Performing a restart of your computer at least once a week ensures that updates are applied to resolve bugs, add features, and apply security updates. It’s the first step in troubleshooting issues.
Restarting your computer also provides these additional benefits:
- Frees up memory, which, in turn, helps with performance
- Improves software performance
- Helps resolve hardware and software issues
Before performing a restart, save any open files and close any active applications. Follow these steps to perform a restart on your computer:
- Windows: Select Start, select the Power button, and then select Restart. Please note: a shutdown is not the same as restart, so when possible, perform a restart.
- macOS: Select the Apple menu, and then select Restart.