Shut Down Problems

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tingy
  • Start date Start date
T

Tingy

Help would be much appreciated- After my XP sits idle for a while, it
starts to ignore commands to open programs, the internet, and even task
manager. It won't even shut down, restart, or switch users. I've had to
pull the plug several times in the last few days, and I was wondering
if someone could give me any suggestions, or at least an alternative to
shutting the computer down.
 
Tingy said:
Help would be much appreciated- After my XP sits idle for a while, it
starts to ignore commands to open programs, the internet, and even task
manager. It won't even shut down, restart, or switch users. I've had to
pull the plug several times in the last few days, and I was wondering
if someone could give me any suggestions, or at least an alternative to
shutting the computer down.
Click to expand...

Check the power applet in control panel and set to "Never" the monitor/hard
disk & System Standby options
 
Tingy said:
Help would be much appreciated- After my XP sits idle for a while, it
starts to ignore commands to open programs, the internet, and even task
manager. It won't even shut down, restart, or switch users. I've had to
pull the plug several times in the last few days, and I was wondering
if someone could give me any suggestions, or at least an alternative to
shutting the computer down.
Click to expand...


Many computers come right out of the box with a host of unnecessary programs
installed, some of which run automatically when Windows starts. The first
thing I do when there are strange issues is eliminate each of those programs
one at a time. Some will be listed in your startup folder. Create a folder,
maybe on your desktop, where you can move (not copy, but cut & paste) the
shortcuts from the startup folder to another place where you can retrieve
them later, if you find they were not the cause of the problem. Move one at
a time and watch the results.

Other programs can self-start WITHOUT assistance from the startup folder.
Look at the system tray - the right side of the task bar. There's often a
large collection of junk there. Make sure you know what every one of them
is. If you're not sure what's necessary and what's just a toy, make a list
and post it here. Any well-behaved program that places an icon there should
give you the option of NOT having it start up.
 
Further to that:

Start -> Run -> msconfig

Click the Startup tab (furthest right)

Search for each of the .exe files mentioned in under the "Command"
column at http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/. Use your own
judgement to figure which items need to be there and which do not.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your problem.
 
Oh, thank you- I have gone through my system tray, but no the startup
folder. I'll try that.
 
Tingy said:
Help would be much appreciated- After my XP sits idle for a while, it
starts to ignore commands to open programs, the internet, and even task
Click to expand...

Is the PC virus and spyware free?
 
Back
Top