The big Windows XP Shutdown Guide

shut down screen original
shut down screen original
18 Gegenstrategien, wenn der Computer nicht will, was Sie wollen: „XP, shut down!“ (Screenshot: Windows Tweaks)

Der Windows Shutdown – er stellt das bekannteste Windows-XP-Problem dar, welches das Betriebssystem schon seit dem Erscheinen treu begleitet.
Wenn Sie auf „Herunterfahren“ klicken, tut sich nichts oder Ihr PC startet neu? Bleibt er gar dabei hängen? Es gibt vielerlei Ursachen, die zu solch einem Problem führen. In diesem „kleinen“ großen Shutdown-Guide werden sie bestimmt fündig, falls ihr System beim Herunterfahren Mucken macht.

In most cases, the built-in hardware is the culprit in this dilemma. However, incorrect Windows settings can also delay or even prevent the shutdown. If this occurs, the operating system usually freezes immediately, which you can tell by a stuck mouse pointer.

Die folgenden Tipps beschreiben alle möglichen Sorten von Shutdownproblemen und bringen auch gleich die korrekte Lösung mit…

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 1: Der umstrittene Windows XP Abmeldebildschirm

The new login and logout options have been completely redesigned compared to Windows 2000 and, like many new features, this function also has its teething problems.

Some computers go on strike because of the logout screen and therefore cannot be shut down. It is therefore worth trying the classic logon and logoff technique. And this is how it works:

1. Click in succession on Start > System control and look for the symbol User accounts from.

2. A new window will open before your eyes in which you can see the entry Change the type of user login select.

3. Click to remove the checkmark in front of Use welcome page and confirm the changes you have made with Adopt option.

After a restart, your computer should shut down correctly and properly if it was allergic to these settings. If you are connected to a network or are a DSL user, it may help to assign a password that must be entered when logging in. This makes it much easier for the DSL/network adapter to log out of the network than if no password is entered.


Windows Shutdown – Lösung 2: Den geheimen Shutdownschalter aktivieren

Like many settings and solutions to a problem, there is a secret setting in the Windows registry for the topic Help, Windows won't shut down. This gives Windows the explicit command to actually switch itself and the PC off after clicking Shut down. This is how you proceed:

1. Click in succession on Start and select the entry Execute. A command line appears immediately, inviting you to enter the command regedit followed by pressing Enter.

2. Navigate your way through the folder jungle now HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionWinlogon and double-click on the value in the right half of the window PowerdownAfterShutdown.

3. In the window that appears, enter the value 1 and confirm with OK. Wie bei allen Registrierungseinstellungen müssen Sie jetzt den Computer neustarten und es nochmal mit dem Herunterfahren versuchen. Falls es wieder nicht geklappt hat sollten Sie sich keine Gedanken machen. Der Shutdownguide ist noch groß…

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 3: Besitzer von Soundblaster Live! Soundkarten

If you have purchased the thoroughly convincing Soundblaster Live cards, you may have noticed, in addition to the brilliant sound quality and the great range of functions, that your computer can no longer be switched off after installing the drivers. As soon as Windows attempts a shutdown, messages appear via the Devldr.exe, which prolongs the shutdown and ultimately leads to a complete hang-up.

To solve the problem, you need to install the latest Creative Labs Soundblaster driver from www.soundblaster.com. Unfortunately, updating does not have the desired effect. Even completely uninstalling the old driver and installing the new one will not solve the shutdown problem. You must completely reinstall Windows XP and install the latest drivers immediately after the first start.

Another option is to rename the Devldr.exe file, which is only possible in safe mode.

1. Therefore, press the F8 key immediately after starting the system and select Safe mode.

2. Now navigate immediately via the workstation to C:WINDOWSSYSTEM32 and click with the right mouse button on the file Devldr.exe. Now that you have Rename you can enter the new file name Devldrold.exe enroll.

3. Thanks to the renaming, it is no longer possible to access the extended functions of the LiveWare! but your PC will finally shut down when you want it to. If it did not work, you should rename the file as it was.

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 4: Windows XP erkennt ihre Hauptplatine nicht

Some motherboards such as the Asus P2BF or Gigayte GA6BXC- C are not recognized correctly by Windows XP for power management, which is directly related to shutdown.

Installing the latest BIOS version helps in most cases. BIOS versions and the correct instructions for problem-free installation can be found on the manufacturer's website.

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 5: Grafikkarten mit dem Kyro II Chip

The drivers supplied by Hercules or PowerVR are not always the latest. The initial drivers caused serious problems when shutting down, which has been fixed with new versions.

Download the latest reference drivers from www.powervr.com.

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 6: Ein USB Problem

In recent years, the Universal Serial Bus (USB) has increasingly become the favorite of friends of easy installations. There are now dozens of components, such as mice, scanners and webcams, which can be connected to the PC via the USB port. Unfortunately, this also causes serious shutdown errors in rare cases. And this is how you proceed:

1. Click with the right mouse button on Workplace and select Properties. A new window pops up in which you can select the tab Hardware and here on Device Manager click.

