Tonight I was sitting here thinking about all of the times my mother-in-law has called me for computer help. Actually, many of my family members consider me the go to guy when they have a problem, which I don't mind at all.

True Story.. The Phone call

My mother-in-law is definately the one who calls the most (she lives less than a mile from us) so if her problem is too big I can always take a quick trip over to her house to check things out.

I was remembering one of the calls and it went something like this...

"Hello... Pete?"

"Yea.. how are you?"

"Good... listen I have a problem. I went to check my mail and that thing on the screen looked smaller but I clicked it anyway. Then that thig-a-ma-jig that's usually on the bottom was gone. I couldn't see my mail so I thought I would click the thing that brings me to the doohickie page. Why can't I check my mail?"

Now I shouldn't have to tell you what my reply to her was.... you guessed it.. "HUH?"

I finally got her calmed down and take me step by step what she was talking about. It turns out a simple reboot solved her problem!

As simple as this sounds, if you are having trouble with your computer, try a reboot. I am not kidding when I tell you that 70% or more of computer problems can be solved with a system restart.

I've personally seen system restarts solve problems like error messages, lock-ups, sluggish behaviour and more. Whenever I get a call I always ask, "Have you tried rebooting?". 90% of the time I hear... "No...should I?"

The bottom line is, reboot first before you panic.