Vista - computer won't shut down properly

I'm running Vista Home Premium on a Packard Bell SW51 - I'm not a total
newbie but I'm not a techie. When I try to shut down the computer it just
hangs with the 'shutting down' message displayed and I have to use the
computer button to switch it off. It will shut down if I start up in safe
mode. Am I potentially causing problems by switching the computer off in this
way?
By the way I've tried to do system restore but because the computer won't
close down properly the system restore process fails.

You are not causing any harm. You might lose some data that doesn't get
saved, but if that were happening you should get the dirty drive byte set
and be running chkdisk on the next boot. You may want to use task manager
and shut down some of the tasks (after clearing out your taskbar). Shut
down maybe 5 different ones each time noting which ones you are shutting
down. You should get to a point where one of the groups will allow it to
shut down and you can narrow it down to the task that is causing the hang.

"nvqSue" <nvqSue@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2399DAED-1578-4149-BF3B-68B3A3F37846@microsoft.com...
> I'm running Vista Home Premium on a Packard Bell SW51 - I'm not a total
> newbie but I'm not a techie. When I try to shut down the computer it just
> hangs with the 'shutting down' message displayed and I have to use the
> computer button to switch it off. It will shut down if I start up in safe
> mode. Am I potentially causing problems by switching the computer off in
> this
> way?
> By the way I've tried to do system restore but because the computer won't
> close down properly the system restore process fails.

Thank you for taking the time to reply John. i'm relieved to know I'm not
doing anything harmful. I've checked task manager before I attempt to shut
down and it doesn't show any running programs. I have the option to do a
'factory restore' via Packard Bell which I might do before I have mega data
on the pc - all my current data is backed up to a separate storage drive so I
won't lose anything important (lesson learned from recent virus attack on my
old computer!)
Sue

"John Barnes" wrote:

> You are not causing any harm. You might lose some data that doesn't get
> saved, but if that were happening you should get the dirty drive byte set
> and be running chkdisk on the next boot. You may want to use task manager
> and shut down some of the tasks (after clearing out your taskbar). Shut
> down maybe 5 different ones each time noting which ones you are shutting
> down. You should get to a point where one of the groups will allow it to
> shut down and you can narrow it down to the task that is causing the hang.
>
> "nvqSue" <nvqSue@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:2399DAED-1578-4149-BF3B-68B3A3F37846@microsoft.com...
> > I'm running Vista Home Premium on a Packard Bell SW51 - I'm not a total
> > newbie but I'm not a techie. When I try to shut down the computer it just
> > hangs with the 'shutting down' message displayed and I have to use the
> > computer button to switch it off. It will shut down if I start up in safe
> > mode. Am I potentially causing problems by switching the computer off in
> > this
> > way?
> > By the way I've tried to do system restore but because the computer won't
> > close down properly the system restore process fails.
>
>

Sorry, I meant to go to the processes section of the task manager and shut
down tasks running there.
Has it always been having the shutdown problem, or only since you installed
some software or new hardware?


"nvqSue" <nvqSue@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1839728B-54F7-46C6-944C-DDF22833DB74@microsoft.com...
> Thank you for taking the time to reply John. i'm relieved to know I'm not
> doing anything harmful. I've checked task manager before I attempt to
> shut
> down and it doesn't show any running programs. I have the option to do a
> 'factory restore' via Packard Bell which I might do before I have mega
> data
> on the pc - all my current data is backed up to a separate storage drive
> so I
> won't lose anything important (lesson learned from recent virus attack on
> my
> old computer!)
> Sue
>
> "John Barnes" wrote:
>
>> You are not causing any harm. You might lose some data that doesn't get
>> saved, but if that were happening you should get the dirty drive byte set
>> and be running chkdisk on the next boot. You may want to use task
>> manager
>> and shut down some of the tasks (after clearing out your taskbar). Shut
>> down maybe 5 different ones each time noting which ones you are shutting
>> down. You should get to a point where one of the groups will allow it to
>> shut down and you can narrow it down to the task that is causing the
>> hang.
>>
>> "nvqSue" <nvqSue@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:2399DAED-1578-4149-BF3B-68B3A3F37846@microsoft.com...
>> > I'm running Vista Home Premium on a Packard Bell SW51 - I'm not a total
>> > newbie but I'm not a techie. When I try to shut down the computer it
>> > just
>> > hangs with the 'shutting down' message displayed and I have to use the
>> > computer button to switch it off. It will shut down if I start up in
>> > safe
>> > mode. Am I potentially causing problems by switching the computer off
>> > in
>> > this
>> > way?
>> > By the way I've tried to do system restore but because the computer
>> > won't
>> > close down properly the system restore process fails.
>>
>>

