Windows XP doesn't want to shut down

[Sophy]

I'm trying to help my daughter with her computer. She hasn't had it shut off for quite a while. But in the past few days she said if she tries to shut down, or restart, the screen will go black but the power light on her tower stays lit. The only way she can bring it back is to pull the power plug, and then plug it back in. Does this sound like a power supply problem? Would the light on her tower stay on if it were power supply?

She said she ran full scans today with Avast Internet Security 7, and also with Malwarebytes Pro and there were no infections found.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

[dencorso]

It might be the Power Supply... Do you have a spare one to test? If you replace it and all starts to behave normally, then problem solved. If not, then the power supply was OK after all, so there's no need to switch it back, just shelve it as the spare... and we move on to pursue other avenues of troubleshooting.

[tomasz86]

I've got the same problem but it's caused by conflicting SATA drivers. Have you (or someone else) changed anything related to them on that computer recently?

[Sophy]

We tried to run the sfc /scannow last night but it wouldn't complete because it asked for a disk, which she does not have.

We scheduled the Error Checking task with only the "Automatically fix file system errors" checked. So after we had talked she tried restarting and the Error Checking task started. She said the screen showed quite a number of items which stated that much clutter/space could be freed up. It said the scan was complete and to wait for her computer to restart. The computer would not start. She would unplug it and then plug it back in and the disk check would attempt to run again, even after she aborted it. She finally remembered what I had said about pressing the F8 key and using "Last good configuration" so she did that and then the computer started normally.

She is not going to attempt any shut downs or restarts until she gets all her pictures and such backed up.

She did say that since this all has started, after she unplugs the computer and then plugs it back in, the fan runs real loud like it wants to start but it won't. I had a power supply go bad on a computer several years ago and the power light didn't light up and there were no sound of fans running.

Thanks for listening, and if you, or anyone else looking at this, can think of anything else which might be causing a problem that we could check out, please share it. Right now she's thinking purchasing a remote session with someone I know of who is excellent, but her finances are limited so I suppose she really doesn't want to have to buy a power supply just for testing purposes -- and really doesn't want to purchase a remote session only to find out it's a power supply. She said her computer runs really well and there have been no problems. It's just the shutdown and startup that are the problem. She ran a scan again this morning with Avast before going to work, and ran another one with Malwarebytes and again, they both showed no problems.

This is an EMacine.

[allen2]

Perhaps checking with a live linux CD would be a good start to check if there is an hardware problem or a software problem.

You could try for example an ubuntu or my favorite System rescue CD.

Under linux you can launch a shutdown (from any terminal/console) with:

shutdown -h now

If it works properly then it shouldn't be hardware related.

[HarryTri]

We tried to run the sfc /scannow last night but it wouldn't complete because it asked for a disk, which she does not have.

Just put the Windows installation disk in the drive before starting the scan and it will run alright.

[Sophy]

Maybe there is something I am not understanding correctly. She does not have a Windows Installation disk. Her OS would be OEM.

That SystemRescue CD sounds like a good option, but I am afraid it might be beyond either of us. I went to that link and not sure I understood it. Is there supposed to be something on that page that can be downloaded and burned to a CD? I did read under the Downloading and Burning, but I still don't know how/where I get this ISO file.

[dencorso]

She is not going to attempt any shut downs or restarts until she gets all her pictures and such backed up.

This is the wise thing to do. Make sure to backup all relevant data. Twice if possible. Only go ahead to any recovery/diagnosis procedure after everything is safely backed up.

[allen2]

That SystemRescue CD sounds like a good option, but I am afraid it might be beyond either of us. I went to that link and not sure I understood it. Is there supposed to be something on that page that can be downloaded and burned to a CD? I did read under the Downloading and Burning, but I still don't know how/where I get this ISO file.

Ok but if you want to try (when you're ready after the backups are done), you'll have to download system rescue cd from this link (the link to download the file is "sourceforge download"). Then you'll have to burn the iso to a CD (as an iso not as a file). If you need help for this part, you'll just need to tell us which CD burning software your daughter is using.

[Sophy]

Thanks allen2 for that link to actually download this CD. I will keep this on file (for myself too).

I talked with my daughter a few minutes ago. She has been using her computer and says it is operating really well and she is trying (between kids and work) to get all of her things backed up to CDs. She has called the option I mentioned and will be setting up a remote session with them. If it is something with the OS or some program I feel confident they will find it and be able to fix it, so now I guess it's just to wait and see what happens.

You, all of you here, have been so gracious and helpful and I appreciate it. I will let you know what develops with this.

[HarryTri]

Maybe there is something I am not understanding correctly. She does not have a Windows Installation disk. Her OS would be OEM.

There should still be a Windows Recovery Disk provided by the manufacturer. I have one myself for my laptop.

[Sophy]

I thought about that. I have one for my machine. I didn't know if you could use that for purposes like this. I know that one time I was trying to do something that asked for the disk to be inserted and I'm sure I inserted my recovery disk and that didn't work. In any event, I will ask her about this and see if she can locate hers. She could insert it and then try to run the sfc /scannow and see if it works. Thanks for reminding me.

[submix8c]

Not necessarily OT... Some manufacturers don't supply them. There would be a "Create Recovery CD/DVD" somewhere in the "Start->Programs" structure, usually an Image Restore created from a Recovery Partition. Also, some mechanism (special Function Key sequence) to Restore the Running OS from the HDD Recovery Partition. AFAIK, eMachines may use either method.

HTH

[Sophy]

Thanks for your contribution to this. Sorry, but I don't know what OT stands for.

Did XP include a recovery option on the disk? I know I have that in Vista and have used it, but I didn't know if XP had it. If it isn't necessary, she really doesn't want to have to do anything that will wipe all of her programs and everything. I think at this point as long as she has called the people for the remote session we will stand back and see what they come up with. Who knows ... ? It might be a hardware problem after all.

I will report back to this post when I have any information to share.

[submix8c]

Off Topic.

Yes, XP did. Compaq even had a Recovery Partition for Win9x-series but it didn't create a Recovery CD. You had to purchase them. They got in a LOT of trouble (even with the XP) for not providing.

Yes, I have an eMachines Recovery set for an XP on CD (created with that "program"). If they have that Option I highly recommend creating the CD's/DVD's...

I see your point about not wanting to "lose" programs installed. Usually folks have the Install Software (maybe CD's) and Keys handy for just such an emergency. The PITA is setting everything back up (options, updates, etc.) after Recovery. They also tend to Back Up all of their Pictures, MP3's, etc. before doing the Recovery and restore afterward. Just saying...