When the average person uses the term “power cycling,” most people would think he or she is talking about riding your bicycle around town at a fast pace. In the technological world, power cycling is something completely different. Power cycling is a common method in computer and other electronics troubleshooting. Using this method can solve numerous PC repair problems with little effort. Have you ever watched the British TV sitcom “The IT Crowd?” The computer technicians in this series always answer their phones with the question: “Have you tried turning it off and turning it back on again?” Well, that question basically sums up what power cycling is: turning your computer or electronics off then turning them back on again. The process is a little bit more complicated than that, though. If you are experiencing issues with booting your computer or connecting to the internet over a high speed connection, you need to try to power cycle your PC. Here are some tips to do it.
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Properly shut down your computer.
Save any work you are currently doing on your PC and close any programs that you have running. If it is possible, make sure that you shut your computer down properly to avoid causing any further damage or losing any important data. If you cannot shut down your computer properly, hold the power button down for five to ten seconds and it will shut down.
Disconnect everything.
Do not just turn off your surge protector. Unplug the cord for the power supply (usually the top black cord on your PC tower). You must also disconnect the power from DSL modem or your router or your cable. If you have other peripheral devices, such as a printer, make sure you disconnect those devices as well. Power cycling requires a complete disconnect.
Wait a little while.
Typically, thirty seconds is a good wait time before you begin reconnecting everything. Many devices only need about fifteen seconds, but it is better to wait a full thirty seconds before reestablishing your connections. Some problems could take much longer, though. If the thirty second wait did not solve your issues, repeat the process from step one and keep everything unplugged for thirty minutes if you have the time. This extra time allows your PC to drain any residual power.
Reconnect everything.
But do not just go randomly plugging things back in. There is a specific order to this step in the power cycling process. If you have high speed internet, plug in the cord for your modem and wait for it to have a solid internet connection. After that, plug in your router if you have one and wait for the lights to indicate that it has established a good connection. Plug your computer tower back in. Lastly, reconnect any of your peripheral devices.
Boot up your PC.
Power everything back up. Ideally, everything will be running properly immediately. If everything is working properly, the problem is solved and you can get back to your business. If not, you need to contact a computer technician, such as the professional ones at Computer Repair of Temecula.