How To Restart PC: All Methods

No matter how good your PC is, you can often run into different problems. While some problems are related to hardware issues, others are caused due to a bug or glitch. The best way to solve such issues is by restarting the PC. There are plenty of ways that can help you do it, and it is important for you to learn about all of them.

Why Should You Restart Your PC? 

If your Microsoft Windows PC is performing slowly or the applications are frequently crashing, you should restart your PC. Sometimes, a bug or glitch makes its way into our PC through software or an update, and it can start causing multiple issues. In such cases, you don’t have to install an AntiVirus to make the problem go away. Instead, a simple restart should do the trick and make your PC run smoothly again. 

How To Restart PC

The following methods can help you quickly restart your PC so you can continue your work.

Using The Start Menu

This is the quickest and easiest way of restarting the PC^[1]. You can do it by following the steps below:

1. Click on the Windows icon in your screen’s bottom left corner.
2. Now click on the Power icon, which is just above the Windows icon.
3. From the list of options that appear, click on ‘Restart.’
   

   

4. Wait for the process to get finished. 

Using The Power Menu

Many of you might not know this, but you can open up a power menu on your PC that lets you access important features quickly, such as Device Manager, Disk Management, and more. However, you can also use it to restart your PC.

1. Right-click on the Windows icon in the taskbar.
2. Hover the cursor over the ‘Shut down or sign out‘ option.
3. Click on ‘Restart,’ which will be the last option in the menu.
   

   

Using The Command Prompt

This method should be used during times when you’re unable to restart the PC through the regular ways. 

1. Click on the Windows Search Bar and type ‘Command Promot.’
2. Right-click on the Command Prompt, and select ‘Run as administrator.
   

   

3. In the Command Prompt, enter the following code: shutdown -r
   

   

4. Close the warning message that will pop up on the screen.
5. Once done, your PC will restart in less than a minute.

Using Ctrl + Alt + Delete

Whenever an application freezes, we press Ctrl + Alt + Delete. This lets us open a menu from where we can launch the Task Bar and close the frozen application. However, some of you don’t know that you can restart your PC from the same menu.

1. Press the Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys on your keyboard at the same time.
2. In the menu that will appear on your screen, click on the Power icon, which can be found in the bottom right corner.
   

   

3. From the list of options, select ‘Restart.’ 

Even if multiple applications are not responding, your PC will restart.

Using Alt + F4

Another quick way of restarting the PC is by accessing the Shut Down Windows menu. This can be done by pressing the Alt + F4 keys at the same time.

1. Press Alt + F4. The Shut Down Windows menu will appear on your screen.
   

   

2. Click on the drop-down menu, and select ‘Restart.’
3. Now, to execute the command, click on ‘OK.’
4. Once done, your PC will restart immediately. 

Benefits Of Restarting Your PC

Some of you might not pay much attention to it, but restarting your PC can provide you with many benefits. Some of them are listed below:

• Restarting the PC can solve most of the bugs and glitches that we encounter in our daily routine.
• It can clear the RAM cache. In other words, it deletes all the necessary data on the RAM.
• If your applications are freezing after every few minutes, a quick restart will make them work perfectly again^[2].
• Another amazing benefit is that it solves internet and Bluetooth issues and helps us browse the web smoothly^[3].
• If your computer is slow, restarting can improve its speed^[4].

Here’s another cool tip. If you’re using your PC for gaming, we’ve curated an ultimate guide that showcases the best Windows optimizations to help you improve gaming performance. 

Was Restarting Your PC Helpful After All? 

This was everything you needed to know about how to reboot your PC. As you can see, there are multiple methods through which you can do it, and all of them will take you less than 30 seconds. Furthermore, it is important to remember that while restarting has many benefits, you shouldn’t overdo it. Rebooting your PC once or twice daily is fine, but doing it several times a day will do more harm than good. 

References

1. Microsoft Support Article: “Restart (reboot) your PC.”
2. GCFGlobal: “Computer Basics – Basic Troubleshooting Techniques.”
3. Microsoft Support Article: “Fix Bluetooth problems in Windows.”
4. York College (CUNY): “Top Nine Reasons Restarting Your Computer Is Important.”