2. Now search for all duplicate or even triple entries of USB Root Hub or VIA Ref 5…which can also be similar and delete the lowest entries in each case. Never delete the top one!

3. In rare cases, a USB device deactivates itself, but this is not a problem as it reinstalls itself immediately after a restart.

However, physically deactivating (i.e. unplugging) the USB devices is also often a solution that may help to skillfully eliminate any problems that occur:

Stecken Sie alle USB-Geräte aus und starten Sie Ihr System neu – wenn der Shutdownfehler beseitigt wurde, wissen Sie wer der Verdächtige am System ist.

Patrick Weiss informed me by e-mail that his Lexar USB Card Reader was causing problems and he found out this way. In the case of this card reader, the driver file was sausb.sys the criminal, who can immediately be stopped by a driver update from http://driver.lexarmedia.com and could be resolved. I would like to thank Mr. Weiss for the information.

Herr S. Uhle berichtete von gleichen Problemen mit dem USB-Scanner Umax Astra 4500, der mit den aktuellsten Herstellertreibern zur Zusammenarbeit bewegt werden konnte. Ich bedanke mich auch bei Herr Uhle und rufe auf, ähnliche Fälle zu berichten – diese werden dann der Page hinzugefügt!

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 7: Das Advanced PowerManagement

When installing Windows XP, the setup makes a very important decision right at the start. It either installs the classic APM or the more modern ACPI. These two systems are techniques that Windows uses to shut down the computer or switch it to standby mode.

If it is determined during installation that your mainboard does not fully or not at all comply with the specified ACPI specifications, the older APM (Advanced Power Management) is preferred to ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface). However, this type not only causes sleep disturbances that prevent Windows from returning from standby mode, but also very often causes problems when shutting down. To avoid this, you must follow the steps below:

1. Click one after the other on Start > System control and then double-click on the symbol Energy options. A window appears in which you can select the APM open.

2. Now select the option Activate support for Advanced Power Management so that the check mark appears in front of it:

If the register APM is not present on your computer, the newer ACPI has been installed:

3. Now confirm by clicking on OK and restart Windows XP.

ATTENTION: If you activate APM, several errors may occur if your BIOS is not fully APM 1.2 compatible. I recommend doing a BIOS update first. Possible errors after activating APM on non-compatible computers:

– Windows könnte unter Umständen weder herunterfahren oder neustarten.

– Geräte können nach dem Aufwachen aus dem Standby Modus nicht mehr funktionieren und die Systemstabilität lässt zu Wünschen übrig.

– APM unterstützt keine Dualprozessorsysteme.

If your system is APM 1.2 compatible, Windows will shut down properly again. I would like to thank Benedikt Geyer for this trick.

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 8: Bei Windows Fehlern das Neustarten deaktivieren

Windows XP offers the option of restarting automatically in the event of errors. As errors can also occur during shutdown, but these would not prevent the shutdown, the PC simply restarts instead of switching off.

To deactivate this feature, proceed as follows:

1. In the control panel, double-click on System. Now switch to the tab Extended and click on the button Settings under Starting and restoring.

2. Remove the tick in front of Perform automatic restart and confirm them with Ok.

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 9: Logitech Maustreiber installieren

If you own a Logitech mouse, its drivers may also be the cause of an incorrect shutdown. In this case, I recommend that you always download the latest drivers from www.logitech.de.

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 10: Die Auslagerungsdatei beim Herunterfahren

In some cases, Windows XP deletes the entire contents of the Swap file. This could also be the cause of such problems. To deactivate this feature, you must proceed as follows:

1. Click one after the other on Start and Execute. Type in the command line that appears regedit in.

2. The contents of the Windows registry database appear. Navigate one after the other to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSet ControlSession ManagerMemory Management. You should now see the value ClearPageFileAtShutdown in the right-hand pane. Double-click on it and change the entered 1 into a 0 to. After confirming with Ok and a restart, you could be rid of your problem.

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 11: BIOS Einstellungen der Netzwerkkarte überprüfen

The Basic Input Output System is the basic program of the computer and is therefore largely responsible for performance, stability and problems. It may also have a hand in the famous shutdown problem. Some network cards have problems with the settings Wake on PCI Card and Wake On Lan.
You must therefore switch them off.

Follow the tips in point 17 to access the BIOS. Now go to Power Management and deactivate the two settings mentioned above, press ESC and save your settings with Save & Exit Setup. Please note that due to the US keyboard layout, you do not have to type Y but Z to confirm.

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 12: Allgemeine Checkliste

Es ist möglich, dass ihr System gar nicht eingefroren ist – auch wenn es beim Herunterfahren so aussieht. Warten sie einfach mal max. 5 Minuten ab und schauen sie, was passiert.

1. It is important that you have closed all programs before shutting them down. Programs that start automatically, such as MSN Messenger, can also cause such problems. Click here for the tip to deactivate all Windows-internal programs that run hidden.

2. If you are in possession of an Nvidia graphics card, the service Nvidia Driver Helper service trigger this snail's pace. Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. A new window will open. Scroll down until the line Nvidia Driver Helper service appears, click on it with the right mouse button and select Properties. Under Startup type, change the setting to Disabled. Restart your computer.

