Windows 7 Long Time to Shutdown

Topic

New Reply

Hi All,
Just wanted to get an idea whether anyone has experienced this. Out of the blue, my laptop has decided to take ages to shutdown. Previously, shutdown would take only a few seconds, now it goes on for minutes. In fact, I get so annoyed that it takes so long that I haven’t yet waited for shutdown to happen on its own.
I’ve searched the web and I’ve found references to clearing the page file at shutdown, the time it takes to kill apps still running, even a reference to Firefox causing it, etc. I don’t clear the page file at shutdown and the time to kill applications is set at 2000. I always keep my system fully up to date, both Windows and applications, use Security Essentials, run Windows 7 Pro 64-bit and have never had this problem before on any system.
It’s not causing me any grief, just annoyed that it is happening.

Ideas as to what could be causing it are welcome.

Thanks!!!

Reply | Quote

Replies

Generally, slow shutdowns are caused by some app or service that is not shutting down properly. Have you upgraded or updated any apps recently? Check in Task Manager to see what apps are running (Ctrl+Shift+Esc). Is there anything there that doesn’t look right? Have you checked for possible AV/AM infestations? (No security app can catch everything) Have you tried to shorten the kill apps timing? These are my first thoughts.

Reply | Quote

If you check Control Panel -> Performance and Information Tools and the choose Advanced Options, is there anything shown under Performance Issues?

Reply | Quote

Do you have any USB devices connected when you shut down. Try unplugging all external USB devices before shuting down and see if it speeds up the shutdown. On my Laptop I see it will not finish shutdown till I see the activity light on external USB HDD flash then it shuts down.

Reply | Quote

I’ve come across this as well.

There’s an interesting page on Microsoft Answers. Worth a read but as always, tinker at your own risk.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/windows-7-is-very-slow-to-shutdown/fb35a679-c9b8-4a97-95c4-39c60e218130

Looking around it does seem that a lot of people blame Firefox for this.

Reply | Quote

Hi All,
Thanks for all the responses. To take your suggestions one by one – I have upgraded a few apps, namely PDF Creator (PDF24), IrfanView and DriverMax. My first thought was that one of those was responsible. I checked Task Manager and nothing is running that shouldn’t be there. No problems with AV or Malware, and I always shorten the kill apps timing. Also, nothing under Performance Issues. No USB devices were/are connected. I will go through the Microsoft Answers page when I have time and report back. Firefox is not causing the issue.

Reply | Quote

See if you can shut down faster in Clean Boot. If it does, follow the diagnostic procedure given.

Jerry

Reply | Quote

All,
I tried the clean boot procedure from Microsoft Answers and Jerry above however, that did not change the time it took to shutdown. I must admit this is very odd as it appears that there is no program or service that is causing the system to take a long time to shutdown.
Does anyone know of a monitoring program that will keep track of what is happening at shutdown?

Reply | Quote

All,
I must admit this is very odd as it appears that there is no program or service that is causing the system to take a long time to shutdown.

“engine”,
Hello… Just by chance are you using any “Backup” type programs?:cheers: Regards Fred

Reply | Quote

Open the event viewer

Expand “Applications and Services Logs,” “Microsoft,” “Windows,” “Diagnostics / Performance,” and finally “Operational.”

Check all the events under Task Category “Shutdown performance monitoring”.

Jerry

Reply | Quote

I do use backup software – Acronis – I’ve been using it for years with no problems whatsoever. I also checked the logs that Jerry mentioned and there are no clues as to what might be causing the slow shutdown.
Yesterday, just on the off chance that I could have AV or malware problems, I ran a scan with both Malwarebytes and Super AntiSpyware, both of which found no problems.
I also booted into Safe Mode – curiously enough, the shutdown from Safe Mode took the normal amount of time. I conclude from that that one of the drivers may be causing the problem, but I haven’t updated any drivers since the problem started. Still, it’s a start but I’m not sure what to do next to narrow down the problem.

Reply | Quote

I do use backup software – Acronis I’m not sure what to do next to narrow down the problem.

“engine”,

Hello… Acronis ,in some versions (2011 for one) have had “shut down” problems ..seems due to either scheduling or some non stop backup thing…. There are many threads on this subject you might start Here :cheers:Regards Fred

PS: Another …And Here

Reply | Quote

You should be able to narrow down the cause by following the clean bootdiagnostic procedure.

Jerry

Reply | Quote

OK, a few things to report.
1. So far, I’ve done various AV/malware/spyware scans which haven’t helped.
2. If I boot into safe mode, shutdown happens as it should – takes just a few seconds.
3. If I do a clean boot as specified by Microsoft (and suggested by Jerry), shutdown still takes a long time.
4. I’ve examined various logs in Event Viewer and nothing has stood out.

The only thing I can conclude is that it is either a Microsoft service or a driver that is causing the problem. As I haven’t updated any drivers for a while, a Microsoft service seems to be the culprit. The next step is to look at Microsoft updates to see if any have been applied since the problem began.

Other suggestions/questions?????

Reply | Quote

The only thing I can conclude is that it is either a Microsoft service or a driver that is causing the problem. As I haven’t updated any drivers for a while, a Microsoft service seems to be the culprit. The next step is to look at Microsoft updates to see if any have been applied since the problem began.

It sounds reasonable at this point that an update may be co-responsible. Many of these shut down issues are a combination of apps and/or processes not unloading to/from the registry in a timely manor. Finding them can be resource intensive, as you are discovering.

I think I would start systematically uninstalling apps and or recent updates if I were in your position, you may have some intuition of what to start with, or not.
Too many variable to be more precise.

Reply | Quote

OK, problem solved!!!!! It was not a Microsoft update.
Because the clean boot procedure did not solve the problem yet booting into safe mode did, I went one step further with the clean boot. I turned off all services, including Microsoft services (msconfig won’t let you turn off 3 services that are required for Windows to boot). After I did that, shutdown took the normal amount of time. I then started fiddling with those services, turning on a few, then rebooting. During this, I did not connect to the Internet via my wired adapter, and I noticed that rebooting or shutting down took the normal time. However, at some point, I did connect the adapter and suddenly, rebooting or shutting down took a long time.

In any case, it turned out to be my wired network adapter. Normally, I use wireless but we’re staying somewhere else for Christmas and the router is a wired one only. I do however, keep all my drivers updated and the Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller was updated in the last few months. It is now version 7.48.823.2011 so, if anyone is having shutdown issues and this version of the Realtek driver is installed, it could be the culprit.

Thanks to everyone for trying to help with suggestions.

Reply | Quote