Tips & Tricks

Shut Down Hang Ups

Do you have problems when the time comes to shut Windows down? Does it try to shut down and just kind of sit there, all confused and locked up? If this happens every time, or most of the time, here's some steps you can take to correct the problem:

1. Programs Not Closing -

This is probably the number one reason for Windows hanging at shutdown. When you shut down the computer, Windows tries to shut down all the programs that are currently running (both regular programs and those running in the background / system tray). If one of these programs stops responding, it can cause Windows to hang and not shutdown.

So, how do you fix it?

Well, the first step is to figure out which program is causing the problem. First, try to make sure everything is shut down before you shut Windows down. I'm not just talking about your regular programs, I'm talking about all that stuff in your system tray. Usually a right-click to a system tray icon will give you an option to shut it down.

System Tray:

After you end all the currently running programs, give it another shot. If things go smoothly, then one of the programs you closed is the likely culprit. You'll need to do a lot of re-starting to actually determine which program though. Start by shutting down one of these background / system tray programs and re-booting. Repeat the process with each program until the system no longer hangs. The last program you shut down was the cause of the problem.

If you can't get everything shut down (don't worry about the little yellow speaker), you may want to try using MSConfig to keep all these little programs from running in the first place. Just uncheck everything under the startup tab and restart your computer. Then try shutting down again. If that keeps it from hanging, it's likely one of the programs you just unchecked that's the troublemaker.

In order to figure out which one, you'll have to run MSConfig again, re-checking one unchecked program at a time and doing a restart. When it hangs, it's the program from two times ago, not the last time since you have to go through a re-boot in order to get it to run.

Here's an MSConfig how to:
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/msconfig.htm

2. - Windows Problem
Some versions of Win 98 actually had a bug (gasp) that caused them to hang on shutdown. If you're experiencing a lot of shut down hang ups, you may want to try the Windows Update feature under the Start button. Or head to:

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

A re-install of Windows may also fix the problem, but only use that as a last resort.

3. Corrupted Sound File
If you have a sound that plays when you exit Windows, it may be corrupted. Try getting rid of the shut down sound and see if that fixes the problem. The reverse is sometimes true for startup errors.

4. New Hardware
Yes, we're back to those nasty hardware issues. If you've installed a new piece of hardware and are having shut down problems all the sudden, you may want to look into updating the driver.

Those are the usual culprits. Keep in mind that if these shut down hang-ups happen randomly they are going to be really tough to track down. You may have to use MSConfig to disable certain suspect programs for a week or so at a time in order to figure it out.

And never forget - sometimes Windows can act odd (I know, hard to believe), and cause a shut down hang-up every so often. If these system shut down problems are few and far between, I wouldn't worry about them too much. Just shut the power off when that happens and re-boot. You'll probably have to sit through Scan Disk, but that's life with Windows (well, I suppose you could cancel Scan Disk when it start to run...)

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