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My computer has a mind of its own - Strange problem - Printable Version

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+--- Thread: My computer has a mind of its own - Strange problem (/showthread.php?tid=4104)

Pages: 1 2

- Sweet Angel - 11-06-2002

Monday night when I shut my computer down, everything was normal. Yesterday morning when I tried to shut down, it rebooted. I thought maybe I had clicked restart, rather than shut down, so I tried again...twice. Rebooted each time. I finally shut it off with the button. Last night, same thing. This morning, same thing.

I'm running Windows XP. What could the problem be? I'm guessing something was changed somewhere, but I don't have any idea of where to look.

Also, when I was running Windows 98, when I clicked to shut off the computer, it shut down automatically. Now with the XP, I have to wait until it tells me it's okay to shut off the computer and then HOLD the power button until it finally shuts off.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I don't like turning the computer off while Windows is still running.

Thanks.

- PeterDragon - 11-06-2002

You need to give details about the machine, etc.

also, when it reboots does MS give you an error message?

- Lord Slug - 11-06-2002

What service pack of XP are you running? Have you ran any critical updates? We have had customers have this problem, but theirs had to do with SP1. PD is correct, details of the machine would be helpful. Also, when did this start happening and what have you downloaded within the past couple of days before it started happening?

XP tells you to shut it down? Are you sure you aren't running NT?

- Maynard - 11-06-2002

If this problem just started, you must have changed something. With the little bit of info that you've given us, it's impossible to tell exactly what's wrong.

Did you install any software? Do any updates? Change memory? Anything at all.

Here's an idea. Try logging on as a new user. Then see if you can shut down normally. With WINNT, 2K, and XP, the user profile can get corrupt. From even the simplest of things. So give the new user thing a shot.


As for the holding the power button down, there's a setting somewhere in the XP power manager that will let you change that setting. So that you can just hit the power button once to shut down.

- Sweet Angel - 11-06-2002

Okay, here goes -- remember, I'm not the most computer literate person, so be nice to me.

My computer is a Compaq -- about 4 years old. I went from Windows 98 to Windows XP (and switched to cable from AOL) back in or about March of this year. Had a lot of problems with the transition, but finally got the kinks worked out.

C drive is 4.48GB with 917MB free (20%)
D drive 8s 1.49GB with 805MB free (52%)

Quote:What service pack of XP are you running?
Windows XP Home Edition version 2002

Quote:Have you ran any critical updates?
The only updates I've done have been sent by Windows updating thingie...and not for about a week.

Quote:when did this start happening and what have you downloaded within the past couple of days before it started happening?
Monday night it was fine. Tuesday morning it wouldn't shut off. I don't think I've downloaded anything. Plus, I have my virus definitions updated and recently scanned for viruses.

Quote:XP tells you to shut it down? Are you sure you aren't running NT?
Yes, it says "windows is shutting down", then "it is safe to turn off your computer".

Quote:If this problem just started, you must have changed something.
Nope, not that I know of. I don't play around with settings because I'm afraid I'll screw it up. Everything seems to be working fine, the Damn thing just won't shut down.

Quote:Did you install any software? Do any updates? Change memory? Anything at all.
Okay, the only thing I can think of is, I uninstalled AIM on Sunday and reinstalled it. But the computer worked fine on Sunday and Monday.
Quote:Try logging on as a new user
Quote:Do I have to create a totally new user, or just log on as a different user already on the computer?
Quote:As for the holding the power button down, there's a setting somewhere in the XP power manager that will let you change that setting. So that you can just hit the power button once to shut down.
Quote:With 98 I just had to click "shut down" and it shut off (except for the monitor) -- now I literally have to hold the button for about 10 seconds before it shuts down.
Quote:when it reboots does MS give you an error message?
Dunno...didn't pay attention. I'll do it now and let you know. **EDIT** No, no error message. Just tells me "windows is logging off" -- then "windows is shutting down" -- then skips the part where it used to tell me it was okay to shut off the computer and reboots.

Did I cover it all? Need more info? Let me know what, and where to look and I'll be happy to supply it.

Thanks!



Edited By Sweet Angel on 1036620589

- Weird NJ - 11-06-2002

It might be a hardware problem with the motherboard. 4 years old huh? Do you still have a warranty with Compaq?

edit: Maybe she should try a System Restore in case a driver for the power was overwritten.



Edited By Weird NJ on 1036622342

- Goatweed - 11-06-2002

Quote:Maybe she should try a System Restore in case a driver for the power was overwritten
That's what I was gonna say, and it's assuming that she has System Restore enabled (I think it is by default) - but she still would have had to create a restore point to do that though.

I remember win98 having shutdown problems, but not XP - then again, XP Home is kinda crappy, so it could be a known issue. Do you run Windows Update manually, or do you let it notify you? The difference is the notificatiuons are for critical updates ONLY - meaning there might be a patch to resolve this on the WU page, but it's not deemed critical. If you don't do it manually, try that forst (Start----Windows Update). And with cable, the updates should move really fast.

Funny, my mom has XP Home and I have XP Pro - neither of which tells me "it is now safe to shutdown your computer" - I thought they did away with that feature?

