XP Pro Hangs at "Saving your settings" on shutdown

[Kiwica]

Hi I think this issue is related to a windows update, but Im not sure which one. All of a sudden, about 10 out of 50 XP Pro SP3 machines are hanging at the Saving your settings, and then the only way to shut the machine down is to use the power off button on the pc. The issues seems to be identical to this old pre SP1 issue.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307274

The problem is, the MS solution was to install SP1. All these machines are running SP3, and none use the welcome screen.

Any ideas?

Thanks

"Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?

 

[Lemon13]

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...6d-8912-4e18-b570-42470e2f3582&displaylang=en

M. Knorr

MCSE, MCTS, MCSA, CCNA

 

[linney]

You could use System Restore, or the Update uninstall procedure, to remove the Updates installed since just before the trouble began. You could then start reinstalling Updates one at a time, testing for problems after each installation.

If you find an Update that is the cause then you could Hide that Update and perhaps take the matter up with Microsoft.

 

[Kiwica]

Thanks Lemon. however all my machines are running the hive unload tool. I did notice theres a newer version than the one my machines are running. So I will be updating the PC and see if that resolves this issue.

"Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?

 

[flyboytim]

There are registry edits to help with slow or hanging shutdowns, and many other tips.

Google helps with searches like - fix slow xp shutdown

http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.php

has a lot of information.

UPHClean installer (User Profile Hive Cleanup Service) that you can download from Microsoft download center can help if there are "dirty registry" issues.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...6D-8912-4E18-B570-42470E2F3582&displaylang=en

If the real cause is failing hardware or misbehaving software, services like event logger may be back-writing event logs, delaying the process even further, or stuff may being dumped to the pagefile as memory unloads, but some service is still accessing this data. People report reducing 2 minute shutdowns to about 10 seconds by getting to the root of the problem.

These services can be automatically stopped when the shutdown event has been received, and hang delays can be shortened from default values by registry edits, but caution is required if there is an underlying problem.

http://www.fxxxingcomputers.co.uk

 

[goombawaho]

There is a program and I can't remember the name which will create a "profile" of different computers and tell you the differences/similarities in terms of installed software/drivers/etc. so that you can see what's different between a working/non-working system.

Those differences would help you to see what's making those machines misbehave. Anybody remember the name of it??

 

[linney]

Do you get the same issue when shutting down from Safe Mode?

If not try these.

310353 - How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310353&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

316434 - HOW TO: Perform Advanced Clean-Boot Troubleshooting in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316434&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

310560 - How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310560

HOW TO: Verify Unsigned Device Drivers in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q308/5/14.asp

 

[goombawaho]

I found it - here it is. FREE now to boot.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/202382/pc_comparison_tool_envy_becomes_freeware.html

This is an especially helpful tool if you have multiple computers of the same hardware, O.S, patch level, etc. It will really get to the nitty gritty of what makes one different from another.

Then, you would hope, the reason for the problem will stand out and you can slay the dragon.

 

[Kiwica]

Linney... No, but its difficult to troubleshoot, because, as with the pre SP1 problem, this issue is more prevelant the longer the pc is left on. If I try and recreate the problem, by simply shutting the pc down after its only been on a for mere minutes then it shuts down without issue every single time.

And unfortuantely I dont have the luxury at the moment of taking a user away from their machine for an entire day to test this.

"Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?

 

[linney]

See if anything jumps out at you if you look in the Event Viewer.

Like machines, employees get sick and miss the odd day, not that I am wishing for such an outcome, but if it were to occur.....

 

[ANFPS26]

I've had Java update hang the PC on shutdown. Also, Adobe Reader sometimes does this. I keep them disabled in the Start-up Programs. Some of those links may address that. I didn't look at them.

Jim