EA not running after a restart

Causes, most likely first

1. MetaTrader did not relaunch

Windows Update restarts overnight and nothing brings the terminal back unless it was configured to start with Windows. This is the single most common silent stoppage, and on a home machine it can go unnoticed for days.

2. The terminal relaunched but did not log in

If the credentials were not saved, MetaTrader opens disconnected. Charts render from cached data so the window looks normal — check the connection status in the corner rather than the chart.

3. AutoTrading is off after launch

The global AutoTrading button does not always survive a restart. The EA loads, shows on the chart, and does nothing. See autotrading disabled.

4. The EA was not saved in the profile

An EA attached to a chart is stored in the profile. If the terminal was closed without saving, or a different profile loads, the chart reopens without it. The face in the corner is the check — no face means no EA.

Why this happens

All four have to be true simultaneously for a setup to resume by itself, and each one fails silently. The reason a VPS is recommended is not latency — it is that a restart on a machine you are not watching is indistinguishable from everything working.

Test it rather than assume it. Reboot deliberately once, then confirm the terminal relaunched, logged in, AutoTrading is green and the EA shows a smiling face. Five minutes now against an unnoticed outage later.