Member Avatar for lerch

I'm rebuilding my sisters computer for her and have come up against a shutdown or powerdown (whatever it's called) issue. Everytime I try to shutdown everthing seems to go okay to begin with, ie it logs off and then saves settings but then it says windows is shutting down and it just hangs. I end up either rebooting with the reset switch or hold the power button in untill it shuts down. I know its not a critical problem but it is very irritating. I have tried everything I can think of and browsed the web for ages looking for an answer.

The machine in question is a Medion (model PC MT5)?
with an Intel P4 2.8Ghz processor and the O/S is windows xp home edition

I have had to reboot this computer due to her son messing with it and have managed to sort out most of the problems except for this one.

I know it makes a difference (just dont know what difference: :o ) about APM or ACPI. This machine doesnt have a tab for APM so I gather its ACPI that I have to find out about. Everywhere I look on the web it tells me how to cure the shutdown hanging issue for the Advanced Power Management but nothing (as yet) for Advanced Configuration and Power Interface. To be truthful thats all I know about ACPI, whats its called :o
So if any of you kind people could help it would be very much appreciated.

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Dani AI

Generated

Good pointer from — the problem description from (logs off, says "Windows is shutting down" then hangs) narrows the likely causes to one of three areas: a service/driver that never stops, an ACPI/BIOS power-off mismatch, or an attached device that keeps the machine awake. Below is a concise, safe troubleshooting plan that complements the guide already posted.

Start with non-invasive checks

  • Inspect Event Viewer (Control Panel → Administrative Tools → Event Viewer → System) and note any errors at the exact shutdown time (source and Event ID). Those entries are the best clues.
  • Reboot to Safe Mode and attempt a shutdown. If Safe Mode shuts down cleanly, the cause is almost certainly a third-party driver or service.
  • Perform a selective startup: Run msconfig, on Services check "Hide Microsoft services", disable the remaining third-party services, disable all Startup items, reboot and test. Re-enable services in halves to isolate the offender.

Hardware, drivers and BIOS

  • In Device Manager (System → Hardware → Device Manager) check the "Computer" node: names like "ACPI x86-based PC" or "ACPI Multiprocessor PC" mean ACPI is enabled; "Standard PC" means ACPI is not in use. Changing that driver or BIOS power settings can affect shutdown behavior, so make a System Restore point before altering drivers or firmware.
  • Temporarily unplug USB devices, network cards, external drives and try again — a misbehaving peripheral or its driver commonly blocks power-off. Update chipset/ACPI drivers and the motherboard BIOS from Medion or the chipset vendor if updates exist.

Other common culprits and final notes

  • Look at recently installed software that hooks shutdown (antivirus, backup/restore, CD-burning or virtual-drive tools, remote-control utilities). Disable or uninstall suspect items during the selective-startup test.
  • If none of the above isolates the cause, collect the exact Event Viewer entries (timestamp, source, Event ID) and the "Computer" device name; those will point to a targeted fix rather than guessing.

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Member Avatar for pcpalct

And the answer is:

:mrgreen:

Member Avatar for lerch

Thanx pcpalct I'll certainly look into this. But its late and I'm knackered and it looked complicated. As you may have geussed I'm a newbie so I want to make sure I get it 100% right. Again thanx for taking the time to reply I'm very grateful

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