Can't Log Off, Shut Down or Switch User

[TheScullster]

Hi all

Pretty much as the subject - Win XP Pro in home network environment.
Old gateway PIII 600 - 512Mb RAM.
Worked once-upon-a-time but has now lost the "switch user" option.
Also will not log off or shut down - have to power it off just to access
different accounts .
This is a hard shut off, not a controlled XP shut down BTW!
Have already tried the user-profile-hive-cleanup with no success.

Anyone any suggestions please?

TIA

Phil

 

[Malke]

Hi all

Pretty much as the subject - Win XP Pro in home network environment.
Old gateway PIII 600 - 512Mb RAM.
Worked once-upon-a-time but has now lost the "switch user" option.
Also will not log off or shut down - have to power it off just to access
different accounts .
This is a hard shut off, not a controlled XP shut down BTW!
Have already tried the user-profile-hive-cleanup with no success.

Shutdown problems (including the ability to switch users) are usually
caused by programs/processes that refuse to exit gracefully. Very often
these programs/processes are malware although not always. Misbehaving
legitimate programs or drivers can also do this.

So your first step is, as always, to answer these questions:

The First Question Of Troubleshooting: what changed between the time
things worked and the time they didn't?

The Second Question of Windows Troubleshooting: what is the
malware/virus status of the machine? If you think it is clean, what
programs (and versions) did you use to determine this?

Be sure the computer is clean:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Event Viewer is often a good source of clues as to the cause of the
issue. Start>Run>eventvwr.msc [enter]

Additionally, here is an excellent shutdown troubleshooter:

http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.htm


Malke