XP Won't Shut Down

[Jordan S.]

I have XP Pro/SP2 + all patches and updates.

What would cause it to (1) shut down very slowly; or (2) not shut down at
all.

I have noticed this behavior on a few of my machines over the years. When I
have a fresh image, it shuts down in a matter of seconds (10 or so). But
over time, it will take progressively longer to shut down - sometimes
exceeding a few minutes.

I have a machine that now seems to not want to shut down at all. After
selecting to shut down (Start | Turn Off Computer | Turn Off ), it displays
the usuall "windows is shutting down" message, but that message does not go
away. I left it like that for 10 minutes and eventually switched the power
supply off.

What can I be looking for to find out what's going on - why it takes so long
to shut down? There is no error message, and no BSOD. The machine seems to
work just fine otherwise.

Thanks.

 

[Bob I]

Install the User Hive clean up
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...6D-8912-4E18-B570-42470E2F3582&displaylang=en

 

[Rock]

I have XP Pro/SP2 + all patches and updates.

What would cause it to (1) shut down very slowly; or (2) not shut down at
all.

I have noticed this behavior on a few of my machines over the years. When
I have a fresh image, it shuts down in a matter of seconds (10 or so). But
over time, it will take progressively longer to shut down - sometimes
exceeding a few minutes.

I have a machine that now seems to not want to shut down at all. After
selecting to shut down (Start | Turn Off Computer | Turn Off ), it
displays the usuall "windows is shutting down" message, but that message
does not go away. I left it like that for 10 minutes and eventually
switched the power supply off.

What can I be looking for to find out what's going on - why it takes so
long to shut down? There is no error message, and no BSOD. The machine
seems to work just fine otherwise.

Thanks.

In addition to Bob's post, what happens if you start in Safe Mode and then
shut down? Still hangs? It could be a process that is not terminating. Do
some clean boot troubleshooting.

How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

How to perform advanced clean-boot troubleshooting in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=316434

How to perform a clean boot in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310353