Why does my PC take so long to shut down? How to fix it?

I had my windows XP computer, and the exact thing happened to me. It was so frustrating, and I couldn't stand it. I finally contacted my computer manufacturer, and they said to go to Start, Run, "msconfig" and then take of some start up programs that you don't need. Otherwise run a virus program, you should be fine.

Hi Victoria; You say you are shutting your pc down via the power sw. on the pc? If I shut down my PC with the power switch, I will get an error screen next time I start it up. It usually says windows was not shut down right. Start windows normally? Do a complete system tune up. Ch. disk, defragment, viruses, spyware, etc. Then make it a habit to shut down your PC with the shut-down menu. Hope this helps.

There are many reasons why there might be an extended wait for a shut down to occur. WinXP does a little clean-up before shutting a computer down, one of the reasons why XP is a stable OS. Other reasons include: many services running, software that is still running when shutdown command initiated, hung applications, security or other software that wants to take a system snapshot, viruses, spyware; the list just goes on and on.

First, make sure that you are running a clean, efficient machine. Clean out the junk files (CCleaner), defrag the drives (Diskeeper Lite), and clean out any malware that may be lurking in the works (Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware, Avira AntiVir, AVG Free)hint; you should not install more than one anti-virus at a time and finally, clean up the registry (RegScrubXP). Once you've done that, make sure that there aren't a lot of unnecessary applications that automatically start up when you start your computer; (start/run/msconfig, select the startup tab and uncheck those entries that are really unnecessary, or that you use only rarely, click apply and close; you will have to restart your computer for these changes to take effect). Now, you have a reasonably clean, efficient system.

It is now time to do a few registry hacks. Be exact, be careful and don't worry, after all, you are going to create a back up of the registry. Go to start/run/regedit, then hit OK. Now, go to file, then export. In the next box, name the file something like shutdwn hacks and save in a directory of your choice. This will create a file which is a copy of your registry as it currently exists, so don't forget where you saved it. Now we can work in comfort; but remember, be careful and be exact.


Find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control
Highlight the Control folder.
In the right pane -
Double click "WaitToKillServiceTimeout" and
Set the value to 1000.

Now find HKEY_CURRENT_USER and navigate to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \
Find and double click "AutoEndTasks" and
Set the value to 1
Find and double click "HungAppTimeout" and
Set the value to 1000
Find and double click "WaitToKillAppTimeout" and
Set the value to 1000

OK, we are almost through so let's take a look at one more thing. This item is probably already at the desired value, but let's make sure. Find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and navigate to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
Highlight Memory Management, and in the right pane
Find and double click "ClearPageFileAtShutdown" and
Set the value to 0.
*CAUTION* This value will prevent the page file from being cleared, which takes time, but will also leave information in the page file that you might consider sensitive such as passwords and account numbers. If no one else uses your computer, this is a non-issue.

Now, close the Registry, and restart your computer to have all changes take effect. As a test, do a shutdown and see if things aren't just a little peppier.

There are a lot of questions that need to be asked for the issue you are describing. Generally windows is updating your registry and boot log prior to shutting down. If you have a virus/antispyware program running it will also scan prior to shutting down. If you are not sure what the issue is go to Run type in MSCONFIG and hit enter. goto startup tab and select disable all. then shut down and start windows normally. It will come up with a message that you have started with a manual configuation. Just put check mark in box do not show again and click ok. try a restart again and see how long it takes to shut down. If it is a lot faster you can go back in and start rechecking items in the startup menu. Usually you only have to have ctfmon and security software running at startup. Hope this helps.

I had this kind of problem when I owned an XP. What I did besides doing the usual: deleting temporary internet files, defragging the hard drive, clearing browser history, cookies, saved form data, passwords, etc, doing a spyware and virus scan; I turned off Windows System Restore and set all automatic updating and scans for manual operation. Finally I also did is what usually takes hours to complete and consumes total system resources: "C" drive disk scan and error correction.

