Member Avatar for billpa

I have an hp pavilion ze5185 laptop that wouldn't shut down. My operating system is Windows XP.

When I go to 'start' to shut the computer down, I get the message "windows is saving your settings". Then I get the message "windows is shutting down". The problem is that the computer never shuts down until I manually turn it off.

Any ideas?

  • 3 Contributors
  • 3 Replies
  • 183 Views
  • 1 Day Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by JoetjeF

Dani AI

Generated

Most Windows XP machines that reach the shutdown prompts but never power off are being blocked by a hung service, driver, or background program. 's suggestion to rule out malware was a good first step, and 's idea to check Service Pack level and look in Event Viewer/Device Manager is exactly where to go next. Before reformatting, try these targeted, non-destructive checks to isolate and fix the problem.

First, test whether the problem is third‑party software or drivers. Boot into Safe Mode (press F8 while the machine starts) and attempt a shutdown. If Safe Mode shuts down cleanly, the culprit is almost certainly a service or startup program. Use a clean boot (run msconfig, disable non‑Microsoft services and startup items) and re-enable items in small groups until the problem returns. Also unplug USB devices and remove mapped network drives while testing.

Repair system files and disks, and look for hung services. From a command prompt run:

sfc /scannow
chkdsk /f

(Windows XP may ask for the original CD for sfc and chkdsk with /f will run on next reboot.) Check Event Viewer for service timeouts or application‑hang entries that occur at shutdown time, and use Process Explorer/Handle (Sysinternals) to find processes holding open handles to network shares or files that prevent termination.

If you need a temporary workaround while diagnosing, back up the registry and consider these conservative tweaks: reduce WaitToKillServiceTimeout and set AutoEndTasks=1 so Windows forces hung apps to close faster. Do not edit the registry without a backup. If the above fails, update the BIOS and chipset/ACPI drivers from HP (these affect power-off behavior), try System Restore to a known-good point, and only use a full reinstall after a verified image backup of personal data.

Recommended Answers

All 3 Replies

Member Avatar for fry

Hi, have you scanned your computer for viruses and spyware?
I think you should do it.

Member Avatar for billpa

I did a scan of my computer. I have McAfee Virus Scanner and McAfee Firewall running at all times. I also did a scan with Spybot. When I contacted Microsoft Support, I was told it sounds like a corrupted file and that I might have to reinstall Windows XP.

Is there anything I can do, including buying a commercial product, to solve this problem other than reformatting my computer?

Member Avatar for JoetjeF

- What Service Pack are you using?
- Can you see anything in the Event Viewer (Start->Run->eventvwr.msc) after you restarted?
- Are there any unrecognised hardware devices (Start->Run->devmgmt.msc)?

There are many possible causes that stops the shutdown process to finish.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.