Silly Question - Just What Is the Reset Switch for?

Britton30 · 17 May 2013

You might check in your BIOS Doug to see if you have the Power button shut down option enabled.

Dude · 17 May 2013

Britton30 said:

You might check in your BIOS Doug to see if you have the Power button shut down option enabled.

Thanks Gary, I will drill down in the bios and look. It works if I do it at any other time, I'm referring to a hard lock up.

Lady Fitzgerald · 17 May 2013

essenbe said:

Lady, maybe I am not understanding correctly, but if you can you should always hit the start button and then shut down. We were talking about the times when the computer freezes or locks up and you don't have that option. You can just press the start button on the case and hold it down, and the computer will shut down, not a proper shut down, but basically a hard reset.

I have the Power Options on my notebook set to do a proper shutdown whenever I hit the power button since it's an easy reach. I also could have set it to hibernate or sleep. It goes to sleep when I close the lid and I don't need hibernate on that machine.

I also have the power button on my desktop set to shut down the machine when I hit it although I usually use the Start Button option to shut down because it's a long reach to get to the power button on the machine and I have bad shoulders. I only shut the machine down when installing some programs or updates, to work on it, or if the OS gets scrambled somehow (it's happened only once since I built it and was probably my fault).

essenbe · 17 May 2013

I have no idea, Dude. It should work, unless you just aren't holding it long enough. I've never connected a reset switch and always just use the power button on the case to do a hard reset. I've never used a board or case that it didn't work. While I've never tried, maybe it won't work if you have the reset switch connected. Just a thought, I really can't answer. But, the situation you describe or the occasional freeze of the OS is when I use it.

Britton30 · 17 May 2013

The power button should override everything and shut down if its held down for 4 seconds. Some BIOSes don't have options for it though.

Solarstarshines · 17 May 2013

Dude said:

Britton30 said:

You might check in your BIOS Doug to see if you have the Power button shut down option enabled.

Thanks Gary, I will drill down in the bios and look. It works if I do it at any other time, I'm referring to a hard lock up.

when a hard lock up occurs it only shuts down with the power button

Program crashes and the windows mouse emblem spinning would be able to use that as a reset but anything hard froze like keyboard mouse only the reset switch or power it down will work

Dude · 17 May 2013

Okay, thanks guys. I think Steve is right...I probably was in a panic and didn't hold it long enough. I haven't had that happen for a long time, was going off old memories.

AddRAM · 17 May 2013

Don`t forget you can use the power supply switch. :)

Lady Fitzgerald · 17 May 2013

AddRAM said:

Don`t forget you can use the power supply switch. :)

Also known as Plan B.

AddRAM · 17 May 2013

Dude said:

Okay people, time to educate me. I always found the reset switch different. I play around with an overclock, get a hard freeze and pressing the power button and holding has no effect. But the reset does, it reboots and I can change my crazy Bios setting I tried.

Holding down the power switch will shutdown the pc ( improperly ) pushing the reset button will restart it ( improperly ) You will be ( should be ) asked to start windows normally with either option.