Sarasota PC Monitor
Tech Talk (06/01)
Windows 98 shutdown problems
by Brian K. Lewis, Ph.D.*
Member of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc.Not everyone experiences shutdown problems with Windows 98. However, it can happen that your computer will stop responding part way through the shutdown process. You may end up with a graphic screen saying, "Windows is shutting down" or simply a blank screen with a flashing cursor. If this only happens occasionally, then you really don't have a problem. Just go ahead and turn off the power to your computer. The next time you start it, it will probably start normally without even running Scandisk. However, if this happens every time (or almost every time) you shut down your computer, then you might want to try some of the recommended "solutions."
The most common shutdown problem is created by Symantec's Norton Anti-Virus program or Norton System Works. These programs will cause Windows 98 and Windows ME to hang when you try to shut down. This is especially true when you have activated the anti-virus autoprotect function. If this is happening to you, then first, you should check for an update to the program on Symantec's web site. An easier solution is to right click the Symantec icon in the System Tray and close (exit) the program just before selecting shutdown. In some cases, you may have to try closing the AV program several times before it will remove itself from memory. Once it is closed, shutdown will proceed normally. Both Norton and McAfee AV software may hang the shutdown process if you have configured either program to scan your floppy drive on shutdown. There is no valid reason for scanning a floppy drive on shutdown and this option should be disabled.
Other causes for shutdown problems are specific to the version of Windows that you are running. Solutions for Win98 will not work with Win98SE or WinME. So, we need to consider each of these separately. If you are still using Win95, then none of this article applies to you. If you are having problems with Win95, run, don't walk, to the nearest computer store, buy a copy of the Win98SE upgrade, and install it on your computer. That's SE, not ME.
Microsoft has setup several sources on their Website to help with shutdown problems in Windows 98. They have a shutdown-troubleshooting wizard on their Website at: http://support.microsoft.com/support/tshoot. This can walk you through a number of steps to try to solve the problem. Before going there, you might try to disable the fast shutdown in Windows 98. Click on the Start button and select Run. Then type "msconfig" (without the quotes) in the "Open" box. In the System Configuration Utility window, click on the "Advanced" button. Then click the box by "Disable Fast Shutdown," click on "OK" and then on "OK" in the main window. You will need to restart your computer for this to take effect. Under Fast Shutdown in Windows 98 all device drivers in memory are ignored and not removed from memory. This was designed to speed the shutdown process. However, in some cases, one or more of these drivers maybe responsible for the hanging the shutdown process. By disabling the fast shutdown, Windows is forced to disable each driver as part of the process. In effect, this removes them from memory and should prevent the system from hanging on shutdown.
The "Disable Fast Shutdown" option is not available in Win98 SE or Win ME. These programs were changed to incorporate the driver disablement as the default on shutdown. However, some early copies of Win98 SE still show this option in the System Configuration. If you think you need this patch, first see article Q239887 in the Microsoft KnowledgeBase. However, if the "Disable Fast Shutdown" box doesn't show in your System Configuration Utility, do NOT install this patch. Installation of the patch in this case may cause more problems on your system, at least according to some reports I have read.
This next bit of information applies to both Win98 and 98SE. A test you can run on your system is to boot your computer into "Safe Mode". Then shut it down and see if it proceeds normally. If it does, then it is likely that the problem is a device driver.
You can use the System Configuration program to block the loading of device drivers from the startup files selectively (run msconfig). First, try unchecking the "load startup file" box. Restart the computer and then try a shutdown. If it proceeds normally, then you know the problem is definitely related to one of the startup items. The only way to find it is to selectively check the items in the startup list until you find the one causing the hang-up on shutdown. If you have recently added software that is showing up in your system tray, you might try disabling that first. Frequently, the most recently added software or hardware causes problems like this.
Another possible source for the problem in all three Windows versions is the Advanced Power Management. Not all computers have APM and since it is incorporated in the BIOS, it may not be the most recent version. You can find the APM properties by selecting the System in the Control Panel or by right clicking the "My Computer" icon on your desktop. The click the Device Manager tab, open the System Devices branch and double-click the Advanced Power Management device. Then click the Settings tab. If there are no check marks in the boxes on this page, click both the "Force APM 1.0 Mode" and the "Disable Power Status Polling" boxes. Click OK until all the Windows are closed and restart your computer. Then, test the shutdown process.
Microsoft has several detailed articles in its Knowledge Base related to shutdown problems. You can search for them on this Website: http://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/c.asp. The articles of interest are: Q202633 (Windows 98 Shutdown Problems), Q238096 (Windows 98 SE Shutdown Problems) and Q273746 (Windows ME Shutdown Problems). These have detailed steps for looking for the cause of the shutdown failure. Unfortunately, the possible sources are multiple. It can be device driver conflict, damaged sound exit file, hardware configuration, Advanced Power Management or other problems. Too often, when an operating system is updated on a computer, application software and device drivers are not updated. That can lead to some of these shutdown problems. It is always useful to search for updates to device drivers and applications anytime you upgrade your operating system.
As you can see from this limited discussion, solving shutdown problems is not a simple process. In many cases, it may be easier and less time-consuming to simply live with the problem. At the most, it will cause Scandisk to run when you start up. It is not too likely that it will create any other problems.
*Dr. Lewis, a former university & medical school professor, is a computer consultant doing instruction, hardware/software services and system upgrades.
He is available to help you with your home or business computer problems. He does make house calls and can be reached via e-mail at brian_klewis@hotmail.com or voice mail at (941) 925-3047. Note: there is an underline between the n and the k (n_k) in the email address. :
Copyright 2001. This article is from the June 2001 issue of the Sarasota PC Monitor, the official monthly publication of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc., P.O. Box 15889, Sarasota, FL 34277-1889. Permission to reprint is granted only to other non-profit computer user groups, provided proper credit is given to the author and our publication. We would appreciate receiving a copy of the publication the reprint appears in, please send to above address, Attn: Editor. For further information about our group, email: admin@spcug.org/ Web: http://www.spcug.org/The Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc. has 1,600+ members and was established in 1982. We are members of the Assoc. of PC User Groups (APCUG), the Florida Assoc. of PC Users Groups, Inc., and we are members of the America Online Ambassador Program.
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