The worst kept secret in the business!
It’s the cliché joke for tech geeks everywhere, “Did you turn it off and on already?” The reason we frequently ask that same questions is simple – 90% of the time, the problem someone is having with a computer is solved by power cycling their PC! (Or phone, printer, scanner, etc.)
As you use your computer, you open and close programs, go on the internet, download patches and updates and create temp files. Programs use Random Access Memory (RAM) temporarily when you open them and then release it when they are done. The problem is they don’t return ALL the RAM they took usually. This is called memory leakage. So open and close Word, Excel or QuickBooks repeatedly for two weeks and you have memory leaking all over the floor! (Can’t you see it?).
To reset this all you need do is shut your system down for a mere 15 seconds. That’s like a good night’s sleep to a computer! The RAM cache gets cleared and you’re back in business. The other thing that happens is updates that have been politely waiting for you to reboot your computer will install, keeping your system current and protected.
The best rule of thumb is every two weeks, shut your system down at least for 15 seconds. If you are having a computer problem, try turning it all the way off. When it powers off, unplug the power cord and hit the power on button twice (on a laptop you will need to remove the battery first). This clears the power supply too. Once you’ve plugged it back in power it on and see if the issue remains. You can call us at Premier IT Support at (775) 276-5544 or whoever you normally rely on for help and when asked “Did you turn it off and on first?” you can say, “of course!”.