Unusual shutdown/logoff problems

I'm having a couple of unusual shutdown issues, in that they don't fit the description of most shutdown issues I've seen. One involves an ordinary shutdown of my computer. I click on Turn Off, but nothing happens. I sometimes have to click on in 3 or 4 times before shutdown begins. At other times, it works fine. This has been going on for a few weeks.

Now there is an additional problem. If a user logs off, the screen goes black, and there is no way for the other user to log on. The machine must be rebooted.

(We have always had a problem with the Switch User mode--it causes my volume to be extremely loud with no way to control it.)

 

Hello cafeslave,

See if this trouble shooting shutdown site on XP helps:

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

Regards - Charles

 

I have studied that already, and it does not relate to the particular issues I have.

 

I have studied that already, and it does not relate to the particular issues I have.
Ok, are you running SP2 and if so, did this start with SP2?

Regards - Charles

 

I am running sp2, yes, but the problem did not begin with the installation of sp2. It began several months later. The only problem that began with sp2 is the slowing down of IE, which I have never been able to repair.

 

is the problem related to any recent software installation? Have you run a spyware check lately?

 

There have been no recent software installations or changes. I run constant spyware checks, though, since I use Firefox, I don't get much spyware.

 

I had the same kind of problems (wouldn't shutdown, scary blank screen) right before my hard drive crashed. Do you usually leave your system on for days or weeks at a time, or do you shut it down regularly?

 

I shut it down regularly.

 

Do you hear the hard drive whirring while you're trying to shut down? If yes, then maybe it's not your hard drive, especially if your computer is new. But just in case I'd check to see if the fan/air filter is clogged, check data cables for wear, defragment the disk, and use Stinger or similar to check for malware.

 

I don't hear anything because there is no action whatever. It isn't trying to shut down. There is just nothing. Then, when it takes, everything is fine. And it doesn't do this all of the time. I keep my drive defragged on a regular basis and also keep the inside cleaned out on a regular basis. I'll check it, though. The cables seem fine. I'll give Stinger a whirl. Thank, edarcy.

 

I think I may have found the problem. I didn't realize that someone in my home had installed some software on his desktop to communicate with his workplace. When he is finished using it, it leaves him a ticket, and I think there is a good chance that that ticket is hanging both the logoff and the shutdown. He's going to start deleting the ticket and see if it makes a difference.

 

Well, I was half correct. Deleting the ticket solved the logoff problem, but not the shutdown problem, which continues to occur, but not on a regular basis--just once in a while, as before.

 

Maybe this will help:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=320008

I came across this after researching my slow (unrelated) shutdown problems.

 

I've studied that pretty thoroughly, but it doesn't relate to my precise issue. When I first saw it, I assumed it would, but it didn't.