Why Your Computer Needs a Break Too!

During the normal operation of your computer systems, you may notice your systems slowing down, errors occurring in your Practice Management Systems, printing, scanning, or dental imaging software. Many of these errors are due to the computer going too long without a restart. Computers are machines and as such require maintenance and down time to operate efficiently. While they are running and active, they will naturally pick up internal errors, memory leaks, cache fills, and peripheral connection problems.  Most of these errors go unnoticed for a while however, they pile up in the background and ultimately cause your computer to slow down.

When to Restart: Uptime

One of the first things we look for during troubleshooting is UPTIME: the term used to describe the amount of time between full shutdown/restart.  The higher the uptime, the more likely the problem is due to internal errors.

What Happens During a Restart?

During a Restart, all programs are gracefully shut down, users logged out, and power is cut to the computer system.   This process allows for programs to be closed (including any hidden programs), internal errors to be cleared, memory to be cleared so that fresh data can be utilized error free, and updates to be installed that may not have been during normal hours.

Best Practice

The best practice for a restart would be to do a manual restart on your practices' computers at the end of every business day. This would make the likelihood of uptime being an issue in the computer far lower than a system that has an uptime of 24 hours or more.

PLEASE NOTE: This does NOT Apply to Servers:   Servers are specialized systems with more advanced error detection and clearing.  Servers are designed to provide services or automated processes to other computers, not to utilize active software on a daily basis.

Below is an Infographic Outlining How to Restart a Windows Based System (for real)

1. 1. Save your work and close all of the programs currently being used: ie: Open Dental/Dentrix etc., Excel, Outlook etc.
2. 2. Navigate to the Start Button: generally on the lower left hand corner of your primary screen.
3. 3. Navigate to the Power Option: the one right next to or above the Windows Icon
 
4. 4. Select Restart
5. 5. Watch the screen for a few second as windows attempts to close. If it says a program is unable to close, it should give you and option to Force Close the program. Do so and let windows operate.
6. 6. At this point you can head away from the computer.  Updates will be installed if there are any available and the system will return to a Log In Screen, depending on how your practice is set up.

The longer computer is actively operated, the more things can go wrong internally and a daily reboot is as essential as brushing and flossing daily is to dental health.

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