Forcing A Restart- Vista Home Premium

[Walker1]

Hi All,

I have been running Vista for about 8 mos. with no real problems. However,
for some reason there are many times when I click on "restart" & nothing
happens. Sometimes I click on it 4 or 5 times before it restarts. Does
someone know a way to force a restart or how to resolve this odd quirk? I do
get Windows automatic downloads weekly. Thanks all.

 

[Malke]

Hi All,

I have been running Vista for about 8 mos. with no real problems. However,
for some reason there are many times when I click on "restart" & nothing
happens. Sometimes I click on it 4 or 5 times before it restarts. Does
someone know a way to force a restart or how to resolve this odd quirk? I do
get Windows automatic downloads weekly. Thanks all.

Restart problems are related to shutdown issues. Here is my normal
boilerplate on shutdown issues. Not everything may be applicable to you
so just take the bits that are:

*****
Shutdown issues are generally caused by a program and/or process that is
refusing to exit gracefully. The program and/or process can be from
malware or can be legitimate (such as an invasive antivirus like Norton
or McAfee). If you are using a Norton or McAfee product, uninstall it
and replace with a better program such as NOD32, Kasperksy, or Avast
(free). The Windows Firewall is adequate for most people. With Vista,
shutdown issues can also be caused by old/poorly written drivers so make
sure all drivers are updated. See Step B. below for general driver
directions.

A.The first step is always to make sure your computer is virus/malware free.

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

B. Drivers - The First Law of Driver Updates is "if it ain't broke,
don't fix it". Normally if everything is working you want to leave
things as they are. The exception is that heavy-duty gamers will usually
want to update their video and sound drivers to squeeze every last bit
of performance out of the hardware to get the fastest frame rates. If
you're not one of those people, you don't need to update your drivers if
there are no problems you are trying to solve.

Never get drivers from Windows Update. Get them from:

1. The device mftr.'s website; OR
2. The motherboard mftr.'s website if hardware is onboard; OR
3. The OEM's website for your specific machine if you have an OEM
computer (HP, Dell, Sony, etc.).

Read the installation instructions on the website where you get the drivers.

To find out what hardware is in your computer:

1. Read any documentation you got when you bought the computer.
2. If the computer is OEM, go to the OEM's website for your specific
model machine and look at the specs (you'll be there to get the drivers
anyway)
3. Download, install and run a free system inventory program like Belarc
Advisor or System Information for Windows.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html - Belarc Advisor
http://www.gtopala.com/ - System Information for Windows

C. If the computer is virus/malware-free, drivers are current, and no
Norton or McAfee programs are installed, then do clean-boot
troubleshooting to see which program/process is the culprit:

How to perform a clean boot in Vista and XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/331796

D. If you need more information, here is an excellent shutdown
troubleshooter:

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

Standard caveat: If troubleshooting the issue is too difficult - and
there is absolutely no shame in admitting this isn't your cup of tea -
take the machine to a computer repair shop. This will not be your local
BigComputerStore/GeekSquad type of place. Get recommendations from
family, friends, colleagues.
*****

Malke

 

[mikeyhsd]

how long do you wait after clicking on RESTART before you decide nothing is going to happen.

vista is busy trying to shut down processes in the background.
take a look at the tray and see if things start to disappear.

if nothing happens after a minute or so, then might be time to panic.



(e-mail address removed)



Hi All,

I have been running Vista for about 8 mos. with no real problems. However,
for some reason there are many times when I click on "restart" & nothing
happens. Sometimes I click on it 4 or 5 times before it restarts. Does
someone know a way to force a restart or how to resolve this odd quirk? I do
get Windows automatic downloads weekly. Thanks all.

 

[Walker1]

Hi Malke,

Thanks for writing so quick. I'll address some of the points you have
listed: 1) I have "Windows Live Care 1" as my security system. I did have
Norton, but it's been removed. 2) When I installed Vista- (I have an
upgrade disc) I was lucky enough to have a Microsoft tech walk me through the
entire upgrade. At that time all the drivers were OK as was after the
upgrade. The tech checked everything out before we were done. 3) I have an
OEM HP Media Ctr. PC that came with XP Media Ctr. Home Version-2005 and have
all the specs for every hardware item. I ran the Microsoft "Vista" tool
prior to the upgrade. 4) I am NOT a gamer. I do have a Pentium D 3 GB
processor and 3 GB's of desktop ram. My PC has run SUPER since installing
Vista. With XP it never ran so smooth.

I know this is a minor problem and I do get around it by clicking on "switch
users" and in the bottom R on that page I click on "options." Then it has an
option for restarting the PC and that usually does it.

Thanks so much for all the web sites! I will be checking things out later
on today and will write back with my results. What exactly is a "Clean Boot"
and what does it do?

 

[Walker1]

Hi Mikey,

Usually I wait for 60 seconds or so before trying again. No panic here.
I'm just curious as to why after a clean upgrade from XP with a Microsoft
tech on the phone why my PC hangs up. Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Malke]

Hi Malke,

Thanks for writing so quick. I'll address some of the points you have
listed: 1) I have "Windows Live Care 1" as my security system. I did have
Norton, but it's been removed. 2) When I installed Vista- (I have an
upgrade disc) I was lucky enough to have a Microsoft tech walk me through the
entire upgrade. At that time all the drivers were OK as was after the
upgrade. The tech checked everything out before we were done. 3) I have an
OEM HP Media Ctr. PC that came with XP Media Ctr. Home Version-2005 and have
all the specs for every hardware item. I ran the Microsoft "Vista" tool
prior to the upgrade. 4) I am NOT a gamer. I do have a Pentium D 3 GB
processor and 3 GB's of desktop ram. My PC has run SUPER since installing
Vista. With XP it never ran so smooth.

I know this is a minor problem and I do get around it by clicking on "switch
users" and in the bottom R on that page I click on "options." Then it has an
option for restarting the PC and that usually does it.

Thanks so much for all the web sites! I will be checking things out later
on today and will write back with my results. What exactly is a "Clean Boot"
and what does it do?

A clean boot basically starts your computer with very little extra stuff
running. As I said, most shutdown issues are caused by something running
in the background that doesn't want to let go. The troubleshooting is to
discover what that "something" is so you can address it, either by not
having it run in the background, adjust its settings, remove it,
whatever. When you do a clean boot, you see if everything is working
well. If it is, then you add back just one more thing and test. Then add
the next thing and test. Etc.


Malke

 

[romanom]

This isn't necessarily a problem, it's probably a process you have running.
Such as, a 3rd party security suite shutting down.

Hitting the sleep or power button multiple times is probably not having any
effect.

I find, for instance, that if I shutdown as my security suite is checking
for updates or scanning a file in the background it takes up to 1.5 minutes
to start shutting down.

Usually, if things are fine the sidebar shuts down quickly and the
hard-drive light flickers away while the the "culprit" process finishes doing
it's thing.

If you have any suspects in mind, try shutting down that process manually
through task manager and the power down the PC and see what happens.