Hi All...

I updated my graphics card driver and now when shutting down my PC it no longer fully powers off - instead windows shuts down, the hard drives stops spinning but the system fan, CPU fan and PSU fan all still spin, and the monitor does not automatcially switch off. i have to hold the power button for four seconds to stop these.

i can't see what this has to do with my graphics driver, but re-installed the old one anyway, and the problem is still there. My BIOS has settings for various sleep and standby modes but all of these are disabled, it should bloody switch off like it always did.

What's bizarre is that I built a PC for my sister a year ago using spare bits that were knocking around, and this had exactly the same problem, even with a fresh windows installation. I could never fix that problem either :confused:

I have a MSI 648 max motherboard, GF4 Ti 4200 graphics and a new-ish (ABSOLUTELY SILENT ) top-quality Silenx PSU

Please help - any ideas what's causing this?

Which version of Windows?

Windows 2000 Professional

If you boot it into safe mode and try shutting down, does it still do the same thing, or does it shut down properly?

Rob.

for more bizarreness, the PC I built for my sister that shared this problem used Windows 98SE :ne_nau:

I had a simillar problem with XP, basically it would not shutdown to power off properly. What it was in the end was the display drivers, during shutdown the machine would crash at the power off point and restart. Updating to the latest version fixed this for me.

good idea Rob - i'll tell you in a few minutes :lamer:

I had a simillar problem with XP, basically it would not shutdown to power off properly. What it was in the end was the display drivers, during shutdown the machine would crash at the power off point and restart. Updating to the latest version fixed this for me.

I've come across this too - unfortunately XP has a nifty feature which says "restart on blue screen", so when it crashes you can't see why.

But graphics drivers do seem to often cause problems...

Rob.

phew, back out of safe mode. it's re-started and shut-down a few times perfectly happily, so yes, it looks as though its the graphics driver.

hhmmm - so the ONLY way to fix this will be to buy one of those 9800 Pro's that have just been reduced to

Hi :wave: from your friendly Briskoda.NHS consultant :lol:

Can sometimes have a fit if you've got anti-virus software installed - I discovered this myself during hours of research......................................................

Doesn't all the hardware have to be ACPI compliant to fully power off when you shut down? My Windows 2000 desktop at home just shuts down to a "it is now safe" point. I can't say I've ever tried to make it do the full process, I just assumed the hardware wasn't capable...

Doesn't all the hardware have to be ACPI compliant to fully power off when you shut down? My Windows 2000 desktop at home just shuts down to a "it is now safe" point. I can't say I've ever tried to make it do the full process, I just assumed the hardware wasn't capable...

There is usually an option in the BIOS setup screen to enable or disable this feature.

Doesn't all the hardware have to be ACPI compliant to fully power off when you shut down?

You'd have to have some really old hardware for it not to be ACPI compliant! Chances are it's a problem with something which has been installed - if you're inclined then Microsoft Technet probably has some suggestions on what could be causing it.

Though for the effort I'd be inclined to use the power button...

Rob.

You'd have to have some really old hardware for it not to be ACPI compliant! Chances are it's a problem with something which has been installed - if you're inclined then Microsoft Technet probably has some suggestions on what could be causing it.

Though for the effort I'd be inclined to use the power button...

Rob.

How old is really old? In this case' date=' monitor circa 8 years, base unit (self built) around 6 ... to you that's probably "really old".

Fortunately I still have the use of my index finger so the power button remains an option

@Skodaw - yes there's an option in the BIOS [i']if your hardware is ACPI compliant ...[/i]

How old is really old? In this case' date=' monitor circa 8 years, base unit (self built) around 6 ... to you that's probably "really old".

[/quote']

Monitor shouldn't really make a difference. 6 years old isn't that old really either, but I guess it depends if it was cutting-edge 6 years ago...

Rob.

Monitor shouldn't really make a difference. 6 years old isn't that old really either' date=' but I guess it depends if it was cutting-edge 6 years ago...

Rob.[/quote']

Couldn't even tell you - it's some fairly cheap ATX m/b with an AMD K6-2 CPU.

Couldn't even tell you - it's some fairly cheap ATX m/b with an AMD K6-2 CPU.

As a hunch I'd say it should support ACPI (my K6-2 based system did, and that's about as cheaply built as they come!). So I'd point the finger at software...

Rob.

Nick, if you have Windows 2000, try Control Panel => Power Options.

Is there an APM tab? If so, is it enabled?

I'm sure I can fix it if I can be @rsed - my point was only that the hardware has to support the calls from the OS. The machine very rarely gets used, it's not a big deal to press the "off" button. In any case the monitor would never switch itself off so would always need doing manually.

Now if you can tell me how to get the "standby" option back on my laptop without rebuilding it I'll be really impressed ...!

Nick (MCSE 9 years ago - lapsed 5 years ago ... moved on to other things)

Now if you can tell me how to get the "standby" option back on my laptop without rebuilding it I'll be really[/i'] impressed ...!

Uhm, same thing?

Do you have a hibernation option? Is a "enable hibernation" window available in the Power options of control panel?

Assuming it's also windows 2000 pro.

Uhm' date=' same thing?

Do you have a hibernation option? Is a "enable hibernation" window available in the Power options of control panel?

Assuming it's also windows 2000 pro.[/quote']

Not quite as simple as that, I'm afraid.

1. It's a Tosh - Toshes use their own power options applet. No, hibernation is not enabled (even if that was the same thing as standby, which it isn't)

2. It's not possible to re-enable it because the option has become unavailable in the list.

3. I've tried the various fixes suggested on the web and all the relevant Microsoft Technet Knowledge Base articles - usually involving removal of some piece of system hardware like the floppy drive, allowing the wizard to find it again etc ...

4. It's XP Pro

Next, please... !

Hmm, I'll take a look at the next meet, if you bring a car jack :P

All you needed to say was that it is XP Pro - detestable piece of nastiness! I have an XP Pro system which likes to reset every now and then for a laugh!

All you needed to say was that it is XP Pro - detestable piece of nastiness! I have an XP Pro system which likes to reset every now and then for a laugh!

I know exactly what you mean :(

I have 98, 2k, xp pro all on one system. I've only installed xp pro 'cos some apps require it, but 99% of the time, I'm running 2k. Have about 4.5 weeks uptime with 2k. Can't get near to one week with XP