Reboot your computer

My new advice to all is "Reboot every Monday morning, and while you're at it, empty your recycle bin". Of course, if you are turning your computer off every night, then you are already doing that. But, for those of us who leave our computers on, start rebooting them weekly.

I close all my programs each night and look at how much memory (RAM) is being used when no programs are running. Every day I lose 2%-3% of my memory (well maybe not that much of my memory, but 2% to 3% of my computer's memory). So, on Monday, after a reboot, I am using 20% with nothing running except Windows and automatic startup programs and services (like backup and anti-virus). In a week, I've lost 10-15% and am now using 30-35% with nothing running.

What happens is that programs reserve some memory, but when they close, they fail to give it back to Windows for re-use. In fact, some programs lose memory all the time they are running by not returning reserved memory.

Not only does this cause your computer to function with much less memory, but those processes that weren't closed sometimes screw things up. I recently had a client who couldn't open a program and her screen flickered, until she rebooted.

Phones and tablets are the same way. If you want them to run efficiently, you'll need to close and reboot them regularly.

Date: November 2015

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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Home Forms About Current Newsletter subscribe Search All Articles Browse by Category Security Internet Mobile Business Hardware Fun		Reboot your computer My new advice to all is "Reboot every Monday morning, and while you're at it, empty your recycle bin". Of course, if you are turning your computer off every night, then you are already doing that. But, for those of us who leave our computers on, start rebooting them weekly. I close all my programs each night and look at how much memory (RAM) is being used when no programs are running. Every day I lose 2%-3% of my memory (well maybe not that much of my memory, but 2% to 3% of my computer's memory). So, on Monday, after a reboot, I am using 20% with nothing running except Windows and automatic startup programs and services (like backup and anti-virus). In a week, I've lost 10-15% and am now using 30-35% with nothing running. What happens is that programs reserve some memory, but when they close, they fail to give it back to Windows for re-use. In fact, some programs lose memory all the time they are running by not returning reserved memory. Not only does this cause your computer to function with much less memory, but those processes that weren't closed sometimes screw things up. I recently had a client who couldn't open a program and her screen flickered, until she rebooted. Phones and tablets are the same way. If you want them to run efficiently, you'll need to close and reboot them regularly. Date: November 2015 This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
		I attempt to provide reliable information, but make no warranty as to the accuracy or safety of these articles. I disclaim all legal responsibility for what following these instructions may do. Follow my advice at your own risk