# Why don't modern PCs have reset buttons? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 3, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154 "2009-03-03T16:32:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/1 "2009-03-03T16:32:03Z")
My 2008 PC semi-regularly goes into hibernation without emerging again. I find myself wanting to reset the computer but there’s no reset button. My last PC had one of these but it was a good number of years old. Have they stopped being included in PCs altogether and if so, why? ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/2 "2009-03-03T16:37:55Z")
Do you mean a boot switch? My box is over five years old, and doesn’t have one. But I do have my power switch set up to ‘ask me what to do’ should it be pushed. (Control panel/power options/advanced tab.) I had to do this since the button for the CD drive is uncomfortably close to the power button; I was constantly shutting myself down every time I went to eject a disc. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/3 "2009-03-03T16:46:44Z")
No reset button? I’ve been building machines for almost 10 years now and I just built one a week ago. I don’t recall ever running into a motherboard without a reset switch pin or a case without a reset switch. All my machines including my current i7 system have reset switches. ---
**Author:** ![Bluffcityguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ebca7d/32.png) [@Bluffcityguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluffcityguy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/4 "2009-03-03T16:47:25Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > My 2008 PC semi-regularly goes into hibernation without emerging again. I find myself wanting to reset the computer but there’s no reset button. My last PC had one of these but it was a good number of years old. Have they stopped being included in PCs altogether and if so, why? According to Wikipedia: > **[Reset (computing)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reset_button)** > > In a computer or data transmission system, a reset clears any pending errors or events and brings a system to normal condition or an initial state, usually in a controlled manner. It is usually done in response to an error condition when it is impossible or undesirable for a processing activity to proceed and all error recovery mechanisms fail. A computer storage program would normally perform a "reset" if a command times out and error recovery schemes like retry or abort also fail. > A softwar... it’s more or less been combined with the power switch. Have you tried giving your hibernating PC’s power switch a single poke? At work, I have use of a Dell laptop that goes into hibernation, and that usually wakes it up. Generally I’ve had such poor experience with PCs hibernating that the first thing I do with a new computer is configure it not to hibernate. For desktops (which are always plugged in) it’s really not necessary (no battery to conserve) and the way I use a laptop I never run one on batteries for longer than a few minutes (if I’m going to be working longer on it, I’ll plug it in to the wall). Cheers, bcg ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/5 "2009-03-03T16:51:58Z")
All of my (relatively new) systems have a reset button, and I have never seen a retail motherboard that did not have that capability. It could just be your computer manufacturer considered it a deprecated function and left it off to save a penny, or it could just be hidden or recessed in such a way that it is not immediately apparent. What is the make/model of your system? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/6 "2009-03-03T16:54:32Z")
Mine’s got one, built new last year. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/7 "2009-03-03T17:08:13Z")
It’s a Dell Desktop with a case like [this one](http://www.premierrentalliverpool.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/dell_desktop.230135040_std.jpg). BluffCityGuy, the single poke only works occasionally. I should just change the settings as you suggest. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/8 "2009-03-03T17:12:26Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > BluffCityGuy, the single poke only works occasionally. I should just change the settings as you suggest. Holding the switch down may trigger a reset, or at least a power-off. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/9 "2009-03-03T17:21:08Z")
My three most recent work PCs, a desktop and two laptops, have no reset buttons. When they lock up bad enough that holding the power button down doesn’t reach them, I pull line cords and pull (both) battery packs. I have pulled the line cord so often on the desktop for this reason that the wall receptical has become loose and cracked, so I bought a line cord switch. I figured the PC makers wanted to pretend that there wasn’t a need to reset PCs anymore. BTW I have always seen these switches labeled “Reset”, afaicr. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/10 "2009-03-03T17:25:13Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Holding the switch down may trigger a reset, or at least a power-off. Exactly. Hold the power button in for about 5 seconds and you basically have reset the system. You may have to press the power button again to restart depending on the system. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/11 "2009-03-03T17:48:56Z")
The Dell Optiplex GX620 sitting on my desk here at work has no reset button.\* However, like others have mentioned, holding the power button down for several seconds has never failed to shut the machine down when it has hung on me. Hitting it again initiates a restart, and away I go… - - I’m talking about the exterior of the PC, not the motherboard itself. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/12 "2009-03-03T18:44:28Z")
How come laptops never have a reset switch? ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/13 "2009-03-03T19:04:37Z")
> [@brad\_d](#): > > The Dell Optiplex GX620 sitting on my desk here at work has no reset button.\* I looked at the manuals for the current crop of Dell desktops and servers, and could find nary a reset switch in the bunch. I then looked at some older (6-8 years) Dell Dimension systems that I had and they did not have the feature either. So at least for Dell systems, the exclusion is not new. I will embarrassingly admit that on those older Dells I mistook the HDD activity light for a reset button. I never looked too closely. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/14 "2009-03-03T19:05:05Z")
> [@Uncommon\_Sense](#): > > Exactly. Hold the power button in for about 5 seconds and you basically have reset the system. You may have to press the power button again to restart depending on the system. That’s pretty much what my Mac laptop does, too. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/15 "2009-03-04T23:38:50Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > How come laptops never have a reset switch? I’ve had a couple that did. It was inside a tiny hole on the bottom of the laptop, and you had to push a straightened out paperclip into the hole for three seconds or something like that. But, then, I guess if you drill your own hole almost anyplace on the bottom and push a paperclip in, it would probably have some of the same effects. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/16 "2009-03-04T23:46:04Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > But, then, I guess if you drill your own hole almost anyplace on the bottom and push a paperclip in, it would probably have some of the same effects. _Once…_😛 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-modern-pcs-have-reset-buttons/488154/17 "2009-03-05T03:08:45Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > How come laptops never have a reset switch? Watch how you use the word, “never.” 😉 My [Epson HX-20](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HX-20) and [Tandy Model 100](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Model_100_line) both have reset buttons. OTOH, my [Toshiba T1100](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T1100) does not and that lack of a feature seems to have continued with laptops to this day.