Content

• Steps
• Advice

This wikiHow teaches you how to safely restart a Windows and macOS computer.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: On Windows 10 and 8 / 8.1

1. 

   circle with vertical lines on the bottom right of the screen.

2. 

   Click Restart (Reboot). The computer will restart. If there are programs open, the system will ask you to close them before the computer shuts down.

3. 

   
   
   Proceed to restart the hardware. If the computer freezes, you will need to restart the hardware. You should only do this if the previous steps didn't work. Here's how to do it:
   • Hold down the power button on the computer until it turns off. This button is usually located on the side of the laptop (laptop) or in front of the desktop case.
   • Press the power button again to turn the computer on again.
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Method 2 of 3: On Windows 7 and Vista

1. 

   
   
   Press the key combination Ctrl+Alt+Del. The lock screen will appear. It may take a while for this screen to appear if the computer processes slowly.
   • If you connect to a remote computer using Remote Desktop then this shortcut will not work. If supported by the remote desktop client, you can either send this key combination or open a command prompt on the remote computer and execute the following command: shutdown –r.

2. 

   
   
   Click the arrow next to the power button. This is the red button located in the lower right corner of the screen.

3. 

   Click Restart. The computer will restart. If there are programs open, the system will ask you to close them before the computer shuts down.

4. 

   Proceed to restart the hardware. If the steps above do not work, you need to use the power button on your computer to reboot. You should only do this if the computer doesn't restart.
   • Hold down the power button on the computer until it turns off. This button is usually located on the side of the laptop or on the front of the desktop case.
   • Press the power button again to turn the computer on again.
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Method 3 of 3: On a Mac

1. 

   Press Control+⌘ Command+⏏ Eject. This command will close all open programs and restart your Mac. If there is an unsaved session, the system will ask you to save it before the computer reboots. It may take a few minutes for the system to restart if the computer behaves slowly.
   • Another way to reboot is to open the Apple menu (located in the upper left corner of the screen) and click Restart.
   • If you've connected the remote computer, reboot with the command sudo shutdown -r now.

2. 

   Force the computer to restart hardware. You should only proceed if you cannot restart the computer. This is a last resort as it can cause data loss.
   • Hold down the power button in the top-right corner of the keyboard (or on the back of the desktop) until it turns off. Then, press the power button again to turn it on again.
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Advice

• Don't forget to save or back up your session before restarting or shutting down your computer. In most cases, your computer won't save your session automatically.
• If the computer is unresponsive even when the hardware reboot command is executed, you can reboot by unplugging the desktop or removing the laptop battery. The computer will power off immediately. Then, reinsert the power supply and turn on the machine again.