The term “Power Cycling” might just sound like a fancier way of saying “turn it off and on again”, but it’s not just a fancier way of saying it, it’s a fancier way of doing it.
When you turn a PC off and on again, many problems can be resolved. This is because it forces the PC to restart all the services and programs. This in turn means it clears out everything stored in memory. However, it doesn’t actually fully remove power from the PC. So certain things, especially motherboard-related activities, might not have been totally reset. A full power cycle will do just that. Here’s how to power cycle your PC.
How to Power Cycle a PC
- Shut down the PC.
- Unplug the power cable from the power supply.
- Repeatedly press the power button on your PC for ten seconds or so.
- Plug the power cable back into the PSU.
- Turn the PC on again.
And just like that, your issue might have been solved.
Spamming the power button when the PSU is disconnected dumps power out of the capacitors, which will truly remove all the power from your PC. If you want to make sure you’ve done it correctly, switch off your PC, pull the power cable out and look at the motherboard. If there are a few little LEDs on there that are still lit, you should do the power button spamming section of power cycling until the motherboard is truly dormant.
Why is Power Cycling more Effective than Just Turning the PC Off and On Again?
Turning a computer off removes its power, but secretly, a little bit of power remains. This is because the capacitors in the PSU (Power Supply Unit) are large enough that they can remain charged for quite some time. So, we need to discharge them, which is the purpose of power cycling a PC. Hitting the power button when it’s unplugged will do just that.
What About the CMOS Battery?
The CMOS battery doesn’t provide power to the motherboard in the same way that the PSU does. Instead, it provides just enough power to the motherboard so that your BIOS settings aren’t lost every time you turn the computer off. If you’re curious, we’ve written a whole page about CMOS batteries and how to replace them. When it comes to power cycling though, you don’t need to worry about it.
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