The word “Reboot” and “Restart” is very common in the digital world but many people become confused between these two words because they don’t understand the difference between these two words. We are leaving in the age of technology and it is quite impossible to imagine a day without interacting with any form of technology. While using the devices they might fail inadvertently and we may have to reboot or restart the device. So it is very important to understand the difference between reboot and restart. In this post, I have discussed what is a reboot, restart, and dig out the differences between them. Keep reading the article to know the details.
What Is A Reboot?
In a computer system, a reboot is a process to restart a working computer using hardware instead of software. You can either perform a “cold” reboot or a “soft” reboot. In a cold reboot, the power to the system is physically turned off and back on again and it makes the machine boot again. When you perform a soft reboot the system restarts the computer without interrupting the power source. There are many reasons you may have to perform rebooting like installing a software program, installing operating system updates, recovering from an error, or re-initialize drivers or hardware devices. When you reboot the computer all open programs will close and the computer will turn off briefly and then turn back on.
How To Reboot A Computer
The process of a hard reboot and a soft reboot is different. Rebooting a computer can solve different types of problems like slow application response, Microsoft office apps are not opening, software crashes, internet connectivity problems, and many more. The rebooting process is very simple.
Hard Reboot: You have to press and hold the power button on the computer and it will physically turn off the power of the computer and reboot the system. This is an initial boot of the computer.
Soft Reboot: You can perform the soft reboot directly from your keyboard. Press the Alt + Ctrl + Delete keys on the keyboard at the same time to perform the soft reboot.
What Is A Restart?
Reboot and restart are almost the same things but they have slight differences. Restart is also a kind of reboot; in fact, it’s the first step of a reboot. When a user performs a soft reboot the operating system turns off all the programs and ends all pending input and output operations before the reboot and it’s called restart. When you upgrade any software or firmware, you are asked to restart your computer. Sometimes restarting the computer can fix minor issues of Windows.
How To Restart A Computer
There are multiple methods available to restart a computer. You can follow any of the below methods to restart your computer.
Restart Computer Using Keyboard
First, go to the desktop of your computer
Now from your keyboard press Alt+F4 together
A menu will appear on the screen
Click on the drop-down menu and select “Restart” and then click on the Ok button and your computer will restart.
Restart Windows 10 Computer Through The Start Menu
First click on the Start Menu in the lower-left corner of the screen
When the start menu opens, you will see the power button at the bottom of your screen
Click the power button and the power menu will open
In the power, menu select the “Restart” option to restart your computer
Restart Windows 8 And 8.1 Computer
Windows 8 and 8.1 OS versions don’t have the start menu. But the windows 8.1 update comes with a power options button to the upper-right corner of the Start screen. So Windows 8.1 users can restart their computer quickly from the power button. Now follow these simple steps:
First, click on the Start button and go to the Start Screen
Now the top of your screen you will see the power button and click on it
A drop-down menu will appear, from their click on the “Restart” and your computer will restart
Restart Computer Using The Windows Command Line
You can restart a windows computer using the Windows command prompt. Follow the below steps:
First, open the Windows Command Prompt on your computer
If you want to shut down the computer then type shutdown -s and press the Enter button on your keyboard
If you want to restart the computer then type shutdown -r and press the Enter button on your keyboard
Final Thoughts
I hope you find the article informative and understand the difference between reboot and restart. Let us know if you want to know anything about this topic in the comment section. Our experts will help you out!
FAQ
What Is The Difference Between Restart And Restarting?
As the world moves at an ever-faster pace, restarting is becoming something that many people do day in and day out. There are many different definitions for the word rest (noun), but one of these is “a period of time in which you stop work or activity before doing it again.” Restarting (verb) has a more specific meaning, however. It can be seen as an act of starting or resuming something again.
What Does A Reboot Do?
A reboot is a process that can be done on your computer or mobile device to help fix any problems that it might have. It typically happens when the computer freezes up, which can be very frustrating. When you reboot, whatever program was being used before should open again. If the same thing happens after rebooting, then this could be an indication of a bigger problem.
What Does A Restart Do?
Restarting a computer brings it back to the condition it was in before shutting down. The only difference is that the operating system now starts from scratch and reinstalls all software, drivers, and updates. A restart does not affect programs that were already running when the computer was shut down. The next time you start your computer, it will remember any programs or settings that were open when you shut it down.
What Does The Term “Reboot” Mean?
A reboot is an act of rebooting an operating system, program, or device. This ensures that it starts with a clean slate and all previous data has been removed. Reboots are generally done before installing new software or updating existing software to ensure that any issues caused by the update will not be present. Reboot can be used to mean restarting any system, whether it is electronic or merely mental – taking a break from work to refresh one’s mind for example.