This paper investigates stability analysis and design of reset control systems where the reset time instants are pre-specified. Firstly, in order to quantify stability of reset control systems, we propose an approach which does not rely on the stability of base linear systems. Based on this, some Lie-algebraic conditions for stability of reset control systems are obtained. Then, we develop a method for reset law design which aims at improving transient responses of the base linear systems. In addition, observer-based design is also considered. We prove that under some mild conditions, reset controller and observer can be designed separately. The obtained results are applied to short-span-seeking control of a kind of single stage hard disk drive servo systems. Simulations show that the proposed design is much more capable of improving transient response than traditional control design techniques. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.