Summary: Booting your machine can take time but sometimes so does shutting it down. There are various issues that can contribute to a slow shutdown.
Why does my machine take forever to shut down?
Start, Turn Off Computer ... and wait.
At least that's what it seems like in many cases. We hear a lot about delays in booting the computer or slowdowns when running various applications, but how about when it's time to go? How do we get the machine to shut down now without just pulling the plug?
As always, there are many possible reasons for a slowdown so we'll take a look at the most common.
•
It's important to realize that shutting down the computer is almost as complex a process as starting it up it. Once you tell Windows that you want to shut down it in turn asks (yes, asks) each currently program if shutting down is OK. Then after each program has been asked then each program is then told that Windows is shutting down.
Why this seemingly complex chain of events? Naturally, it's a feature! If you have unsaved edits in your word processor then you want Windows to tell it so that it has a chance to save those edits or ask you what to do. Some applications need to be in a certain state before powering down, so they're given the opportunity to say "No!" to abort the shutdown.
So it's easy to see that shutdown speed is at the mercy of every peice of software you have running when you shut down. Each has to be asked and each has the opportunity to perform some work, perhaps even time consuming work, before Windows shuts down. In the worst case scenario they can pause the shutdown process completely as they ask you things like "do you want to save this file first?". As a result, I rarely "just" shutdown Windows. I close each application I'm running (or at least the "big" ones) first.
What about all that software that's running that you didn't start? Of particular note are the applications that started automatically; instant messaging applications, real-time virus checkers, and so on. They also have the opportunity to take time to clean up before shutting down. Check out this prior article, What's all this stuff running after I boot Windows? for help in identifying and possibly removing some of the items that slow down your startup as well as your shutdown.
Another common cause for shutdown slowdowns is the network. There are various types of network connections, from files being shared across a LAN, to instant messaging conversations in progress, with many more in between. Each connection needs to be individually closed on system shutdown. In many cases that means that whatever you're connected to needs to be informed that you're no longer connected. If the remote side is slow or non-responsive, that can contribute to how long Windows takes to close that connection on shutdown.
There are certainly hardware problems that can result in slowdowns on shutdown. More commonly there are conflicts or issues with the device drivers - the software used to control the hardware - that cause shutdown problems. Actual hardware issues more commonly cause problems at other times as well. Make sure your drivers are up to date. Conversely, if you start experiencing a problem after updating a device driver, then it'd make sense to check with the manufacturer.
Finally, there's the issue of viruses and spyware. They can certainly wreak havoc in many ways not limited to shutdown. Most cause problems at other times, but have been known to affect shutdown as well. Check out the prior article How do I keep my computer safe on the internet? for some tips on keeping them off your machine.
Typically each situation is a little different. These guidelines should allow you to narrow down the causes of your slowdown, and eventually, fix it.
Related:
- Ask Leo! - What's all this stuff running after I boot Windows?
- Ask Leo! - How do I keep my computer safe on the internet?
Article C1929 - April 25, 2004
There are many different ways to shut down Windows application programs. How many do you know? Write down at least 3 different options. Please tell me as fast as you can. Thank you very much
Posted by: Aida at September 6, 2005 5:01 AMi have a few games that when played at first, they were smooth for the first 10 hours of game play...then they started to lag alot...granted, the games are very memory intensive...but i donot understande why it just starts in the MIDDLE of the game when it didnt do it before...
Posted by: billy at February 5, 2006 1:01 AMOne night I came to my room and saw the PC fan lights on, I thought my PC shut the monitor down only, I moved the mouse, press ENTER and nothing worked but the PC seemed to be on. I press re-start from the case. Then it boot up... later I was using Nero burning a DVD, I left it burning and went away, when I came back, in front of me, the monitor shut down. last thing I could see was a message from Nero. But I knew it was burning all right until I got closer. Now the strange part is that I left my PC on one of this days, and I took a Nap, when i opened my eyes my PC was on savescreen time, nice, then I stood up and monitor again turned off. and I had to do the same pressing on the restart from the PC case. I already went to check power options, went to BIOS and place everything as default, before. but as I have told you, the strange part is that when I got closer to the PC it shut down. Any Idea ?? Any sensor that it is making this? I have wireless keyboard and mouse. I think my cousin installed Quicktime before this issue. that was the only thing it was added.
Posted by: Nestor at February 28, 2006 8:29 AMI had an idea about my last issue, It was in remote assistance, It was on and I do not remember having checked this one, I asked my cousin who installed the quicktime program and told me my anti-virus asked something of granting something he did not understand and he click to grant acces in my McAfee AV. 2006
Posted by: Nestor at February 28, 2006 9:04 AMMy monitor will just shut off and not respond but the computer is still on. I can't reboot the computer using the button. I have to actually physically turn off the power. What's up. Any clues.
Posted by: Lisa at August 31, 2006 6:05 PMMy games shut down and go's back to the desktop without any notice. Can anybody shine some light on this problem i have.
Posted by: DRAY at September 15, 2006 4:48 PMHi,
Posted by: Sanjay at October 25, 2007 4:45 PMIf I work on my desktop for more than 5 hours, it does not shut down. I have to shut off the power to shut down. Thank you.
Here is my thing, when i load up my computter is semi fast, i hardly have anything to load up when i start. But my thing is it takes like 30-40 minutes for me to shut down my computer. The only thing i play on it is World of Warcraft. I can understnad maybe a 10 minute shutdown but a 30-40 minute >_
Posted by: Mike at March 24, 2008 11:32 AMhttp://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=1b286e6d-8912-4e18-b570-42470e2f3582&displaylang=en
Is there no manual solution to this?
If not, my guess is that MS knew all about this and created this problem, or if it was a softwarefault, did nothing about it.
Why? Because the only solution is by downloading that program to have a workaround for it.
And they put it under the MS Genuine Validation Tool to check if you got a legal copy.
Well, no problem so far. But if there's no other simple solution then using that program (i aint found one yet in months). It seems to me MS still uses the old day attitude of search and destroy.
They know lots of pc's have problems, and the only way to solve them, is to become a full member of the MS society. In other words he is still using the monopoly he has. Those antitrust cases against MS are a joke, MS still has monopoly...
Posted by: WRobN at July 16, 2008 12:10 PMSometimes it helps to close all your windows manually. It shouldn't be necessary bu windows isn't always efficient in their automatic processes. I usually don't shut down my computer. I put it in hibernate mode. That copies the contents of memory to the HD and shuts off. I shut down once or twice a week or when the computer gets sluggish. My Mac friends try to get me to change my religion to Mac User :-)
Posted by: Mark at April 16, 2009 5:12 AM