Restarting properly, and what it actually fixes
Restart any device the way an engineer means it, and know in advance which faults it will put right and which it will not touch.
"Have you tried turning it off and on again" has become a joke, which is a pity, because it is the single most effective thing in this course.
A device has two kinds of place to put things. The memory is a workbench: whatever is being used right now is spread out on it, and it is wiped clean every time the machine goes off. The disk is a filing cabinet: photographs, letters, emails, passwords, everything you own. Restarting clears the workbench. It never opens the filing cabinet.
Key points
- Restart properly, using Restart rather than Sleep, Shut down or the lid
- Explain why it works: the workbench is emptied and the filing cabinet is not
- Say in advance which faults a restart will fix and which it will not
- Stop worrying that restarting can lose anything you have saved
What to remember
- Sleep and Shut down are not restarts. Restart is the one that empties the workbench.
- The only thing a restart can cost you is unsaved typing. Everything already saved is untouched.
- If the fault appeared suddenly and the machine has been on for days, restart. If the fault is about space, money, memory of a password or a worn-out part, restarting is not the tool.
Try this
Restart your computer or phone this evening, even though nothing is wrong with it. Most machines in this country have not been properly off in months, and a great many small annoyances quietly go away when they are.
Practice: Restarting properly, and what it actually fixes. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.