To do this you must go to "My Computer". Right click the "C" drive icon. Then select "Properties". Then select "Tools". Under "Tools", you will see a button for checking the volume ("C" drive) for errors reading: "Check Now". Select it and a dialog box will pop up prompting you to choose these check disk options; ie: "Automatically fix file system errors" and "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors". I usually check both boxes and then hit "Start". This will result in your screen going black and a five level process beginning with each level lasting longer than the former. During this time you must let the computer do its thing and do not turn it off or attempt to use it for any other purpose. You will be unable to use your computer as long as this process is going on and when the process is complete, the computer will reboot.

I have done this several times when I owned an XP and while using Vista. If all else fails, back up your data, files, bookmarks, and etc and erase your hard drive, setting it back to the original default settings when it came out of the factory. This is NOT a Windows System Restore function, but an complete erasure. This usually isn't a problem since most computers come equipped with either a factory restore disk (less so nowadays) or a built in utility to do this without a disk. If your Windows XP operating system is not hard wired into your computer (most are) but loaded from a CD, I believe Microsoft allows 3 additional installations of its operating system before it disables further reloads.

Extreme as it may seem, I have done factory setting restores many times for Windows 98, XP, and Vista computers to clean up and clear out things I couldn't identify or remove by other methods. It was from these experiences that I learned the critical value of having a reliable external hard drive as a lifesaver. Good luck.

Why?
The main culprit for long shutdown time is usualy to many processes running when you shut down.
Another probable cause can be your antivirus (AV) application. The AV can interfere when you want to close and suppress some files and processes, misinterpreting it for some hostile actions.
On shutdown, you need to terminate all running processes. Each one will take some time to do so. Some may need to wait for another one to stop first. Some need to do some, and sometimes, a lot of, cleanup, buffers purging, files closing and suppression.
It can lead to a "race condition", where a process is waiting for another process to stop, and that process si waiting for the stoping of another process, maybe the first one.
How many icons are in your tray, next to the clock? Each hide at least one process. Same thing for the task bar buttons. The quick start buttons are just short-cuts, and don't count.
Open the task manager "hold Ctrl+Shift+Esc", switch to the process tab, how many processes are listed? A "normal" count should be less that 80. (I curently have 42 processes running)

What to do?

Any tray icon that you don't know, or remember, what they are for? Any one that you don't need? Right-click them and look if you can disable the option to load with Windows. Next, uninstall that application.

Close any minimised application before you shutdown.
Manualy close some icons from the tray.
Some times, manualy closing one or two applications can look miraculous.

Try to reduce the number of applications and processes running in the background.

Lower the settings of your AV. If possible, disable any "real time" protections as most users don't need that. The only place where real time protection is realy usefull, is on a server.

Disable any preloader, like the MS Office startup application. They make your bootup and shutdown longer, are not needed after you have started the components you want to use, and are not needed if you don't use any part of Office, and only save you about about a second when starting a component the first time shortly after you have booted.

You may have some malware. Do a full virus, adware and spyware scan. Update all definitions, reboot in safe mode and run the scans.

Those steps should help your computer shutdown faster, boot faster and get more responsive in general usage.

I work at a college. We have both PCs and Macs. In fact the computer labs are everywhere. I suggest you get a good flash drive to carry around your files. You may find you don't really need a laptop to lug around if computer labs are plentiful.
Test the computers at school to see which you like using best. Each has their good and bad points. Schools have discounts if you buy through them.
I use a Mac here at work and a PC at home. Programs appear and react differently on each machine so it's a personal preference. Some things I like better on my PC and then again the Mac some features that I wish were on my PC.

Dear Victoria, I had the same problem just a short time ago with my win XP. I went to run, typed in msconfig then start up menu and unchecked most of items in startup, with the exception of my virus controll and systemtray and monitor. Then did a virus scan. I ran spybot,adaware. I found spyware and worms. I recently bought an installed Kaspersky Internet Security protection and it uncovered a very bad Trojan. I removed it. I shut down the computer.Turned it back on. It shut down fast and came on fast. If you have to many programs running in the background it takes time to shut them down. Also virus, worms, trojans, and spyware can really slow things down as well. I did a scan check for errors and did a defrag. Hope this helps. sparquart

I also had this exact problem on one of my computers running Windows XP. I tried everything, including removing all of the startup files, and manually closing all possible open files one at a time to try to find it.

