WindowXP now will not shut down in an orderly fashion

[Ronald]

I am having a shutdown problem. I have to press the power switch to
shutdown my system. I am using WinXP, SP1, SP2 and SP3. I believe that
some patch download has done me in. Problem is, I don't know which one.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Ronald

 

[Malke]

I am having a shutdown problem. I have to press the power switch to
shutdown my system. I am using WinXP, SP1, SP2 and SP3. I believe that
some patch download has done me in. Problem is, I don't know which one.

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.

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

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

B. 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

C. 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

 

[Twayne]

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.

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

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

Or better yet, use a good antivirus product and a few spyware detectors
and keep them all up to date before using them each time.

B. 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:

Removing Norton/McAfee is a waste of time for no good reason. This is
turning into a shotgun approach without any targets and not looking for
targets.

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

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

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

I don't know about "excellent", but it's good, it's useful and appears
accurate. It is a good article. There are many such articles around the
web. Here are some others that may also be useful:

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Troubleshooting-Windows-Shutdown.html

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308029

http://www.theeldergeek.com/shutdown_issues_in_xp.htm

You may not need to, but when something gets particularluy thorny,
sometimes perusing forum posts can lead to ideas one might be able to
use too.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[Twayne]

I am having a shutdown problem. I have to press the power switch to
shutdown my system. I am using WinXP, SP1, SP2 and SP3. I believe
that some patch download has done me in. Problem is, I don't know
which one.
Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Ronald

From your post, you would be said to be running XP with SP3 and, I
assume, relevant continuing updates that go with it, right?

-- What exactly happens when you click Shut Down? Try to describe it as
close as you can; the more detail the better.

-- Does it not happen when you do a Restart? e.g. is it ONLY when you
use Shut Down? Or does it do it when you Restart, too? They are similar
but different functions.

-- Are there any error messages? Write down the exact messages and
what happened just before they appeared. This would probably best be
part of the first item I asked about.

There could have been something in an update that caused the issue but
I'd leave uninstalling updates for later in the trouble-shooting process
as IMO chances of it are slim, OR, rather than an update being the
problem, it instead exposed a problem in the OS that you didn't know
about.

As most will tell you, first run updated anti-virus and anti-spyware
programs to make certain as far as is reasonable that you don't have
malware installed.
-- What AV program and what anti-spyware programs do/did you use to
scan with? List each, please, and their versions.

Next in line IMO is usually a problem with a program refusing to let go
of some instance of code that's necessary for the computer to shut down
properly. This is where the free programs ntregopt, ntregmon and a few
others become useful. But, in order to get the quickest and best
choices you really need to provide more data to work with.

Post back with the answers to the above and I think you'll find some
useful, targetted responses to your problem.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[Twayne]

I am having a shutdown problem. I have to press the power switch to
shutdown my system. I am using WinXP, SP1, SP2 and SP3. I believe
that some patch download has done me in. Problem is, I don't know
which one.
Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Ronald

I meant to also mention the most important tool in my post; the 'User
Profile Hive Cleaner'; THAT is the one that gets things to close
properly; the other only optimizes the registry order for what is
usually minimal boot up time savings.

HTH,

Twayne`