XP won't shutdown

[300148]

My computer won't shut down.
For a week ...start/shutdown and start/log off only result in desktop icons disappearing and then nothing; desktop remains; no screen saver. If I try to open anything else, I get "...did not initialize because Windows is shutting down". Time out does not kick in...it is set to 30 minutes.
I resort to unplugging power source an when I reboot all cookies (name/passwords etc. are missing.
Microft's suggestions all reference the registry. I have used RegCure (no change) and am so "non-tech" that I don't want to mess around with the registry.
Where I have looked:
-this forum
-Microsoft
-Google
Suggestions please.
LARRY

 

[BINOWGAYLATER]

i had a very similar problem - but only once -- I checked with a super-tech guy I know - and all he had me do was hold down the power-button for 10-15 seconds which FORCED the computer to shut down (properly) -
(this is somewhat different from unpluugging -for some reason --


it never happened again

maybe you want to try it.?

that's all i got.

 

[uslad7]

Perhaps the settings on your computer were changed and it's shutting down because of that.

It may be because you have a virus though.

Have you run any virus scans?

 

[300148]

THIS worked!!! THANK YOU so much. [/B]

 

[Corny]

^ I didn't see this the first time - so, sorry. The info from Binowgaylater is not correct, your system will NOT shut down properly this way. A correct shut down would only happen if you shortly press the power button and the machine shuts down after that. Holding it down for several seconds (usually 4) until the power goes off is a forced power off and not really different from pulling the plug, it bears the same dangers as pulling the plug.

The problem that you are having is quite known. Most of the time hardware/driver issues are the cause of it. You can find a lot of info here:

http://tweaks.com/windows/36963/if-your-system-w111nt-shut-down-properly/

 

[Paws]

Buy a Mac.

 

[Corny]

great advice

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2236029?start=0&tstart=0

 

[300148]

Right or wrong, the advice to hold down the powerbutton has worked for a few days now...hopefully it will continue.
BUY A MAC.............?????????????? Really great advice: solved the problem immediately and no doubt permanently. THANKS???

 

[Corny]

of course it works. it works as good as just pulling the power plug.

and if you, as a result, have a faulty hardware abstraction layer or filesystem you even will have as much fun reinstalling you OS.

 

[star-warrior]

I would seriously think about backing up all your precious data about now before the computer packs in, or more damage to the file systems occur due to the forced shut downs. Terabyte external hard drives that are within the reach of a lot of people's pockets now, so save now, before its all too late.

The problem may be a memory conflict, corrupt files, or something wrong with the physical storage media (i.e. hard disk - bad sectors or wotnot). Could you make the system perform a chkdsk and see if anything is untoward with the physical drive? When was the last time you defragged your drive?

 

[300148]

I would seriously think about backing up all your precious data about now before the computer packs in, or more damage to the file systems occur due to the forced shut downs. Terabyte external hard drives that are within the reach of a lot of people's pockets now, so save now, before its all too late.

The problem may be a memory conflict, corrupt files, or something wrong with the physical storage media (i.e. hard disk - bad sectors or wotnot). Could you make the system perform a chkdsk and see if anything is untoward with the physical drive? When was the last time you defragged your drive?

Did chkdsk...nothing out of order. Defragged when problem first noted and again today.
Left computer to shut down "normally" last evening.............it took just over one hour!!
I have come to this forum several times and have alwas been pleased with the help I get. I do appreciate those who offer concrete advice and suggestions.Thank you. Sarcasm and predictions of doom are not appreciated.
One more thought: I installed Yahoo Messenger and YouTube Downloader at about the time this began. Anyone experience problems with either?

 

[star-warrior]

Did chkdsk...nothing out of order. Defragged when problem first noted and again today.
Left computer to shut down "normally" last evening.............it took just over one hour!!
I have come to this forum several times and have alwas been pleased with the help I get. I do appreciate those who offer concrete advice and suggestions.Thank you. Sarcasm and predictions of doom are not appreciated.

I did not mean it to be taken as sarcasm.

Having had an old xp computer which did take ages to shut down, I did back ups of all my stuff. It turned out that I had faulty RAM. The suggestion I found online was to install new RAM in the expansion sockets, and solder off the old corrupt factory supplied on-board stuff.

I did neither. I bought a new computer. The backups on my external hard drive was just a convenient upload away.

One more thought: I installed Yahoo Messenger and YouTube Downloader at about the time this began. Anyone experience problems with either?

The answer would be to uninstall these and see if it makes any difference. Again, said without prejudice or allusions of saracsm.

 

[300148]

I did not mean it to be taken as sarcasm.

Thank you...I was too quick to judge---FRUSTRATION!
LARRY