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01/15/2004: "Just Reboot"

Computer advice for dummies? No, "just reboot" is sound, timesaving, and in some cases disaster avoidance advice for anyone. In fact, when something really weird happens, it's the computer savvy users who tend to get into the most trouble and waste the most time. Sophisticated fixes like expanding the size of virtual memory, tweaking the registry, or altering some application's .ini file are seldom necessary and are always dangerous. The dummies, on the other hand, will just give up in despair. Click more.. below.

The net nut is this, if your system is stable (recently problem free), and you haven't just added hardware or software, 99 percent of all "weird shit" will correct itself when you reboot. Rebooting initializes everything, and drags in fresh copies of system software from your hard drive into memory. Nowadays, with power management and an up-to-date operating system, you can typically go for weeks without rebooting, so when the unexplainable happens, don't give it a second thought. Just drop that puppy like a sack of shit and cross your fingers. If it won't shut down normally, hit the reset key, if you have one, and if you don't, just power off and give it 10 seconds or so to reset itself. You will probably be right back in business.

Since we are on the subject of unnecessary panic, let's talk viruses. Remember, computer "security" is big business, and though there are viruses floating around out there and hackers are trying to break into systems, most of the big scares you read about are so much bullshit. I've never had a virus, knock on wood, I'm on the Internet all day long and have been for years. The way you get viruses is by passing diskettes around in a computer lab or other "public" facility. Don't bring those diskettes (read problems) to your own computer. And if you do, even the dumbest virus checker will catch a problem on a diskette. As far as e-mail goes, just don't open attachments from e-mails you're not expecting.

On the hacker front, what do you have on your hard drive that anybody would want? That's pretty much case closed for most people. If you're an exception to this norm, consider burning sensitive material to a CD, or otherwise getting it off-line. Most simply, don't keep anything on your computer that you wouldn't want anyone to see. If you do, some support guy or your spouses divorce lawyer will see it well before any hacker, who, after all, doesn't know or care who you or what you're hiding anyway. What about online trading, banking, and bill paying? Don't do it unless you fully understand any security risks involved.

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