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My PC takes about 5 minutes to shut down. What's causing the problem, and how can I fix it?

Linnett Williamson, Felt, Oklahoma

Remember when turning off an electronic gadget meant flipping a switch? Shutting down a PC is much more complicated. Sometimes Windows takes an extremely long time to close, and too often the operating system doesn't shut down at all. I'll discuss the major causes and describe fixes for both problems.

First, here's some general advice: Bugs in hardware drivers cause most shutdown difficulties. Before you do anything else, go to the Web sites of your hardware vendors and look for the latest updates.

Slow Shutdowns

One common cause of recalcitrant shutdowns in Windows 2000 and XP is Terminal Services. If you never use remote desktop, fast user switching, remote assistance, the terminal server, or other Terminal Services, you don't need this. To shut it off, select Start, Run, type services.msc /s, and press Enter. Find and double-click the Terminal Services listing. (Of course, if you don't have Terminal Services installed, your slow shutdowns have another cause.) Change 'Startup type' to Disabled or Manual and click OK.

If you use Windows 2000 or XP Pro (but not the Home edition, alas), you can speed up your shutdowns by verifying that you're not clearing your virtual memory whenever you exit out of Windows. This is not the default setting, but it's still good to check. Select Start, Run, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter. Navigate the left pane as if you're in Windows Explorer to Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options. In the right pane, scroll to Shutdown: Clear virtual memory pagefile. If the option is enabled, double-click it, select Disabled, and click OK. (You may not have this option on your system.)

Finally, the more programs you have running on your system, the longer it takes Windows to close each one before shutting itself down. You could simply close your programs manually before exiting Windows, but you still would have to wait for them to close. For additional Windows shutdown tricks, browse to "Make Windows Start and Stop the Way You Want" to check out last month's Windows Tips column.

Failed Shutdowns

If Windows won't shut down at all, run the Startup and Shutdown Troubleshooter (unless you have Windows 2000, which lacks this wizard). To launch the troubleshooter, select Start, Help (Help and Support in XP). In Windows 98, click Search. Type shutdown troubleshooter, press Enter, and select Startup and Shutdown Troubleshooter (see FIGURE 1).

If the troubleshooter wizard doesn't help, or if you have Windows 2000, here are some other suggestions:

If you have Windows XP and haven't upgraded to Service Pack 1, visit this page to download the update. It fixes a shutdown bug.

If Windows closes but the PC stays on with a message that you can now safely turn off your computer, there's a problem with Advanced Power Management. But is the problem in Windows or in your hardware configuration? Check Windows first: Right-click the desktop and select Properties. Click the Screen Saver tab and then the Power button. (In 98 and Me, this button is the 'Settings' button under 'Energy saving....') Click the APM tab (if there is no APM tab, the problem resides in your hardware configuration). Check the Enable Advanced Power Management Support box, and then click OK.

To check your hardware configuration, reboot and then enter your computer's Setup program by pressing a certain key early in the boot-up process (an on-screen message should identify the key). Search the menus for options that will allow you to turn on APM or ACPI (another power-conserving standard).

If you run Windows 2000 or XP and your PC reboots when it's supposed to shut down, the culprit is probably a system failure. These versions of Windows respond to system failures by rebooting, making it look like Windows can't distinguish between Turn Off and Restart. To get to the root of the problem, right-click My Computer and choose Properties. Select the Advanced tab. In Windows XP, click Settings under 'Startup and Recovery', uncheck Automatically restart, and click OK twice. In Windows 2000, click Startup and Recovery, uncheck Automatically reboot, and click OK twice. Now you'll be able to see what's making Windows blow up in your face, and maybe you'll be able to fix it or find a workaround.