Windows refusing to Shut Down

[eidderf]

There's probably a simple problem to this but basically when I try to shut down my PC or restart it it reaches the usual Windows is shutting down screen but then freezes and doesn't get to the point where it actually shuts itself off. Sometimes it works when I shut down but never if I try to restart the PC, when I say it doesn't shut down I'm not talking about 5 minutes I mean I've left it on for hours thinking that it would shut down but it still remains on that screen.

I know turning it off without shutting it down this way isn't good for the PC so I was wondering if there is anyway to fix the problem (I use Windows XP if you need to know that)

[Troll]

you should probably check out your power supply, that might be acting up, it might be worth borrowing someones briefly to test that out though

[hicks]

This happened to me for a while, but when i turned on automatic update a hotfix came down and it never happened again.

[Paradigm^]

I know turning it off without shutting it down this way isn't good for the PC so I was wondering if there is anyway to fix the problem (I use Windows XP if you need to know that)It's not very good but it's not going to be catastrophic either. Most of your applications will do their cleanup fairly quickly, and you'll probably find that it's one application in particular which is making things stall (possibly one of your background tasks). You can work out which one it is by trial and error - quit one of them manually before you shut down, one at a time. When you do a successful shut down, it'll be the task that you quit beforehand that's causing you problems.

[eidderf]

It's not very good but it's not going to be catastrophic either. Most of your applications will do their cleanup fairly quickly, and you'll probably find that it's one application in particular which is making things stall (possibly one of your background tasks). You can work out which one it is by trial and error - quit one of them manually before you shut down, one at a time. When you do a successful shut down, it'll be the task that you quit beforehand that's causing you problems.

My wireless network adapter thing (the programme not the device itself) does occasionally play up a bit, I'll try closing that down before shutting down and then re-install it to see if that helps.

I'll try the other things as well, keep posting any other suggestions, I'll bump this thread if the problem continues after trying them.

[doctor_fruitbat]

The built-in Windows wireless app is pretty reliable, so it wouldn't be a great loss to lose the one you use right now.

[tehmoogles]

One of the laptops in our house has a similar problem. It uses Windows Vista, and every time you try to shut it down, it comes back on again. Any ideas on how to fix this?

[ABP]

If you're really desperate try using a "shutdown -s" .bat on yourself. But I doubt that would work. I bet this wonderfully chilled can of pepsi max that it wouldn't.

As for the Vista problem, it's Vista. 'Nough said really.
It does the same to me sometimes, it tends to fix itself every now and again then break for a bit.

[Satans Trousers]

I only hibernate and my Vista PC seems to have an odd process of making the screen then suddenly returning to how it was.

[Lewiji]

One of the laptops in our house has a similar problem. It uses Windows Vista, and every time you try to shut it down, it comes back on again. Any ideas on how to fix this?
The vista power button in the start menu (ie, not the dropdown options) by default puts the computer in a low power state that can be woken in various different ways. To shut it down, you have to go to the dropdown arrow to the right of the power button and click shut down - there's also an option in the control panel to change what the power button does by default.

[ABP]

Or you could be lazy like me and press the power poweh button then walk away.

Hurrah for buttons!