Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: Don Schlesinger: Trouble with Windows XP shutting down

  1. #1
    Don Schlesinger
    Guest

    Don Schlesinger: Trouble with Windows XP shutting down

    Recently, I have found that, much more often than not, following the normal procedure for shutting down my PC, Windows XP simply hangs on the blue "Windows shutting down..." screen and will not close.

    I turn off the computer manually, and, next morning, there is no after-effect of any kind. But, I don't like the fact that Windows won't shut down properly by itself and wonder if this is indicative of any more serious problem.

    Is there a way to fix it? (Please don't say, "Yes, don't use Windows XP"! :-))

    Thanks.

    Don

  2. #2
    David Spence
    Guest

    David Spence: Re: Trouble with Windows XP shutting down

    Hi Don,

    It's unlikely that what you've described is symptomatic of something serious, though there are MANY reasons XP can hang during shutdown. A few have been corrected in service packs, so make sure you've updated to SP2 first. Here are some of the more common reasons for a shutdown problem:

    1) some external device (e.g. a usb mouse or keyboard) has a driver or associated software that is preventing a clean shutdown. Try disconnecting everything, reboot, and see if that fixes the problem. You obviously want to be able to use your devices, but this may help pinpoint the cause.

    2) Windows Update did not complete successfully. This was one of the culprits for me. From hxxp://aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.php:

    To see if your shutdown problem is caused by this issue, look for error 0x80248011 in any of the Windows Update log files, particularly %windir%\SoftwareDistribution\ReportingEvents.log. If present, this indicates a corrupt local metadata store for Windows Update. SOLUTION: Click Start, click Run, type SERVICES.MSC, click OK. Stop the Automatic Updates service. Rename the c:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder to c:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution.old. Restart the Automatic Updates service.

    3) some application or process is not terminating completely. After rebooting, try shutting down before you run any applications. You could also use ctrl-alt-del before shutting down to see what processes are still running and narrow down the possible problems.

    I realize this is an incomplete list, but I hope it helps. hxxp://aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.php gives some more detailed information.

    I would also recommend cleaning your registry (CCleaner, an excellent free tool for this, may be downloaded from hxxp://filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/). All kinds of XP problems stem from a corrupt registry, and CCleaner works very well. Make sure you back up your registry first (the CCleaner tool will ask you if you want to create a backup).

    David

    > Recently, I have found that, much more often than not,
    > following the normal procedure for shutting down my
    > PC, Windows XP simply hangs on the blue "Windows
    > shutting down..." screen and will not close.

    > I turn off the computer manually, and, next morning,
    > there is no after-effect of any kind. But, I don't
    > like the fact that Windows won't shut down properly by
    > itself and wonder if this is indicative of any more
    > serious problem.

    > Is there a way to fix it? (Please don't say,
    > "Yes, don't use Windows XP"! :-))

    > Thanks.

    > Don

  3. #3
    Don Schlesinger
    Guest

    Don Schlesinger: Re: Trouble with Windows XP shutting down

    David,

    Thank you for such a comprehensive analysis. Indeed, I received as a gift a new wireless mouse and keyboard. But, I don't want to solve the problem by simply not using the new hardware. So I don't know how to "solve" the problem that way.

    I'll check out the other items, as well, but, considering the timing, I'd guess it's the new hardware.

    Don

  4. #4
    David Spence
    Guest

    David Spence: Re: Trouble with Windows XP shutting down

    You're welcome. If it is your new hardware, and you don't want to give up using it (understandably), make sure you have the latest drivers and software for it. It's better to get this from the manufacturer's website than from the potentially outdated CD ROM. Another possibility is that some power save or other setting is preventing normal shutdown.

    Feel free to email me if you can't get things working (I fear that we might be boring the blackjack community with our tech support discussion :-) ).

    David

    > David,

    > Thank you for such a comprehensive analysis. Indeed, I
    > received as a gift a new wireless mouse and keyboard.
    > But, I don't want to solve the problem by simply not
    > using the new hardware. So I don't know how to
    > "solve" the problem that way.

    > I'll check out the other items, as well, but,
    > considering the timing, I'd guess it's the new
    > hardware.

    > Don

  5. #5
    Brick
    Guest

    Brick: Re: Trouble with Windows XP shutting down

    Don,be cautious when installing micro-windows updates,service packs,patches etc. as ironic as it may seem,these so called features may be what has caused your PC to act up. I only install what benefits me,not the companies.

  6. #6
    Don Schlesinger
    Guest

    Don Schlesinger: Re: Trouble with Windows XP shutting down

    Thanks to everyone for the above advice. Ironically, without really changing anything yet, it has shut down correctly three nights in a row. The whole thing seems pretty random to me.

    As I always say: "Computers -- gotta hate 'em!" :-)

    Don

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

About Blackjack: The Forum

BJTF is an advantage player site based on the principles of comity. That is, civil and considerate behavior for the mutual benefit of all involved. The goal of advantage play is the legal extraction of funds from gaming establishments by gaining a mathematic advantage and developing the skills required to use that advantage. To maximize our success, it is important to understand that we are all on the same side. Personal conflicts simply get in the way of our goals.