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 13: Die aktuellen CAPI Treiber installlieren

With the Windows XP CAPI drivers for ISDN cards, inconsistencies may also occur in rare cases during shutdown. If you are using a Fritz! card, I advise you to update your software, which you can do from the manufacturer's homepage. I received this tip from a user for whom this was the cause.


AVM download page

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 14: Die Lösungsmöglichkeiten des Forum

I have also addressed the problem in the forum and have put the best solution suggestions in a post, which you can find here

To the Windows-Tweaks Forum article

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 15: Ist Ihre Tastatur/Maus über USB angeschlossen?

If you have connected your keyboard to the USB port, this could get in the way of the shutdown. In the case of a Logitech keyboard, help was provided by Logitech support in the forum as follows:

1. Proceed as in step 1 of possible solution 6 in order to Device Manager to open.

2. Double-click on USB root hub, Universal VIA controller (USB) (if these are available) and the entry for your keyboard and mouse. Now switch to Energy options resp. Energy management and deactivate the option Allow the computer to switch off the device to save energy and restart your computer.

After a restart, these shutdown problems may be solved. If not, in the case of a Logitech keyboard, you can fix it with driver version 2.13 of the iTouch software (Download this as well as the patch and its instructions). The current version 2.15 is unfortunately faulty! The same applies to many driver versions: The latest version is not always the best. So check for problems on the Internet before you click the shutdown guide away in frustration!

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 16: Bluescreens/STOP-Meldungen beim Shutdown

Should your computer causes a blue screen or a STOP error message during shutdown, the entire contents of the working memory are written to the hard disk each time the computer is shut down. Professionals can create such memory images with the Debugging tools analyze, whereby the input of the STOP message on Google (click on the link for an example) can help to find the cause. The Microsoft Knowledge Base (Try both the German and the US version) should also be an important point of contact.

You must check the following settings to ensure that Windows does not restart during a blue screen shutdown or that the DMP file receives a complete memory image for analysis:

1. Click in succession on Start > System control and select the symbol System from.

2. Get the register now Extended forward and click in the Starting and restoring on Settings.

3. Now set under Save debug information from None (if this was set) to Complete memory image and confirm with OK.

Still mark Perform automatic restartto keep the message visible and confirm.

Note for Windows tweaks users: Eins wurde der Tipp, das Speicherabbild zu deaktivieren, in der Systemtuningrubrik als Beschleunigung beschrieben. In diesem Artikel liegt somit ein Denkfehler meinerseits vor, denn es drehte sich hier um Shutdowntuning bzw. die Verschnellerung des Shutdownprozesses. Ein Speicherabbild verlängert diesen Shutdown, doch führt letztendlich zu einem Neustart oder zu einem STOP-Fehler (BSOD) – in keinem Fall also ein korrekter Shutdown. Deshalb löschte ich diesen irrtümlich erstellen Artikel und schrieb Ihn für diesen Shutdownguide um! Ich entschuldige mich hiermit für diesen Fehler!

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 17: Maus/Tastatur Aufwachfunktion

Windows tweaks reader Grizzly was also plagued by the famous shutdown problem: all peripheral devices on the computer switch off but the main components remain active. He shared the solution with us by e-mail:

1. Starten Sie den Problemrechner und drücken Sie „Removal„, „F2“ oder eine andere Taste (siehe Dokumentation Ihres Rechners), um ins BIOS zu gelangen. Suchen Sie hier z.B. unter Power Management nach Einträgen, die „Keyboard Function Power up“ und „Mouse Function Power up“ genannnt werden. Hinweis: Die Bezeichnung dieser Einträge sind von BIOS zu BIOS unterschiedlich.

2. Deactivate these entries by clicking on Disabled or Off to adjust the settings. This is usually done using the Enter key or the Page Up and Page Down keys.

After saving the settings (Save & Exit Setup), Windows should now shut down properly.

Windows Shutdown – Lösung 18: DSL Modem ausschalten

Renate B. sent us another possible solution to the shutdown problem by email. Her computer restarted when she clicked on Shutdown. She switched off the DSL modem while Windows was still running, tried the shutdown and was surprised when this solved the problem. If you are also bothered by the shutdown problem, switching off the DSL modem shortly beforehand could work wonders.

By Sandro Villinger

Founded Windows Tweaks as a teenager in the 90s. His helpful PC tricks made it Germany's most visited Windows site (back then this is what Sandro looked like). He then went on to write elsewhere, such as for PC-Praxis, Computer Bild and PCWorld in the USA. Microsoft also poached him from us. Now Sandro is back, finally sharing his tweaks here again. For a stress-free digital everyday life. You can reach Sandro via e-mail.

1 comment

  1. Here's another tip: look under Control Panel/Administration/Event Viewer when logged in as an administrator.
    There are three categories: Software, System, Security.
    There you can check whether there is an error message.
    If so, it states exactly which program/file (can also be a DLL) is the cause.

    MFG Alexander

Leave a Reply to Alexander Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *