How to Reboot Windows XP in DOS

It is very likely that a computer will have to be rebooted at some time in its life. The cause of the reboot may come from a recent install of a new application, glitches in the operating system or random errors. Hardware is never the issue for a reboot. If the hardware has gone bad then it will still be bad once the computer has restarted. A CD is never needed to reboot a computer, although, an installation CD may cause the computer to reboot during the installation process.

Instructions

1. Click the "start" button on the taskbar.

2. Click "Run."

3. Type "cmd" and press the enter key. The DOS prompt window will open.

4. Type "shutdown --r" without the quotes. The "-r" stands for reboot. A "-t #" can also be added. The "-t" stands for time. This is how long you want windows to wait before rebooting. The "#" is the amount of time in seconds. So, "shutdown --r --t 05" tells Windows to reboot in five seconds. The default (with no "-t") amount of time is 30 seconds.