My conclusion was one of two things was wrong. (1) A DLL somehow got contaminated, or (2) Some programmer did not cleanup his workspace properly at the end of execution. Since I try to use brand name vendor software, I am leaning towards a DLL being contaminated. The most common place for this to happen, excluding bad code, is when a system is shut down unexpectedly.

Sometimes programmers write code that changes inline as it is being executed. This is risky business. If there is a power failure while the code is swapped out, the DLL may be permanently damaged. To correct this problem, you need to de-install this appplication and re-install it. Sometimes even this doesn't do the trick, because the culprit may be a shared DLL. When this is the case, the de-install will not de-install the shared DLL without your permission and the problem persists. (If you can determine the other application(s) that are using the shared DLL then you can de-install it/them along with the shared DLL).

I think that my case was the latter. So I backed up all of data, deleted everything from my disk and erased it. I then reinstalled all of my programs and reloaded the data files. Sure, it took about two days, but my system is significantly faster overall, and it shuts down right away.

Now (hopefully) to preclude this from happening again, I installed a backup UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) on my CPU and monitor. (You don't need it on other peripherals). Because of where I live, I have had dozens of power hits since then, but the performance problem has never came back.

If you already have a UPS installed then it most likely is a contaminated DLL that may be shared. The solution, however, is the same.

Hope this helps.

Hello Victoria,
It not a new thing discovering such problem.Thinking its new to you,really! you need to understand that such problem must be the fact that your computer system must have been contacted by serious virus or your computer operating system must have been corrupted.
By the way I will like to know if you are a computer technician or an ordinary computer user.OK if you are a computer technician I will like to suggest the following solution to such problem;
-Download and scan your computer with an antivirus
-Remove all temporary files and folders
-or otherwise repair your computer operating using operating system disc (win 2000,win xp, win vista )
-if all those steps doesn't works out ,format your computer and reload it with licensed anti virus.
by JIMOH ISMAIL 'SOLA

Hi Victoria.

When you shutdown your Windows XP computer, it may take more time to complete the shutdown process. Slow shutdowns are caused by a number of factors. One of the common cause is the Clear Pagefile at Shutdown option enabled.

Virtual memory support uses a system pagefile to swap pages of memory to disk when they are not used. On a running system, this pagefile is opened exclusively by the operating system, and it is well protected. However, systems that are configured to allow booting to other operating systems might have to make sure that the system pagefile is wiped clean when this system shuts down. This ensures that sensitive information from process memory that might go into the pagefile is not available to an unauthorized user who manages to directly access the pagefile.
When this option is enabled, it causes the system pagefile to be cleared upon clean shutdown. This takes considerable time of the Operating System to flush-out the pagefile, thus causing the slow shutdown. You may disable ClearPageFileAtShutdown option to improve shutdown times. But the pagefile.sys will be intact and accessible via other Operating System, in case or dual or multi-boot

Using Group Policy Editor [for Windows XP Professional]
1. Click Start
2. Click Run
3. Type Secpol.msc
4. Click Local Policies | Security Options
5.In the right-pane, set Shutdown: Clear virtual memory pagefile to Disabled

OR


1. Click Start
2. Click Run
3. Type regedit.exe
4. Find the folder: [HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management]
5. At this point you will see a list of files, Double click on Clear Page File At Shutdown
6. Change the value of the paging file to "0"

However, this setting is not the only cause for slow shutdowns. Non-responsive programs and Services also contribute to slow shutdowns. If the problem is seen recently after installing a third-party driver or software, try a System Restore rollback to see if that resolves the slow shutdown problem.

Cut down number of the programs and processes running in the background :
When you start your computer many unnecessary processes are loaded. You can eliminate this by managing your msconfig.

