A warm boot is a restart without shutting down the computer, used to fix problems like crashed programs. Microsoft and Mac have different methods, and Linux uses CTRL+ALT+DEL or GNOME. If a warm boot doesn’t work, a cold start is needed by holding down the power button.
A warm boot, also called a soft boot, is the process of restarting a computer without actually shutting down the computer. It usually runs when there is a problem, such as a crashed computer program or an unresponsive web page. Hot boots clear everything in RAM, then restart the computer while it’s still on. There are a couple of different ways to perform a soft boot.
When trying to close a crashed program on a Microsoft or Microsoft-based PC, the most convenient way is to perform a reset operation. This is done by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL simultaneously. The Windows Task Manager will open, allowing the user to click on the “Applications” tab and kill the program that is causing the computer to freeze. If you perform the restore operation twice, the computer, not just the program, restarts and returns to the initial state it was in before you opened the program.
Another method to perform a warm boot on a Microsoft-based PC is to click the “Start” button. From here, the user clicks on the “Shutdown” menu and selects “Restart”. This will cause the computer to shut down and reset itself temporarily, without ever shutting down. The computer will restart in the initial state it was in before the application crashed.
Closing frozen programs on a Mac involves using a different recovery process. The key combination CONTROL+COMMAND+ESC will restart a Mac to its initial state before the computer program crashed. For convenience, there is also a reset key located on the Mac keyboard that will perform a warm boot when pressed.
Forcing a soft boot on a Linux-based PC is similar to forcing a Microsoft-based PC. In addition to pressing the CTRL+ALT+DEL key combination, the user can also restart the computer using GNOME. The user should right click on the desktop and choose “Create Launcher”. From here type the command “/usr/bin/gnome-session-save –kill” and follow the instructions.
Whenever possible, you should always perform a warm boot to restart a frozen computer program. There are situations when the computer is completely frozen and attempting a soft start will not bring any results. This is when you need to cold start your computer. This is done by holding down the power button. The computer will shut down and will need to be restarted manually.
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