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Windows XP no longer shuts down properly or reboots


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#1
Flux

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Hi,

I have been dealing with this issue for a long time now. And finally have gotten fed up with having to manually turn my PC off and programs not installing properly because of this problem. When I select Start, Shut down, turn off computer, it says it is shutting down, saving my changes, but then the screen goes black and freezes with my mouse pointer on the screen. It never turns off, it just stays frozen there. Also, when I try to reboot my PC, the same thing happens. Any ideas on what I could do to fix this? Any help would be so appreciated.

Thanks,
Flux
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#2
Fenor

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Hi Flux!

I had this same problem with my Dad's computer. Spent many a night trying to figure it out. Even went so far as to get him a new motherboard thinking that would solve the problem. Obviously it didn't. It wasn't until I was trying to shut the computer down and it would just hang there that I put my hand on my head and lookeed down in thought. That's when I noticed the light on his HP CD Writer was constantly on. I disabled it in the Device Manager and the shutdown problem was fixed! I was SO HAPPY that I stayed up until 3am switching back the cheapo motherboard I had borrowed from work to put his old one back in. Everything worked and I was the happiest guy in the world!!! :tazz:

Needless to say, the CD-ROM might not be your problem, but it's obviously some piece of hardware that is holdig up your system. I suggest disconnecting everything from your computer that isn't necessary. Like CD/DVD drives, Zip Drives, etc.... I also suggest taking out all your PCI cards (sound card, network card, modem, etc...). Also take out any AGP cards if you are able to hook your monitor up to onboard video. Then turn on your computer and try to shut it down and see if the problem still persists. If it does turn on and shut down correctly, then it's just a matter of trial & error with each piece of hardware. Reattach one piece of hardware and try to turn on and shut down your computer. If that works, move on to the next one. Keep doing this until you find what is causing the problem.

Fenor

Edited by Fenor, 07 December 2005 - 09:13 PM.

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#3
Flux

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Hi Fenor!!

Thank you for responding so quickly. I did everything that you suggested. It still will not shut down or reboot properly in normal mode. So, I decided to try in SafeMode. I was not able to Shutdown normally again, but the PC did reboot this time. I am puzzled at this point and not really sure if this is hardware related or O/S related. What do you think?

Thanks,
Flux
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#4
dsenette

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if you do start > run > cmd > shutdown -s does it shut down?

how about shutdown -r does it restart?

how about shutdown -f?
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#5
Flux

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if you do start > run > cmd > shutdown -s does it shut down?


Hi and thank you for the very prompt response. When I type the command above, it said the PC would be shutting down, said Windows was shutting down and then froze again.

how about shutdown -r does it restart?


When I type this command, it said the PC would be shutting down, said Windows was shutting down and then it froze again.

how about shutdown -f?


This logged me off and I was able to log back in. That I can normally do with no issues, just logging off in normal mode.

Thanks,
Flux
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#6
Fenor

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Do you have Norton IS or McAfee Security Center installed on your computer? These have been known to cause major shutdown problems.

Fenor
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#7
Flux

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Do you have Norton IS or McAfee Security Center installed on your computer? These have been known to cause major shutdown problems.

Fenor


Hi again Fenor,

I have McAfee installed on my PC. However, I did not uninstall because I had heard that it may cause issues, but the PC still not shutdown properly or reboot. I don't know what else to try? :tazz:

Thanks for the suggestions.

Flux
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#8
Fenor

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So did you uninstall McAfee or not? Sorry but your last post was kind of hard to determine whether or not you uninstalled it.

Fenor
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#9
The_Wanderer

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Hey man,

Have you tried using Scandisk? I used it on my parent's desktop and it fixed the problem. Although prior to that, the mouse cursor didn't freeze, the computer would just say it's shutting down and not shut down. I also used Advanced WindowsCare, which is this freeware program that fixes/optimizes your computer as well. Hope it helps.

Edited by The_Wanderer, 11 December 2005 - 07:29 PM.

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#10
Flux

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So did you uninstall McAfee or not? Sorry but your last post was kind of hard to determine whether or not you uninstalled it.

Fenor


Hi Fenor,

Sorry about that. I should have proof read it. :tazz: Yes, I did uninstall McAfee but the PC still froze at shutdown and also would not reboot.

By the way, thanks Wanderer for the tips. I will try the scan disk too. I appreciate all of the assistance, really I do. :)

Flux
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#11
Fenor

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Another thing you can do is go into the Recovery Console and once you are at the C:\WINDOWS prompt, type chkdsk /p /r. This will do a very thorough check of your hard disk and it's files and attempt to fix anything that is corrupt/missing.

Fenor
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#12
Flux

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Hi Fenor,

I had a tough time trying to run this command, but I finally was able to do it several times with different parameters as I read about what chkdsk can do. I ran it with the /r, /p, and /f parameters. However, my PC still will not shutdown properly or reboot. Not sure what else I can do at this point. Thanks again for all the assistance.

Flux
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