Here is how:
1. Open your Start menu.
2. Click Run
3. In the command screen type "msconfig.exe"
4. In the system configuration utility,click either service or startup tab.
5. Uncheck all programs that your are no longer want to run in the background.
6. Click OK


Clean your Registry: Usually slow computer shutdown often occurs due to a corrupted registry. You should perform a Scan of Your Registry. If you receive more than 30 errors, this is the reason why you have slowdown.

Defrag your Computer: The faster your computer can find files the quicker it can shutdown. A very slow computer shutdown can be the result of your hard drive trying to search for disorganized and fragmented files that it needs for shutdown. Organize your hard drive by performing a defragmentation.

Check Your Device Drivers--When your computer shutdown, the operating system must disengage from all your hardware devices. This action allows the devices to power off. If the device has error or cannot be find the device, Windows will have a very slow shutdown or even hang forever. Updating the driver or troubleshooting it may eliminate this problem.Check your device drivers for any errors which are indicated by an yellow exclamation mark or an X.

You Can Create a Windows XP shutdown icon on your desktop, here?s how:
Right-click an empty space on your desktop
Select the option "new shortcut"
1. Type "shutdown -s -t 0" (Exactly as shown here, but without the quotes. The last character in the command is a zero.)
2. Click next
3. Type a name for the shortcut (e.g. Fast shutdown) and click finish
4. Now you have a new icon on your desktop.

Make sure to close all applications and double-click your new icon to Shutdown your computer.

Check This Forum thread also:
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6142_102-0.html?forumID=5&threadID=173949&messageID=1914609

Hope this helps.
Ankit

Hi Victoria, Geo2003 here,
I had the same problem as you with 3 third party applications running on my old xp machine. I was able to solve it, and may be able to give you some pointers, however is going to take some work in addition I can't remember the name of the 3 applications because I switched to Vista 1.1/2 years ago.

It has been a week since your question was posted on the community help letter. My self and others were trying very hard to help another member with installation of Vista SP1.
Everything with her went really great.

My Question is, since it has been a week, have you had responses that help you, or any responses at all to your question.
If you have not been able to resolve the issue, post back and I will try my best to help you out.
If you are in the process of trying out other possible member suggestions, then let me know how far along you are because I don't want to be repeating the same things.

Since this is my first post to your question, even though I will be tracking the discussion, I can't at this moment see any member responses.

Regards,
Geo

Perhaps you have downloaded some stuff from the net since you got your PC - that tends to slow the PC down -

Perhaps you haven't closed some programs or Internet connection before closing down PC or/and some programs tend to run in the background of whatever it is you do (= unknowingly )- they need to shut down as well before the PC can do the same.

Try cleaning and defragging your drives from time to time, perhaps once a month to regroup your programs which can be scattered on it.

Hope that helps a bit

I can get my Vista plug in and say ever since I switched to Vista, all my shutdown issues have disappeared..
But w/r to your issue, I have the same problem on one of my wife's XP machine. Microsoft acknowledges this bug with certain XP installations. What I have found that always works is a tip from Microsoft that instead of using the shutdown button, use the Logoff button instead. Once you logoff, THEN use the shutdown button. Apparently some Windows XP machines will not shutdown because it can't automatically logoff the primary user. I have found that this workaround always works for me and I no longer have to deal with the infinite shut down time on my XP machine anymore.

Really though three things-
1. defrag your "C" drive or where you boot from. This is a biggy and can cause a big speed difference. Probably won't fix everything though. If you can't run a scan because there is not enough room on your hard drive you now know your shut down problem too!

