Sometimes when you experience problems booting your computer or problems connecting to the Internet over a high-speed connection, it becomes necessary to power cycle your equipment before it will function properly again. Power cycling all of your equipment is a fast and easy way to get things working again without the assistance of a repair technician. This help article will teach you how to power cycle your computer and high-speed internet equipment properly.
- Shut Down your computer. Do this properly if at all possible by going through the Start Menu to turn your system off. If your system is completely locked up, you can press and hold your computer’s power button for 5-10 seconds and the tower will turn off.
- Unplug your computer. This is an important step! Unplug your computer by removing the cord from the power supply. This is almost always the top black cord on your tower. If you are using a laptop or notebook computer, remove your battery and then unplug the power cord from the unit. DO not simply turn off your surge protector. It is important that you unplug the cord from the computer.
- Unplug your Internet equipment. Because different people have different home networking situations, you may have more of less equipment than is mentioned here. If you have High Speed Internet, you will have either a cable modem, a DSL modem, or a satellite modem. Whichever you have, unplug the power cord from the back of your modem. Some people with more than on computer in their home may have an Internet router to split their high speed connection so each computer can connect. If you have a router (typical brands include Linksys, Netgear, or D-Link) please remove the power cord from this unit as well.
- Wait 30 seconds. Once you have unplugged all of your equipment, wait 30 seconds for any residual power to drain from your devices. You can help this process by pressing the power button of your PC. Although the PC is not plugged in, pressing the power button will help drain all left over power from the unit’s motherboard.
- Reconnect devices. Next you will need to reconnect all of your devices IN A SPECIFIC ORDER. First, plug in the power cord for your modem (if you have high speed internet). Wait for the modem to have a solid Internet connection with your internet service provider. This can take as long as 2 minutes, so be patient. Next, plug in your router (if you have one). Wait for the lights on the router to indicate it has established a good connection to your modem (this could take up to 30 seconds). Finally plug your computer tower back in. If you use a laptop, insert the battery and then plug the unit back in. Turn on your computer by pressing the power button and allow it to boot fully.
- The computer should now boot normally and you should be able to establish a connection to the Internet over your high-speed connection. If you continue to experience problems, contact us or your computer hardware technician for further troubleshooting advice or repairs.
