Surely, at some point, you have wondered if there are certain recommendations about when to restart your computer. Because it is not usually something that the manufacturer informs about and the doubt always ends up remaining. In any case, we are going to help you know if you are restarting your computer too little or if, on the contrary, you are restarting it more than you should.
It's easy, these days when we depend so much on our computer, to forget to restart it. Sometimes, it is common for us to let time pass without restarting until an important Windows update arrives that forces us to do so. But you should know that this is not a good decision. No matter how lazy it is to restart and have to open your favorite programs again, you should restart more frequently.
Once a week
Experts, first of all, determine that it is very difficult to come to a definitive answer about the ideal period in which you should restart your computer. They argue that there are different factors that are relevant and some of them make it very difficult to give a global answer. For example, they say that, beyond the operating system you have, the most important thing is the type of use you make of your computer. Therefore, this makes it difficult to make a precise recommendation about the period you should wait.
Of course, these same specialists, such as experts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's faculty of technology, say that the community does reach a generalized conclusion. Although the other factors mentioned influence, it is understood that the minimum restart should be once a week. But be very careful, because although it is recommended that you restart it once a week, you should not think that it is something that is appropriate to do continuously.
In fact, restarting your computer too much puts excessive stress on your computer, which could lead to reduced component durability. Therefore, although you may not have a problem restarting your PC once a day, if you restart it several times in a day continuously you could run into long-term difficulties.
Why do we have to restart?
As we said before, many of us don't like restarting because it means having to open programs, lose pages or tabs that were open, and having to start some processes from the beginning. It's a bit annoying, especially if we have a busy day to day life and we don't want to waste time on processes that don't give us "anything". In any case, restarting is something that your computer needs to give it some fresh air so that it can deal with some of the most common problems that these computers can suffer.
One of the main reasons to restart your computer weekly is to clean the slate in the system memory. Think that this memory accumulates remains of all the actions you carry out on your computer. Everything ends up leaving a trail that, if you don't restart it, continues to grow constantly. If you have a habit of putting your computer into hibernation mode and then log back in, the system memory will remain exactly the same. In reality, it will have continued "working" while the computer was apparently "resting." But if you reboot, that memory will be emptied and the system will be able to start from scratch to deal with the next processes you carry out. That will be something that will benefit you significantly.
Another good reason to do this is that it will be the only time in which the latest updates that your operating system has received are applied. There are times when Windows updates in the background, but until you reboot, the new version will not activate. This is especially important to enjoy all the changes and security settings that you may need on your computer.
In addition, restarting will solve possible problems you have with your Internet connection, both WiFi and Bluetooth, and will also be a way to prevent the programs you use most frequently from crashing. Imagine that if you have a software open for days or even weeks, the memory will be loaded and the effort of that app will grow. The chances that you will have a problem using it will increase. Sometimes it can be as annoying a reaction as the program suddenly closing. This may not be important in some apps, but in others it could mean that you lose the work you were doing.
Is it enough to leave the PC in sleep?
One of the most common options that a greater number of people choose refers to the possibility of suspending the PC instead of turning it off. Even in those cases in which we are sure that we are not going to use the computer for several days. As technology has advanced, it has allowed us to barely use up the battery during the suspension of our laptop. Being an increasingly used solution.
However, if we choose this route for a long time, it is possible that the memory will not be restored correctly and it will not be possible to recover its normal performance after suspension. Therefore, we must consider turning off as a solution in these cases.
But, above all, don't forget that restarting your computer is a way to revitalize it and let it breathe a little before getting to work again. It is very common for computers to start to slow down or suffer performance problems, such as tabs opening more slowly or even the photos you want to view not loading. These types of things are not permanent problems with your computer due to it being out of date, but are usually quickly solved by simply restarting the PC. Therefore, we recommend that you take into account the general recommendation to restart once a week. This way everything will work better for you!