Is restarting the same as turning the computer on?

[void]

I have Windows 2000. Are the following situations exactly the same?

a) Windows 2000 boots up after I turn on my computer by pressing the power
button.

b) Windows 2000 boots up after I restart it (via Start button->Shut
Down->Restart).

The reason I ask is because I saw someone mention that if you restart Windows
2000, then it keeps all of your drivers loaded in memory so that it doesn't
have to reload them when it restarts. Is this true? Does Windows 2000 keep
anything in memory so that it restarts faster? Or does all of the memory get
cleared on a restart?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I have Windows 2000. Are the following situations exactly the same?

a) Windows 2000 boots up after I turn on my computer by pressing the power
button.

b) Windows 2000 boots up after I restart it (via Start button->Shut
Down->Restart).

The reason I ask is because I saw someone mention that if you restart Windows
2000, then it keeps all of your drivers loaded in memory so that it doesn't
have to reload them when it restarts. Is this true? Does Windows 2000 keep
anything in memory so that it restarts faster? Or does all of the memory get
cleared on a restart?

AFAIK, all memory gets cleared when you restart Windows. There
are some rare cases where a restart fails, probably due to some
controller on the motherboard being in an invalid state; in these
cases, a power-down will re-initialise the controller.

 

[Steve N.]

I have Windows 2000. Are the following situations exactly the same?

a) Windows 2000 boots up after I turn on my computer by pressing the power
button.

b) Windows 2000 boots up after I restart it (via Start button->Shut
Down->Restart).

The reason I ask is because I saw someone mention that if you restart Windows
2000, then it keeps all of your drivers loaded in memory so that it doesn't
have to reload them when it restarts. Is this true? Does Windows 2000 keep
anything in memory so that it restarts faster? Or does all of the memory get
cleared on a restart?

It does not keep any drivers in memory at a restart, however a restart
is not the same as a hard reset and hardware ports are not completely
re-initialized. I've got an MSI mb and an Intel mb that behave exactly
the same way - a restart of Windows does not re-initialize the serial
ports and I have to either power off or do a hardware reset to get the
system to recognize the serial port.

Steve

 

[Dan Seur]

Also, restarts (and even poweroffs, if poweron occurs within just a few
seconds) can be iffy, because electron reservoirs in BIOS and elsewhere
can take 5-10 seconds to dissipate completely. If remnants remain,
things can be wobbly at restart.

Best to remove all power gracefully, then restore it 10-15 seconds
later. Take time to bite a nail or two. Even when the OS offers to save
you the trouble and extreme exertion, as it often will when you install
something that fiddles with registry entries and things. Trust the OS
but count the cards is our motto.