One of the most famous lines of the British comedy series IT Crowd, a show revolving around two IT support geeks and a manager who does not have a clue about “computers”, is “Have you tried turning it off and on again”.
When the crew gets a support call, it is this question that they ask first. Most of the time, it works and the situation is resolved.
If you used computers before, you know that turning the device off and on again can indeed fix issues that you experience. Not all of course. There is a logic behind that, as restarting a system does a number of beneficial “things” in the background that may help resolve issues. Among them terminating apps and thus freeing up memory and potentially CPU performance.
Microsoft’s IT Crowd moment
Last month, Microsoft confirmed that users could run into problems when searching files on OneDrive, the company’s cloud storage service. While the files were still there, OneDrive would return no files in search and show a blank results page instead.
Neowin reports that Microsoft fixed the issue in the meantime. OneDrive users are encouraged to update the client to the latest version to apply the fix.
Microsoft, in the meantime, posted a workaround for affected users. As you may have guessed already, it recommends refreshing the browser or turning the mobile device off and on again.
So, if you are experiencing this issue, have you tried fixing it by turning it off and on again?
And how many times have I solved a client’s “faulty computer” by getting them to turn it off and on again or, for Windoze 10 & 11 a Re-Start?
I’ve lost count but it must be in the thousands by now
@Carl–Only thousands? Works with printers, phones, computers–and if you can figure out the secret, people!
“So, if you are experiencing this issue, have you tried fixing it by turning it off and on again?”
Yes, refresh, restart, go to bed and wake up and try again. Handy item in the toolbox.