Shut down or reboot

Hello,
I received a refurbished Gateway PC and when I have to reboot or shut down Windows XP
Pro, the closing down part works fine. When it comes back it comes back to the
Gateway Main Screen. The only way I can get back on is to unplug computer wait a
few minutes and plug it back in. The Gateway screen comes back with the F10 F4
showing, I keep pushing the F10 and F4 until it finally starts back up. Just
wondering if there wouldn't be a easier way to reboot without going through all
of these procedures?
Thanks for any help
Granylou09