We process approx. 30-35 computer issues each day. Many problems consist of ‘my computers running slow’ or ‘Outlooks not responding’. Our first course of action is to check the uptime of the PC (how long has it been on). If it’s over three days we perform a restart.
So what does a reboot do..? Imagine writing your daily work life on a sheet of A4 paper for ten days. That piece of paper might start to get a little messy and congested. Now imagine a fresh piece of A4 each day, much easier to understand and work from.
A PC restart is literally like a clean slate for your PC (or A4 sheet of paper in this analogy) all the memory is flushed clean, programs and Windows services are restarted from afresh.
Also any Windows updates that have been download get installed, keeping your system more secure and GDPR compliant.
Also worth noting is that your antivirus updates regularly, many of these updates get applied during a restart. Not restarting can cause your antivirus to be ‘out of date’ and lead to issues with the newer viruses.
So how often should you restart your PC, it’s pretty simple you should just shut your PC down at the end of the day! PC components only last so long so by leaving your PC on overnight you are just wearing out your computer prematurely and wasting electricity. When you drive home from work would you leave your car running overnight ready for the next morning? Didn’t think so….