Start - Shut Down

[Harpo]

OK, Glenn, Cho Da, Ben Kenobi (and all you other smart guys) here's a weird problem (I hope you can shed some light on).

When I try to shut down my home computer, with the usual Start - Shut Down command, it may tke 2 or three tries to get the system to actually shut down. :-?

The first and sometimes the second try, nothing happens, it simple throws you back into Windows 98. Everything else seems to work OK but how strange... :shake:

I got on MS Knowledge base and did a search but most of the problems I found have to do with locking up or other improper shutdown events.

Any suggestions?
(yes, I know, its probably time to wipe the hard drive and reload windows, it has been over 6 months or better yet get Linux) Any other ideas...

Any helpful information would be greatly appreciated (unhelpful information also considered...).

Thanks.

[Cho Da]

Start, Shut down. How intuitive :roll:

You probably have a virus or an application that is misbehaving. Give it the three finger salute (ctrl-alt-del) to see what is still running.
Also look in the start up folder to see if there are apps running in the background that you don't need/use.

Good luck!

www.slackware.com

[glenn]

Cho Da's correct. You've got something that's not shutting down. Ctrl-alt-del (once only!) will give you a list of programs currently running, see if anything looks odd. Failing that, you've got to try and find which app is causing the problem;

See if you notice any pattern - i.e. it happens anytime after you've run program X. For example, my accounting software MYOB doesn't release memory when it's done, I have to reboot or I run out of memory an hour later.

If you can't find a pattern, power down then power up. Before you run anything, try the Start-Shut Down routine. Does it do it? If not, you know it's an application that hasn't been run yet. If it does, reinstall windows.

If not, run an application, then shutdown. Repeat til you find the offender.

Oh yeah, if you haven't already, first thing is make sure your virus software is up to date and scan your machine.

[TwistedMentat]

Wind98 has a known shut down bug for which MS has posted a fix. Have you tried that already?

[glenn]

Do they? That's not the one for the hard drive cache problem?

[Brad Gile]

Well, I'll just add one suggestion. If at all possible, GET RID OF WINDOWS 98 and install either Windows 2000 Pro or Windows XP Pro.

:D
Brad

[glenn]

Brad Gile = Bill Gates. The initials are no coincidence.

Pass it on.

[Harpo]

Glenn, Cho Da,

Sound advice (though I really hope I don't have to reinstall Windows, again!).

I do (by the way) have a subscription to McAfee antivirus and it says no virus.

I'll check for other applications hanging. Thanks.

Brad, should I really have any more confidence in some other Windows product? :o

TwistedMentat - no, I'm not aware of the fix you mentioned. If you have a link, I'd be most greatful.

Again, thank you.

I'll see what I can find out and let you know.

[glenn]

Brad's correct, the newer windows (XP?) have a better reputation for stability.

For windows updates, click on Start. There's a 'Windows Update' selection right there. You'll want a high speed internet connection for the update.

[Incredible Hulctuary]

Harpo, how long ago did you install Windows 98? Windows 98 tends to get corrupted and behave erratically after 6-12 months, after which only a reformat and reinstall will restore it to normal.

[Harpo]

Tech Guy,

It's probably been a year or close to it since I last reinstalled Windows98 so it's probably getting close to time ...


To all,

Good news (I think): I installed a memory manager a few months ago (FreeMem Pro). It appears that it was checking like every 5 seconds to see what the available memory was (and see if it should free up more memory). Since I disabled that feature, the start - shut down appears to be working normally. If it was checking for available memory I think it just ignored the shut down command.

Soon after buying the FreeMem, I went down to CostCo and got a 512 memory chip for $40. That's helped a lot more than FreeMem has (for application lock up and the like).

Thanks again for everyone's feedback.
:D

[Brad Gile]

Brad Gile = Bill Gates. The initials are no coincidence.

Pass it on.

Hmmm. I'll buy that if I can have his $$$! :P

Brad