2. CCleaner has a second option that nobody really talks about and it works pretty well- A REGISTRY CLEANER on lthe left panel. Run the regisrty cleaner option and the cleaner option. It's former name was CRAP CLEANER for a reason and they cleaned up the name for public distribution. IT'S FREE and both options work well. This may end the problem. Find this at Piriform.com

3. VIRUS OR TROJAN trouble- make sure you have the latest updates for your AntiVirus program and run a scan. If this does not work go to an online virus scanner site TREND MICRO does a good job at this. Trojans can escape some virus protection and SPYWARE TWERMINATOR is the answer here! Get it run a full system scan (make sure you disable screen saver and automatic sleep modes) and walk away. This program cannot always remove the threat but it will alert you with specific information as to where it is(not done on easy to use programs but this one is simple) and then go to your fav forum for trojan removal and search for your bug... your prob not the first to get it so someone has removed it and they will tell you how. If this is the case.
The SpywareTerminator scans results are detailed and can give the right person all the info they need to fix your problem even if it is not a "BUG" issue. SpywareTerminator.com (FREE)

Happy Hunting!!
Jestferfun

It's possible you've had acummulated an incredible amount of viruses in your machine... A good way to take them out is downloading CCleaner. This little program is great to clean your computer from this viruses. It's very simple, you just clean your computer with a click and afterwards you run your antivirus of choise, and your computer will be virus free. That`ll make it faster, and maybe end your shut down problem.

Hi, Victoria. I had identical issues to you, and solved them in the following ways:

1) I purchased a copy of startupcop and figured out what was loading and running the whole time that didn't need to be there. It takes no time at all to close something that doesn't open in the first place.

2) I defragged my hard drive. Be sure it never gets more than 80% full. Remove things you don't need -- if you're a packrat, write them to an external drive, or to CD-ROM or DVD-ROM discs, but get rid of things you do not use.

3) I fired Norton Internet Security. I do not use the windows firewall. I use Zone Alarm Free edition, and AVG 8.0 Free Anti-Virus. Resist the pleas to upgrade, the free ones work fine. NOTHING had a greater effect on shut-down (and startup) time than this simple step.

4) I downloaded Eusing Registry Cleaner. It is free, and it will do a great job of tidying up your registry. I did this after using CCleaner, which I quickly got rid of because by accepting the default to clean things up, I lost stored passwords on some websites and other files that I actually wanted -- I always do a restore point before using a utility like this, so I was able to roll back and retrieve what I wanted, and I recommend you do the same.

5) I regularly scan my drive with AdAware (free version) and SpyBot (free version). Neither gets everything, and together, they still probably don't get everything, but they get a lot. It's OK to delete all tracking cookies, etc.

6) If you want to clean up more, use your browser's settings to delete all temp files. This will, however, delete your browsing history, so think carefully before you do it.

This series of steps, only one of which required any money at all, had a dramatic effect. StartupCop is optional here; I probably would have gotten 95% of the shutdown-speed improvement without it, but it did speed up start-up for me by about 35% and I thought it was worth the cost.

Hope this helps

Michael

There are many possible reasons. Of course the first is malware. There is a simply wonderful program called CCleaner. It's donation ware although, in reality, you have very little choice in the matter and pretty much have to make an initial $20 donation. Its original name was CrapCleaner, a good description, but somebody must have objected to it. It cleans out a simply unbelievable amount of crap, hence the name. However, before you use it you absolutely must protect the cookies that you want to save, and there will be many of them, from CCleaner. Otherwise it will wipe out all of your cookies and you will have to register again with all the places that you normally visit. To do that you have to click on (1) Options and (2) Cookies and then go through the list protecting the ones that you want to keep. I went through the list four times. The fourth time there was nothing left that I had forgotten. Then I ran CCleaner and watched it clear out about 400 Mb of junk. Amazingly, it cleared out a virus that Norton had been reporting for over a year. Norton found it but could not delete it. After the first time I ran CCleaner I never got another notice from Norton.

When I uninstalled Norton Internet Security 2007 my shutdown and boot times were cut by 70%. If you have installed such a package that could well be contributing to the problem. I replaced that with Spyware Doctor, Avast Anti-virus - anti-spyware etc., and Comodo Pro Firewall. The last two are freeware, donations accepted. The change in boot and shutdown times were cut by 70% and I believe that I am better protected.

