When you perform a reboot, your computer closes all your running apps. So make sure to save your unsaved work before proceeding to turn your machine off and then back on.
How to Restart a Windows Computer
Windows offers multiple ways to restart your PC. The easiest of these ways is to use the Start menu to give your computer a reboot.
Reboot a Windows 10 PC
To turn a Windows 10 PC off and then back on, first, open the Start menu. Do this by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard.
When the Start menu opens, in the lower-left corner, click the “Power” icon (a circle with a line at the top).
In the “Power” menu, choose “Restart.”
Your machine will turn off and automatically turn back on. You’re done.
Reboot a Windows 11 PC
If you run Windows 11, then first, open the “Start” menu by pressing the Windows key.
In the “Start” menu, at the bottom-right corner, click the “Power” icon.
Choose “Restart” in the menu.
Your machine will power off and then power back on again.
How to Restart a Mac Computer
To reboot your Mac, first, click the Apple logo in your screen’s top-left corner.
From the menu that opens, choose “Restart.”
Your Mac will display an “Are You Sure You Want to Restart Your Computer Now?” prompt. If you want your machine to relaunch your currently open windows after the reboot, then enable the “Reopen Windows When Logging Back In” option.
Then, click “Restart.”
RELATED: How to Restart Your Mac
How to Restart a Linux Computer
Rebooting most Linux-based computers is as easy as clicking a few graphical options, or running a command from the Terminal. The graphical method will vary depending on which desktop environment you’re using. We’ll use GNOME in our example.
In the GNOME desktop, click the panel displayed in the top-right corner of your screen. Then, click “Power Off / Log Out” button followed by “Restart.”
A dialog will appear prompting you to either wait 60 seconds for an automatic reboot or reboot now by pressing “Restart.”
To use the command-line method, open the Terminal and type the following command. Then press Enter:
Your computer will reboot.
RELATED: How to Reboot or Shut Down Linux Using the Command Line
How to Restart a Chromebook
In ChromeOS, you don’t have an option that restarts your Chromebook automatically. Instead, you shut down your machine and then manually turn it back on.
One way to do that is to press and hold down the Power button located at the top-right corner of your keyboard, or on the side of the device. This shuts down your machine. Then, press the same Power button to turn on the machine.
Another way to reboot your Chromebook is to click the clock icon in the lower-right corner of your screen and choose the “Power” icon. This will turn off your machine. To turn it back on, press the Power button.
You can also factory reset your Chromebook if you want.
And that’s how you give a restart to your computer based on one of the popular operating systems available out there. Enjoy!
RELATED: Why Does Rebooting a Computer Fix So Many Problems?
