Soft Reset

A procedure for resetting an electronic device. Similar in concept and function to a hard reset, but different in that a soft reset more closely resembles a power cycle, including a boot up routine if there is one. In other words, a soft reset on a device is equivalent to turning it off and then on again. This is useful when the machine is in a state where it is not functioning properly (which could be caused my many things) and it is believed that a power cycle will reset it enough to return it to working order. A hard reset is for more significant problems and erases parameters that are normally retained after a power cycle. The expression “soft reset” is not as formalized as its hard reset counterpart. Relatively few devices have the function, and many of the ones that do call it something else.