This combination of elimination of problems with Avast, Spyware Doctor, and CCleaner and protection with Avast, Comodo, and Spyware Doctor have improved everything about my system.

You might try Control Panel, uninstall just to see what you have installed and a program like Tune-Up Utilities 2008 which will let you find out what files you start up with. It also has a much better uninstaller than Control Panel and cleans your disk and registry. I highly recommend that one and so does Dell. I weeded out a lot of startup files with TU2007 and later TU2008.

I had a similar problem with XP, but having used various version of windows learned to accept the situation, its just something that windows seemed to do.

However having recently bought an iMac for photo processing the mac closes down incredibly fast, I did think at the time well it will slow down over time but no it still matains a fast close down time.

Sorry can't help with windows which I still use of course but I just go out of the room and make a coffee..!!

Brenda xx

just press Alt-Ctrl-Delete to get to the Task Manager. Click on the shutdown menu...press control and then click on the turn off comand....see how fast the computer shuts down....

In reply to: Hi Victoria by hottroder

I don't believe the browser is an issue. It's what's installed to the browser that maketh the issue...

DO NOT USE TOOLBARS!!!

Ok your anti-virus and firewall software are clearly up to you, but chkdisk? How old are you exactly? I believe there is a perfectly good error checker built into Windows XP and still it won't do much. It's only of a registry problem than an error problem, but that's the worst case scenario. Check for viruses and keep your security settings up to a reasonable level and you need not worry; Read up anti-vir software... The best anti-vir software the 1 that solves YOUR issues not that of every1 elses, and you'll find they are made for different systems from home computer to enterprise. I won't over complicate things. Trust your instintcts if there's any thing of which you are unsure.

One other thing to really make an impact can any1 here explain the MSCONFIG command to her. I don't have the energy to explain it and I'd be using jargon but preventing running proccesses that way may be a good solution too, if you can't manage that 'cause likelyhoods of most that are slim to nill... remove addons from your browser in the normal way, for internet explorer with a browser window open thats under tools> internet options but internet options can also found in control panel. How you go about doing that depends on both browser and version - Read help files if you are stuck.

I hope that's of help.

skimming through the replies, I see cCleaner mentioned several times for cleaning out temp files. - It also has an option to clean up your registry - in the older versions this was titled 'issues' - recent versions call it 'registry'. As said, it cleans up your registry. The programme IS free, so DO use it.

Cleaning up your start up programmes also helps. You CAN do it from the run command 'msconfig' but this does not include a lot of info on the programmes, and you may be hesitant in case you remove something you shouldn't. Another free programme, excellent for doing this, is WinPatrol from BillP Studios. You can remove startup programmes, or put them in delayed start very easily using this programme. It has another important function - the little Scotty dog, which barks when something tries to do anything to any sensitive parts of your Windows or browser, or when new programmes try to put themselves in startup, or something wants to change file associations. Importantly, it gives a little info on most common progs, and the paying version (still very cheap) will give you much more information.
Spyware and adware can be using resources, - some of this is benign in that it only reports anonymous details, some can be a lot more dangerous.
SpywareBlaster is free and will block a lot of these programmes (cookies, browser helpers, etc.), and it doesn't need to run all the time, - just update it regularly, or you can donate/pay and it will update automatically.
Spy Emergency from Netgate is an excellent programme which removes and blocks spyware and trojans. There is a free fully working trial for 15 days, then it costs $29.99. Very cheap for an excellent programme. Netgate also do a full suite like the biggies.
Talking of full suites, F-Secure and Kaspersky are probably the two best in the world, and both use a lot less resources that Norton or McAfee, while giving marginally better protection. F-Secure probably has the easier user interface, but bot regularly come out tops in trials. - Surprisingly, AVG free version always comes in the top ten of the antivirus tests.....
Defragmentation regularly, and Scandisc, both Windows tools, help you to keep running smoothly too (Right click a drive, select propertied, then the tools tab, and defragment or correct file errors).
An excellent programme advised by most techies as being idiot proof is TuneUp Utilities, made in Germany ! It is a bit more expensive (Around the