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Does your computer need restarting? The science of the right computer rebooting is not that easy - you don’t just shut down your computer.

To restart your computer the right way - and to avoid serious operating system foulups and registry problems that could cause major headaches, read this article. I’ll provide five steps to properly reboot any PC or Mac computer without damages to apps.

Sometimes even a slowly running computer needs reboot to speed it up!

Step 1. Shut down and save programs

If your computer isn’t completely frozen, make sure to close all programs. When computers restart, they delete short-term memory. This means that any Microsoft Excel worksheet that you were working on will be deleted unless you SAVE IT NOW.

Step 2. Make sure there are no scripts or processes still going

If there are running scripts like a hard drive defragment or system restore, these actions could be terminated and cause major damage to both the software installed itself as well as any files associated.

Step 3. Do a “soft reboot” through the Start Menu

I’m talking just to Windows laptop and desktop users now, but the same process would apply to Apple Macbook users as well. Find the Start Menu Shutdown, and click “Restart”.

Step 4. If that doesn’t fix it, do a hard PC computer reboot

This is when all else fails and a soft reboot “Restart” isn’t working. Find your power button, and hold it down. Do not let go! That’s important - hold it down until your entire processor shuts off (usually in 5 seconds).

Your PC computer has been made to power down - what’s known as a hard reboot. This can cause major data loss and in the wrong circumstances, corrupt applications and operating system files.

Step 5. Once your PC laptop computer has rebooted

Do a thorough check of main apps that load on startup. Often these are the first to get nukked during rebooting and restarting. Remember, proper rebooting removes the need to find computer repair parts!