How To Get Rid Of Slow Shutdown Time?

Many of us probably don’t think about how long it takes our computers to shut down. After clicking on the shut down button, we walk away, taking the process for granted. But if you have noticed your computer taking a long time to shut down, it can indicate a problem with the system.

When a computer shuts down, it needs to shut down the software that was in use individually, so it can take some time even if the computer isn’t having issues. However longer shut down times can indicate a problem.

If there are software programs running when the computer tries to shut down, it can take longer. The busy system will wait until the programs finish their tasks before shutting down. You should make sure you have shut all the programs you were using, such as word processing and a web browser, before initiating the shut down process. Software conflicts and bugs can cause the computer to get hung up during the shut down process. The problem software should be removed or updated to solve the issue. Hardware may also be a cause of the problem.

External hard drives, USB drives, printers, etc. may have to be unplugged before shutting down to shorten the process. And finally that old culprit that can give you any number of computer headaches, malware, can also affect the shut down process.

A critical error in the system can cause the computer to reboot instead of shutting down as part of the default operation in Windows XP.
You can disable this rebooting by doing the following:

1. Right click My Computer and select Properties.
2. From the Startup and then Recovery menus click on the Advanced tab.
3. Uncheck the Restart box.

To solve other issues leading to poor shut down time, try any number of the following things. If you think the issue is an external device like a printer or hard drive, try updating the drivers from the manufacturer’s website. You will know if this is the solution by trying a shut down again.

Something else you can try is disabling certain services. This can also help start up times.
1. Click start and then Run.
2. In the Run window type services.msc.
3. Shut down any services that you don’t need.

You can also limit the number of application that automatically start with the computer. Another process you can disable is the deletion of the paging file. As part of the shut down process this file is cleared by Windows which can take a good bit of time. Use Run from the Start menu and type gpedit.msc. Under security options double click Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Page file and set it to disabled. Be aware that doing this can compromise your security.

Finally, you can force a shut down that doesn’t wait for programs to finish.
In Run type
C: WindowsSystem32Shutdown.exe –f.

Shut down will always take some time, but it shouldn’t be more than a minute or two.

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