- HollywoodJewMoses - 11-06-2002

hold on a second, you have like 7 gigs of storage total?!!?

- Sweet Angel - 11-07-2002

Quote:hold on a second, you have like 7 gigs of storage total?!!?
Yes, I know -- it's sad. I was gonna upgrade to 100 gig (on sale) but Best Buy was out by the time I got there. By the time they restocked, I didn't have the money and I was afraid it would cause my poor old computer to implode.

Anyway, Brokenjaw fixed the problem. It was something with advanced power management.

And yes, it tells me that it's okay to shut down. If anyone can figure out how to change that, that would be swell. Smile

Thanks for all your help! :bouncer:

- FollowThisLogic - 11-07-2002

That handy ol' Brokenjaw. :thumbs-up:

As far as the deal where it tells you it's okay to shut down - to those who say that feature is gone, not exactly. It's been "gone" since Win98 cause 98 (and the computer generation that came with it) had the advanced power management features which allowed it to shut down automatically. However, if such features are disabled or unavailable, then obviously the computer will not have the ability to shut itself off, and thus must have the "it is now safe" message.

As far as the problem itself is concerned..... since it worked fine with 98 and not XP, I'd say you might see if you can obtain a BIOS update for the computer. Compaq should have it on their site, in the Software & Drivers section (start here and choose your computer model)... also verify in the BIOS (once it's updated, preferrably) that the advanced power options aren't disabled, that Plug & Play OS is set to Yes, all that good crap - but I think that all of those settings should be fine, considering it worked on 98. Just install the update and see...

- Sweet Angel - 11-07-2002

Thanks! I'll have that "handy ol' Brokenjaw" try that for me over the weekend. At least that way, if something goes wrong, I have someone else to blame it on. :-p

- FollowThisLogic - 11-07-2002

And what better person to blame it on! :-D

- Danked - 11-07-2002

Sometimes all the colors on my monitor turn into a weird shade of purple, so I have to whack the top of the monitor. Hasn't done in awhile. I think I fixed it.

- PeterDragon - 11-07-2002

If you were successfully running XP home, it shouldn't be a bios issue, or anything so complicated.
Again, No error messages?
I've got a new/funky motherboard that seems to reboot at will sometimes - however when it does XP tells me that it recovered from a problem. If you get no error messages then it should be something that somehow changed - corrupted shutdown file, etc.

you said it was a 4 yr old compaq, but you should mention processor & ram too.

sounds more annoying than troublesome. You can also do a google search (both web & groups) and see if anyone else had that problem with your model compaq.

- FollowThisLogic - 11-07-2002

Quote:If you were successfully running XP home, it shouldn't be a bios issue, or anything so complicated.
Why not? XP Home, just like XP Pro, is based on NT. Completely different from the 9x series. It's also four years newer - they may have yanked some legacy BIOS functionality that 98 still had in it, perhaps in order for it to work better with newer computers. If it can't shut itself down, and instead she must shut down manually, it stands to reason that Windows cannot properly deal with the advanced power management, right? And wouldn't that be a function of the motherboard, and hence, the BIOS?

Anyway, whether it does the trick or not, a BIOS update isn't a bad idea. And it isn't very tough to do.

- PeterDragon - 11-07-2002

the point I was trying to make is that it was successfully running, not that it was XP home.

- Sweet Angel - 11-07-2002

Now now boys...play nice. :-)

The shutdown/reboot problem is fixed, and NO there were never error messages. I'm gonna try what FTL suggested over the weekend.

Thanks again for all the help.

Hey, look what I can do! Here's everything you need to know:

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version 5.1.2600 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name COMPAQ
System Manufacturer Compaq
System Model Compaq PC
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 5 Model 8 Stepping 12 AuthenticAMD ~381 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Compaq 686U1, 2/5/1999
SMBIOS Version 2.1
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\System32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.0 (xpclient.010817-1148)"
User Name COMPAQ\sue
Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Total Physical Memory 320.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 143.67 MB
Total Virtual Memory 1.05 GB
Available Virtual Memory 762.46 MB
Page File Space 759.47 MB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

- Lord Slug - 11-07-2002

Angel, I couldn't find above if you tried upgrading from 98 to XP, of it was just a clean install.

- Weird NJ - 11-07-2002

Quote:Processor x86 Family 5 Model 8 Stepping 12 AuthenticAMD ~381 Mhz
Ouch! :-o
I'm going to assume that Win XP has been doing the "It's ok to turn off your computer now" since she has upgraded. It's most likely a driver thing, which she could easily run Windows Update to get the Service Pack 1. I think that should combine all the updates, right? And at the same time the BIOS probably has been updated since that model of computer was made so that it would work with XP. Both steps should be taken.

- Maynard - 11-07-2002

AHEM!!!!!

Quote:Anyway, Brokenjaw fixed the problem. It was something with advanced power management.

Maynard Said
Quote:As for the holding the power button down, there's a setting somewhere in the XP power manager that will let you change that setting. So that you can just hit the power button once to shut down.

I win! :bouncer: