My wits end! Slow shutdown

OS = WindowsXP (Home)

All of a sudden, the shutdown procedure is very slow.
I did a search here and found somethings but didnt correct the
problem.
I have re-installed video, sound drivers, and checked the services.
I set my currentcontrolset (in registry), WaitToKillServiceTimeout
to 2000.
None of the above helps.
When i get the message about "Windows is shutting down ", i just
wait for about 30/45 seconds then it shutsdown.
Everything else seems to work fine.

I'm at a loss as to what i can do/check next.

Any help appreciated,
clif

 

Maybe something on this page will help you. I would also suggest you have a look at Black Viper's site to see if you have the XP services enabled/disabled as you need them.

Johanna

 

Thanks for links Johanna...I had totally forgotten about the first one. I made sure I re-added it to my "favs ".

 

You can also just turn it off with the power button (hold it for a few seconds). I find that doesn't seem to hurt a thing in XP, and it usually doesn't even run scandisk on the next boot.

 

Johanna,
that page was very informative and i picked up a couple tips as
to things to check.

One thing in the registry i did see (but dont understand) is:

MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Control/Session Manager/Memory Management/ClearPageFileAtShutdown

DisplayType = REG_DWORD 0x00000000 (0)
ValueType = REG_DWORD 0x00000004 (4)


Any ideas on what the valuetype = 4 does?


thank you,
clif

PS: had already checked black vipers page (some good stuff there).

 

PeteC,

I wonder: why bother with the shutdown procedure?

 

AFAIK, there are only 2 values available:
0 = disabled, 1 = enabled
enabled will slow the shutdown, and, IMO, is not needed in XP.

Try setting it to "0" and see if that speeds up the shutdown.

Sparrow,
Being a more experienced user, you already know to shut down programs like Word before hitting the button, otherwise any changes will not be saved. I wouldn't suggest a quick kill for anyone as a matter of routine, but it's nice to know you can if you want to. I keep an icon in QL for just that purpose, though my button will shut my comp down, too. Doing it "the long way" does give Windows a moment to "tidy up ", and probably should be routine for most users.

Johanna

 

Johanna,

Your my Queen. That did it!
Thanks, maybe i'll sleep tonight.

I think i found the culprit also. There is a Utility called
HDCleaner and one of the options is to clean (overwrite) the
pagefile "x" number of times on shutdown. I must have selected
that option (or didn't un-check it) while trying the program.

Either way, I'll stay clear of it from now on!


Thanks again,
clif

 

I suppose that would explain the value of "4" in the registry! Thanks for posting back and letting us know how you fixed it!

Johanna

 

Agh! No no no! That's the worst thing you can do to a computer. You need to log off properly before powering off. It damages the hard drive and the OS if you just shut it down hard like that.

 

No problem. I never do that anyway. Well, except when it hangs and thats
the only option left (which is rare with XP).

savagcl