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.