Vista - Vista wont shutdown properly

Hi.

My partners PC wont shutdown.
It hangs just at the last second on a black screen, just before it should go
off and stays there.
The only way is to press the power switch until it shuts down completely.
Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Tommy

Tommy wrote:
You haven't told us anything about your partner's computer or whether the
problem always existed. I'll give you general shutdown troubleshooting
information below. If you need more help after trying those things, then
please go to the "How to Post" links to see what details to include so we
can give you the focused help you want.

*****
Shutdown issues are generally caused by a program and/or process that is
refusing to exit gracefully. The program and/or process can be from malware
or can be legitimate (such as an invasive antivirus like Norton or McAfee).
If you are using a Norton or McAfee product, uninstall it and replace with
a better program such as NOD32, Kasperksy, or Avast (free). The Windows
Firewall is adequate for most people. With Vista, shutdown issues can also
be caused by old/poorly written drivers so make sure all drivers are
updated. See Step B. below for general driver directions.

A.The first step is always to make sure your computer is virus/malware free.

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...moving_Malware

B. Drivers - The First Law of Driver Updates is "if it ain't broke, don't
fix it". Normally if everything is working you want to leave things as they
are. The exception is that heavy-duty gamers will usually want to update
their video and sound drivers to squeeze every last bit of performance out
of the hardware to get the fastest frame rates. If you're not one of those
people, you don't need to update your drivers if there are no problems you
are trying to solve.

Never get drivers from Windows Update. Get them from:

1. The device mftr.'s website; OR
2. The motherboard mftr.'s website if hardware is onboard; OR
3. The OEM's website for your specific machine if you have an OEM computer
(HP, Dell, Sony, etc.).

Read the installation instructions on the website where you get the drivers.

To find out what hardware is in your computer:

1. Read any documentation you got when you bought the computer.
2. If the computer is OEM, go to the OEM's website for your specific model
machine and look at the specs (you'll be there to get the drivers anyway)
3. Download, install and run a free system inventory program like Belarc
Advisor or System Information for Windows.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html - Belarc Advisor
http://www.gtopala.com/ - System Information for Windows

C. If the computer is virus/malware-free, drivers are current, and no Norton
or McAfee programs are installed, then do clean-boot troubleshooting to see
which program/process is the culprit:

How to perform a clean boot in Vista and XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/331796

D. If you need more information, here is an excellent shutdown
troubleshooter:

http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.htm

Standard caveat: If troubleshooting the issue is too difficult - and there
is absolutely no shame in admitting this isn't your cup of tea - take the
machine to a computer repair shop. This will not be your local
BigComputerStore/GeekSquad type of place. Get recommendations from family,
friends, colleagues.
*****
How to Post:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Usenet
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375 - How to Ask a Question

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
Don't Panic!

........thanks for your reply and sorry about the missing details. The
notebook is an Acer Aspire 5920 with Windows Vista Home Premium preinstalled.
The shutdown process was working fine before with BitDefendet Antivirus 2008
installed but for a while now it wont shutdown completely. As I said before
it hangs on the last second on a black screen when everything should go off.
No malware or virus was found after a complete system scan and the drivers
are all the original Acer drivers. If there is another way to get to the
grounds of it please let me know.......



"Malke" wrote:

Tommy wrote:
I gave you other ways to get to the "grounds of it" already. Now you have to
do the work. It's very simple - something is running in the background that
is refusing to exit. You have to find out what that something is. You can't
be scattershot.

1. Disable or uninstall BitDefender (while disconnected from the Internet if
you aren't behind a router). Test. If this wasn't the issue,
enable/reinstall BitDefender.

2. If all you did was scan with BitDefender, that wasn't enough. Follow the
far more thorough removal steps at the link I already gave you. Here it is
again: http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...moving_Malware

3. Do clean-boot troubleshooting. Test

4. Disconnect all peripherals, including Internet/LAN access.

Etc.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
Don't Panic!