The process of starting a computer involves loading programs to communicate with the user. There are two restart procedures: soft and hard. Bootstrapping is the process of loading essential programming. A hard restart can be intentional or due to power loss, and may require a file check.
When someone refers to “starting a computer,” it means that the computer is starting up and loading all the programs that allow it to communicate and accept commands from the user. There are two main types of restart procedures: the soft, or warm, restart and the hard restart, also known as a cold restart. A soft restart refers to restarting your computer without completely shutting it down and turning off the power. A hard restart is the process of restarting the computer after the power has been completely turned off, whether the power loss was intentional or not. Removing the power also clears the computer’s working memory and is sometimes used as a method to recover the system when it is frozen.
The expression “boot up” comes from the fact that when a computer is first turned on, there are no programs loaded and there is nothing in memory, because random access memory (RAM) cannot store information without power. Computers must use information from an internal non-volatile source that persists even when the system is not powered. This process is called “bootstrapping,” as the computer is actually pulling itself up with its own bootstraps to load essential programming. It seems that such a process might be impossible (as impossible as someone pulling himself up on his own) but the information is stored in a computer on specialized chips and in other ways so that it will be available as soon as power is restored.
A hard restart can be the result of intentionally shutting down the system and turning off the power. In that case, when the power is turned back on, the system will go through the process of reloading all essential programs before it can be used. Since it starts from scratch, the process can take some time, especially if there are many programs to load, but it should be completed in a reasonable amount of time.
If the computer did not have a chance to go through the normal shutdown process but instead suddenly lost power, such as in the event of a power outage, the force restart process is usually preceded by a file check. This is because the file structure may have been corrupted by the sudden shutdown. A scan is performed automatically at the start of the forced restart to ensure that files are not damaged before restoring the computer to a ready condition. If errors are found, the scanning process will fix them if possible or notify the computer operator of the problem. Once any file errors have been corrected, the hard boot process will complete and the operating system, along with all its essential files, will be restored.
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