Why Do You Often Have to Reboot After Installing a Program?
Techquickie
·Techquickie
·2019-05-06
·
876 words · ~4 min read
0:00
Thanks for watching TechQuickie. Click the subscribe button, then enable
0:03
notifications with the bell icon, so you won't miss any future videos. If you're
0:07
old enough to remember using MS-DOS, then you might also remember how easy it
0:12
could be to run a new program. Just pop in the conveniently sized floppy disk,
0:17
type in a command or two, wait for the data to load into RAM, and you're up and
0:21
running. These days, so-called portable
0:24
installs do still exist, but because modern programs are much larger and more
0:30
complex, it is much more common to have to install a program before you can use
0:35
it. With many of them prompting you to restart your entire system before you
0:40
can really get up and running. But why?
0:43
Well, lots of modern programs work by tying themselves somewhat directly into
0:49
your operating system's functions. For example, they may need to install new
0:53
drivers or APIs that the program depends on, but that might require modification
0:59
of system files that the PC is currently using. And if Windows is busy with the
1:05
current version of a file, well, it can't be changed until the next time the
1:09
computer is restarted. Think about how hard it would be to try and change your
1:13
tires while you're driving your car down the freeway. Another common way that this can pop up
1:18
is if the program relies on a DLL. These
1:21
files contain bits of code or even other
1:24
files that are shared among many different programs. For example, if a
1:29
program needs to know how much free disk space is remaining, it can just ask a
1:34
shared DLL to get the answer. And because DLLs are often being accessed by
1:39
other programs, the installer would need to reboot the system in order to make
1:43
sure that nothing else is using the DLL before it makes any changes to it.
1:48
Pretty common courtesy, if you ask me. Don't make changes to common areas
1:52
without checking with someone first. This is often also true for the system
1:57
registry. You can learn more about that here, but basically, it's a set of files
2:01
in Windows that stores tons of crucial settings for your system.
2:05
But wait, hold on a minute there, Linus. I can go into the registry editor and
2:10
manually make changes anytime I want without being prompted for a reboot.
2:14
Yes, you can, but those changes may not
2:17
go into effect if a program is currently reading the existing value. So,
2:21
installers typically ask you to reboot the system just to make sure that
2:26
everything got loaded properly, as many programs rely on correct registry
2:31
settings in order to run properly. And this central theme of, "I'm terribly
2:35
sorry, but you simply can't change stuff while you're using it," is also the
2:40
reason why some pieces of software don't require a full reboot, but might require
2:45
you to restart a program. You see this one a lot when applying individual
2:50
program updates, as the installer might not hook into your operating system
2:54
deeply enough to force a full restart, but it can't patch critical dependencies
2:58
if you're in the middle of actually using them. And because many of these
3:01
same changes are made when you uninstall a program, you'll probably have to
3:05
reboot then as well in order to completely rid your system of that
3:09
horrible indie game you can't believe you paid $15 for.
3:12
So, while this integration with your OS has made modern programs more powerful
3:16
and easier to code, it also means that the portable programs of yesteryear have
3:21
become a fair bit less common. Oh well, I mean, at least it beats
3:26
trying to run all your software directly from a 4X CD-ROM drive, am I right?
3:31
Speaking of being right, the right thing to do is go check out Squarespace.
3:34
Squarespace allows you to build a simple, powerful, and beautiful website,
3:38
and they've got tons of great features. They've got 24/7 support via live chat
3:42
and email. It starts at just 12 bucks a month. Every Squarespace site includes
3:47
commerce, so it comes with a free online store, and all of their templates look
3:51
great on any device, no matter what the screen size. And oh, cool, there's
3:56
something new. You can now tag and sell products from your Squarespace store on
4:00
Instagram. Dang, that's pretty cool. So, start a trial with no credit card required,
4:04
we're going to have that linked below, and start building your website today. When you decide to sign up for
4:08
Squarespace, make sure you use offer code TechQuickie to get 10% off your
4:12
first purchase. So, thanks for watching, guys. Like, dislike, check out our other videos.
4:17
Leave a comment with a video suggestion, and don't forget to subscribe and follow, because if you don't, my
4:22
grandmother will have a stroke. Actually, she did like 3 days ago. Yeah,
4:26
it's not funny at all. I'm not Yeah. I got to go see her after work
4:30
today. She's fine. No, no, she's fine. It's cool. No,
4:34
this is sad.