Troubleshooting Shutdown Problems

Problem: When you click on “Shut down”, XP reboots!
Cause: Windows XP, by default, is configured to restart in case of an error. This behavior may occur if an error is generated during the shutdown process. It could be either hardware or a software problem.
Solution: Disable Automatic Restart. Right-click My Computer. Select Properties > Advanced > Settings > Startup and Recovery. Clear the “Automatically Restart” checkbox. Shut down the computer and see if you get an error message or a BSOD. Follow the troubleshooting
steps explained earlier in the BSOD section of this guide. If there is no error message
or BSOD, check your hardware. Some of the most common culprits are CD-Writing software suites (Roxio, Nero, etc.), some specialty keyboards such as Internet keyboards, USB devices, and power management settings. Check the drivers for all the hardware devices and update
them if possible. Unplug the hardware devices one by one and go through the shutdown process to isolate the device. Check the power management settings and switch to the “Always On” option. Troubleshoot problems with Windows system services as explained earlier in this chapter.
Problem: The system hangs at the “Saving your settings” screen.
Cause: This is a known issue in older XP releases, and can be patched by upgrading to Service Pack 1. Also, some software drivers “lock” during the shutdown process, preventing Windows XP from shutting down completely.
Solution: Upgrade your system to at least Service Pack 1. Update the device drivers. If the problem persists, uninstall problematic devices through Device Manager and all their associated software, and restart the computer. Windows XP will auto-detect the hardware and ask you to provide the location for the software drivers. Specify the location of the new drivers and let Windows complete the installation. Some devices may require a firmware update. See the Updating the BIOS section of this guide to understand the general principles on how it is done. Refer to the manufacturer’s Web site for details on the exact steps to be followed.
Problem: Shutdown is very slow.
Cause: Windows is waiting for all running programs and services to stop before shutting down.
Solution: In XP, many programs (including Windows itself) install services that run in the background, waiting for some action from the user. Some of these may take a long time to shut themselves down after receiving the Shutdown command from Windows. Identifying the service or services causing this problem will mostly be a trial and error process. If you have installed some software recently it might have a service that is slow in exiting and is delaying the shutdown process.
To find out the list of services that are running on your system, click Start > Run, type in “services.msc” and click OK. This launches the Services Manager. Look through the list and identify any services related to software you have recently installed.
Stop the services one at a time and shut down the system till you identify the offending service. Restart all the other services and shutdown again just to make doubly sure you’ve stopped the right service.
Note: Ensure that you don’t stop any Windows systems services and other essential services. Stopping critical and essential services will cause more problems. Also, you should be aware that if you stop a service related to any software you have installed, that particular software may not function correctly or not function at all. Check the software’s Web site for more details on the issue and any updates to correct it.