Why Restarting Something Works So Well
Now that the this-actually-works part is out of the way, it begs the question: why does it work?
Let's start by talking about what happens when your computer is running:
You open programs, you close programs, maybe you even install and uninstall software or apps. Sometimes programs like your Internet browser are open for hours, or even days, at a time. Lots of other things stop and start too - things you never see yourself.
Are you picturing that time lapse montage of your computer usage in your head right now? It's a bit crazy, we know. We use our computers a lot, especially over the course of several days or more.
What you might not realize is that a lot of what you and your operating system does is leave behind a kind of footprint, usually in the form of background processes you don't really need running anymore, or programs that didn't quite close all the way.
These "leftovers" hog your system resources, usually your RAM.
If too much of that goes on, you start to get problems, like a sluggish system, programs that won't open anymore, error messages... you name it.
When you reboot your computer, every single program and process ends as the power leaves your computer during the restart process.
Once your computer starts back up, you have a clean slate of sorts again and, more often than not, a faster, better working computer.
In most cases it’s about cache, buffers or registers which are sometime full or their are some corrupted entries in them which are sometimes nearly impossible to fix manually.When you restart your PC most of these places are cleared by default on shutdown and computer is refreshed through out.
This same logic applies to other devices that you don't call a computer, but in reality actually are.Devices like your television, smartphone, modem, router, DVR, home security system, digital camera, (etc., etc.) all have tiny operating systems or embedded Os in technical terms and software that run into the same issues that your full blown PC sometimes does.
Also Frequent Restarting is Probably a Sign of a Bigger Problem
Footnotes