itself (yikes!), reboots will always be part of personal computing.

 

When should I try rebooting?

Anytime you feel like something isn’t working properly. You may find that a program won’t launch or keeps crashing on you. You may just notice your machine is acting a bit sluggish. When in doubt: reboot. It’s often my first troubleshooting step when I notice something isn’t working properly.

Reboot daily to ensure optimal performance. Otherwise reboot at least once a week.

How do I perform a proper reboot?

Usually, you can click the Start button and then choose ‘Restart’. However, if you want to be sure everything is started fresh; you should completely power off the computer, wait 10 seconds and start it back up. Here is how:

Windows 7 users:

Click the Start bubble, and then click ‘Shut down’

Simply let the machine power itself off, then leave it off for 10 seconds and power it back on. That’s all you have to do!

If you see the Windows Update shield as pictured below, your computer will install updates as it’s shutting down.  This may take a few minutes but never interrupt this process. Always let the computer finish what it’s doing and shut itself off.

Windows XP Users:

The process is virtually the same, albeit slightly different in appearance.

Click the Start button and choose ‘Shutdown’

Now choose ‘Shutdown’ from the dropdown box and click OK.

Let her shut down, rest for 10 seconds, and start her back up.

Windows XP users may also see an option to ‘Install Updates and Shut Down’ if they have pending updates. The same rules apply (don’t interrupt the updates). J

What does Sleep Mode do?

Sleep and Hibernate are NOT the same as rebooting. When you put the machine to sleep, it takes a “snapshot” of the system at the moment you initiate the command. When you awaken the computer, it simply resumes where you left off, without restarting any processes.

Laptop users note: closing the lid on your laptop will put it in ‘Sleep’ mode and will not shut it down.

If you do not see the Dell logo when you first press the power button, then you likely put the machine to sleep and did not shut it down.

Why can’t I just press the power button?

Put simply: improper shutdowns are dangerous. Unplugging your computer or pressing and holding the power button to shut it down should be avoided like zombies. During a proper shutdown, the computer saves important system data and stops the hard drive from spinning in a safe manner.

When a computer is shut down improperly, the hard drive may not be ready, which can result in lost data or a broken computer.

Windows 7 laptop users: Improper shut downs can cause the ‘Bitlocker Drive Encryption’ screen to rear its ugly head. Several improper shut downs can lock you out of the computer and you’ll have to call me for assistance. A big tip here: if you think you won’t be using the computer for a couple hours, shut it down and don’t put it to sleep. If you close the lid and let the battery die, you might end up with a Bitlocker screen.

For more information about Bitlocker, please see my archived blog post HERE (scroll down to ‘What is this Bitlocker Thing?’)

In summary: reboot!

Have a great month, everyone!

-Keith

Please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email if you have a something that you think will make a good tip. You’ll get credit on the blog for your contribution and I might give you a high-five!