No initially it shut down OK. I added some of my files (mainly Word
documents) from previous back up disks (XP system and prior to virus) and
then downloaded the Business Office trial version. There were also some
automatic windows updates when i looked at the restore points. I uninstalled
the office trial to see if tha would make a difference but no joy. I also
rolled back an nvidia driver.
Since your first reply I've had a Runtime error notification for
iexplore.exe - this is the first time i've seen this and don't know if it has
any significance.
Sue

"John Barnes" wrote:

> Sorry, I meant to go to the processes section of the task manager and shut
> down tasks running there.
> Has it always been having the shutdown problem, or only since you installed
> some software or new hardware?
>
>
> "nvqSue" <nvqSue@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:1839728B-54F7-46C6-944C-DDF22833DB74@microsoft.com...
> > Thank you for taking the time to reply John. i'm relieved to know I'm not
> > doing anything harmful. I've checked task manager before I attempt to
> > shut
> > down and it doesn't show any running programs. I have the option to do a
> > 'factory restore' via Packard Bell which I might do before I have mega
> > data
> > on the pc - all my current data is backed up to a separate storage drive
> > so I
> > won't lose anything important (lesson learned from recent virus attack on
> > my
> > old computer!)
> > Sue
> >
> > "John Barnes" wrote:
> >
> >> You are not causing any harm. You might lose some data that doesn't get
> >> saved, but if that were happening you should get the dirty drive byte set
> >> and be running chkdisk on the next boot. You may want to use task
> >> manager
> >> and shut down some of the tasks (after clearing out your taskbar). Shut
> >> down maybe 5 different ones each time noting which ones you are shutting
> >> down. You should get to a point where one of the groups will allow it to
> >> shut down and you can narrow it down to the task that is causing the
> >> hang.
> >>
> >> "nvqSue" <nvqSue@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >> news:2399DAED-1578-4149-BF3B-68B3A3F37846@microsoft.com...
> >> > I'm running Vista Home Premium on a Packard Bell SW51 - I'm not a total
> >> > newbie but I'm not a techie. When I try to shut down the computer it
> >> > just
> >> > hangs with the 'shutting down' message displayed and I have to use the
> >> > computer button to switch it off. It will shut down if I start up in
> >> > safe
> >> > mode. Am I potentially causing problems by switching the computer off
> >> > in
> >> > this
> >> > way?
> >> > By the way I've tried to do system restore but because the computer
> >> > won't
> >> > close down properly the system restore process fails.
> >>
> >>
>
>

Like I said earlier I would sort the processes by name, and shut down maybe
5 different ones manually each time I shut down the computer, keeping track
of the ones being shut down. Some are not stoppable. I have been able to
find my hangs this way and usually contacting the vendor of the product
causing the hang will get new drivers etc. You will usually find many
others with the same problem. The last one I had was with an A/V product.
Got fixed pretty quickly.
As to your runtime error, should not be significant. Probably more likely
some problem with the web page not being correctly configured for IE7 yet.
I have had IE stop on 13 of the 15 days I have had this version running.
Shuts down and restarts. Perfmon is a great place to track the performance
of your machine. Go to the reliability monitor.
type perfmon in the start search. If you feel a restore is appropriate for
some reason, by all means get it done before you get too many settings and
files to try to control.

"nvqSue" <nvqSue@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:133DE504-A9F7-46CD-8DB4-3E1C5A47A975@microsoft.com...
> No initially it shut down OK. I added some of my files (mainly Word
> documents) from previous back up disks (XP system and prior to virus) and
> then downloaded the Business Office trial version. There were also some
> automatic windows updates when i looked at the restore points. I
> uninstalled
> the office trial to see if tha would make a difference but no joy. I also
> rolled back an nvidia driver.
> Since your first reply I've had a Runtime error notification for
> iexplore.exe - this is the first time i've seen this and don't know if it
> has
> any significance.
> Sue
>
> "John Barnes" wrote:
>
>> Sorry, I meant to go to the processes section of the task manager and
>> shut
>> down tasks running there.
>> Has it always been having the shutdown problem, or only since you
>> installed
>> some software or new hardware?
>>
>>
>> "nvqSue" <nvqSue@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:1839728B-54F7-46C6-944C-DDF22833DB74@microsoft.com...
>> > Thank you for taking the time to reply John. i'm relieved to know I'm
>> > not
>> > doing anything harmful. I've checked task manager before I attempt to
>> > shut
>> > down and it doesn't show any running programs. I have the option to do
>> > a
>> > 'factory restore' via Packard Bell which I might do before I have mega
>> > data
>> > on the pc - all my current data is backed up to a separate storage
>> > drive
>> > so I
>> > won't lose anything important (lesson learned from recent virus attack
>> > on
>> > my
>> > old computer!)
>> > Sue
>> >
>> > "John Barnes" wrote:
>> >
>> >> You are not causing any harm. You might lose some data that doesn't
>> >> get
>> >> saved, but if that were happening you should get the dirty drive byte
>> >> set
>> >> and be running chkdisk on the next boot. You may want to use task
>> >> manager
>> >> and shut down some of the tasks (after clearing out your taskbar).
>> >> Shut
>> >> down maybe 5 different ones each time noting which ones you are
>> >> shutting
>> >> down. You should get to a point where one of the groups will allow it
>> >> to
>> >> shut down and you can narrow it down to the task that is causing the
>> >> hang.
>> >>
>> >> "nvqSue" <nvqSue@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> >> news:2399DAED-1578-4149-BF3B-68B3A3F37846@microsoft.com...
>> >> > I'm running Vista Home Premium on a Packard Bell SW51 - I'm not a
>> >> > total
>> >> > newbie but I'm not a techie. When I try to shut down the computer it
>> >> > just
>> >> > hangs with the 'shutting down' message displayed and I have to use
>> >> > the
>> >> > computer button to switch it off. It will shut down if I start up
>> >> > in
>> >> > safe
>> >> > mode. Am I potentially causing problems by switching the computer
>> >> > off
>> >> > in
>> >> > this
>> >> > way?
>> >> > By the way I've tried to do system restore but because the computer
>> >> > won't
>> >> > close down properly the system restore process fails.
>> >>
>> >>
>>
>>

Thanks John. I have started to work through the processes as you suggested
and will continue until I have methodically checked them all - hopefully this
will solve the problem. i will also check out Perfrmon. I truly appreciate
the time you have taken to help me. Many thanks. Sue

"John Barnes" wrote:

> Like I said earlier I would sort the processes by name, and shut down maybe
> 5 different ones manually each time I shut down the computer, keeping track
> of the ones being shut down. Some are not stoppable. I have been able to
> find my hangs this way and usually contacting the vendor of the product
> causing the hang will get new drivers etc. You will usually find many
> others with the same problem. The last one I had was with an A/V product.
> Got fixed pretty quickly.
> As to your runtime error, should not be significant. Probably more likely
> some problem with the web page not being correctly configured for IE7 yet.
> I have had IE stop on 13 of the 15 days I have had this version running.
> Shuts down and restarts. Perfmon is a great place to track the performance
> of your machine. Go to the reliability monitor.
> type perfmon in the start search. If you feel a restore is appropriate for
> some reason, by all means get it done before you get too many settings and
> files to try to control.
>
> "nvqSue" <nvqSue@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:133DE504-A9F7-46CD-8DB4-3E1C5A47A975@microsoft.com...
> > No initially it shut down OK. I added some of my files (mainly Word
> > documents) from previous back up disks (XP system and prior to virus) and
> > then downloaded the Business Office trial version. There were also some
> > automatic windows updates when i looked at the restore points. I
> > uninstalled
> > the office trial to see if tha would make a difference but no joy. I also
> > rolled back an nvidia driver.
> > Since your first reply I've had a Runtime error notification for
> > iexplore.exe - this is the first time i've seen this and don't know if it
> > has
> > any significance.
> > Sue
> >
> > "John Barnes" wrote:
> >
> >> Sorry, I meant to go to the processes section of the task manager and
> >> shut
> >> down tasks running there.
> >> Has it always been having the shutdown problem, or only since you
> >> installed
> >> some software or new hardware?
> >>
> >>
> >> "nvqSue" <nvqSue@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >> news:1839728B-54F7-46C6-944C-DDF22833DB74@microsoft.com...
> >> > Thank you for taking the time to reply John. i'm relieved to know I'm
> >> > not
> >> > doing anything harmful. I've checked task manager before I attempt to
> >> > shut
> >> > down and it doesn't show any running programs. I have the option to do
> >> > a
> >> > 'factory restore' via Packard Bell which I might do before I have mega
> >> > data
> >> > on the pc - all my current data is backed up to a separate storage
> >> > drive
> >> > so I
> >> > won't lose anything important (lesson learned from recent virus attack
> >> > on
> >> > my
> >> > old computer!)
> >> > Sue
> >> >
> >> > "John Barnes" wrote:
> >> >
> >> >> You are not causing any harm. You might lose some data that doesn't
> >> >> get
> >> >> saved, but if that were happening you should get the dirty drive byte
> >> >> set
> >> >> and be running chkdisk on the next boot. You may want to use task
> >> >> manager
> >> >> and shut down some of the tasks (after clearing out your taskbar).
> >> >> Shut
> >> >> down maybe 5 different ones each time noting which ones you are
> >> >> shutting
> >> >> down. You should get to a point where one of the groups will allow it
> >> >> to
> >> >> shut down and you can narrow it down to the task that is causing the
> >> >> hang.
> >> >>
> >> >> "nvqSue" <nvqSue@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >> >> news:2399DAED-1578-4149-BF3B-68B3A3F37846@microsoft.com...
> >> >> > I'm running Vista Home Premium on a Packard Bell SW51 - I'm not a
> >> >> > total
> >> >> > newbie but I'm not a techie. When I try to shut down the computer it
> >> >> > just
> >> >> > hangs with the 'shutting down' message displayed and I have to use
> >> >> > the
> >> >> > computer button to switch it off. It will shut down if I start up
> >> >> > in
> >> >> > safe
> >> >> > mode. Am I potentially causing problems by switching the computer
> >> >> > off
> >> >> > in
> >> >> > this
> >> >> > way?
> >> >> > By the way I've tried to do system restore but because the computer
> >> >> > won't
> >> >> > close down properly the system restore process fails.
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >>
> >>
>
>

I have exactly the same problem albeit my PC is Dell Dimension 9200. The
system just hangs about informing me it is 'shutting down' but does not. I
have tried Ctrl+Alt+Del to no avail. The problem might not be related to the
PC but to do with conflict with Vista in general
--
Krish


"nvqSue" wrote:

> I'm running Vista Home Premium on a Packard Bell SW51 - I'm not a total
> newbie but I'm not a techie. When I try to shut down the computer it just
> hangs with the 'shutting down' message displayed and I have to use the
> computer button to switch it off. It will shut down if I start up in safe
> mode. Am I potentially causing problems by switching the computer off in this
> way?
> By the way I've tried to do system restore but because the computer won't
> close down properly the system restore process fails.

Hi Krish,
The problem on my computer is now resolved. Having tried isolating
different processes through the task manager without sucess I disabled the
wireless access and now use an Ethernet cable instead; as soon as I did this
my pc shut down without any problem. Hope this helps.
Sue

"Krish" wrote:

> I have exactly the same problem albeit my PC is Dell Dimension 9200. The
> system just hangs about informing me it is 'shutting down' but does not. I
> have tried Ctrl+Alt+Del to no avail. The problem might not be related to the
> PC but to do with conflict with Vista in general
> --
> Krish
>
>
> "nvqSue" wrote:
>
> > I'm running Vista Home Premium on a Packard Bell SW51 - I'm not a total
> > newbie but I'm not a techie. When I try to shut down the computer it just
> > hangs with the 'shutting down' message displayed and I have to use the
> > computer button to switch it off. It will shut down if I start up in safe
> > mode. Am I potentially causing problems by switching the computer off in this
> > way?
> > By the way I've tried to do system restore but because the computer won't
> > close down properly the system restore process fails.

Thanks Sue, I do not have a wireless on my Desk top PC and it is connected
through an ethernet cable to the wireless ADSL router. In one of the other
threads I read that there could be a problem with Roxio DVD package as
everytime I use it it is then that the system seems to 'hang on' while
shutting down. I shall try to go to the Sonic website to see if there are any
updates available.

Cheers

Krish
--
Krish


"nvqSue" wrote:

> Hi Krish,
> The problem on my computer is now resolved. Having tried isolating
> different processes through the task manager without sucess I disabled the
> wireless access and now use an Ethernet cable instead; as soon as I did this
> my pc shut down without any problem. Hope this helps.
> Sue
>
> "Krish" wrote:
>
> > I have exactly the same problem albeit my PC is Dell Dimension 9200. The
> > system just hangs about informing me it is 'shutting down' but does not. I
> > have tried Ctrl+Alt+Del to no avail. The problem might not be related to the
> > PC but to do with conflict with Vista in general
> > --
> > Krish
> >
> >
> > "nvqSue" wrote:
> >
> > > I'm running Vista Home Premium on a Packard Bell SW51 - I'm not a total
> > > newbie but I'm not a techie. When I try to shut down the computer it just
> > > hangs with the 'shutting down' message displayed and I have to use the
> > > computer button to switch it off. It will shut down if I start up in safe
> > > mode. Am I potentially causing problems by switching the computer off in this
> > > way?
> > > By the way I've tried to do system restore but because the computer won't
> > > close down properly the system restore process fails.