Hi,
I have been having a problem where my Vista 64 machine hangs on shutdown. Basically at shutdown it goes through all the steps, shuts down services, but when it gets to the “Shutting Down” screen the progress circle stops and the computer hangs. The only way to get it to shutdown from there is to do a hard shut down by holding in the power button.
I have tried to diagnose this and it keeps coming back to Avast. If I “Stop On-Access Protection” prior to my shut down or restart, then it works fine. If I don’t “Stop On-Access Protection” then it hangs at the “shutting down” screen.
Can anyone help me figure this out? Is there a setting that I am missing that will prevent this? As it is now, I just right click on the Avast icon and “Stop On-Access Protection” and that does the trick. But I would like to solve whatever problem is causing this.
Thanks very much in advance for your help and advice.
I have been dealing with this issue for a while now. But I can’t pinpoint an exact date. However, I have only had my 64 bit system since January.
No, I don’t have any other security software aside from Avast, Windows Firewall, and Windows Defender.
After Googling this problem, it seems it is rather prevalent. Here is the forum that suggested Avast may be the culprit. After reading it, I ran some tests of my own. And my tests seem to be in agreement. http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64/archive/2005/09/06/65623.aspx
That is for XP 64bit SP1 that occurred in 2005 and avast! has gone through many changes since then and I am sure that if other Vista 64bit users had problems with avast! I am sure that they would be jumping in saying Me too and would be complaining about this over at Smokey’s Security Forums: http://www.smokey-services.eu/forums/index.php?board=76.0
Thanks for the reply. I read all of your links and none of them seem even remotely similar to what I am experiencing. The solution that you reference in post #14 troubleshoots someone that is having a hard time installing Avast. That is not my my situation. For me, Avast is causing windows to hang on shut down.
I understand that Avast has undergone many changes since 2005, however the symptoms of my problem are similar. That is why I referenced that forum.
Thanks again for your response and tips. Unfortunately, I don’t think they have helped me figure out why Avast is causing windows to hang on shut down.
I hope you or anyone else can help me figure this out. Thanks!
Try exiting nvidia(if u are using nvidia)or other program from the system tray, I also had this problem and it was solved after I did this. You could do this thru msconfig and uncheck programs that are unnecessary at startup. I also thought it was avast! at first but when I did this I did not have problems shutting down anymore. Try it then you could tell me if it also worked for you.
Well, there are no nvidia programs in the system tray. And I have tried closing out of all programs in the system tray (except Avast) before I restart and it still hangs.
In MSConfig, there are three nvidia startups. They are:
nvidia compatible windows vista display driver, version 176.44
nvidia media center library
nvidia hotkey service, version 176.44
And to be honest with you, I am nervous to disable those from startup.
Hi, gpzbc. I also use a Vista 64 bits and once my computer also hanged during shutdown. It happened because I opened the CD tray when system was shutting down, so maybe the two problems are related.
I think your problem may be caused by the avast! ability to detect CDs, floppy disks and other removable media inserted into the computer when logging off (it is a remote possibility).
If you want to test it, you have to go to avast! settings → Common settings and uncheck checkboxes “Check … when logging off”.
Thanks very much for the advice. I agree, that does seem like a possible cause. Unfortunately, I looked at the settings and all of the “check ___ when logging off” boxes are already unchecked.
So I don’t think that is the cause. :-
Hmmm…
Its best to not use MSConfig as a start up manager at any time as it could seriously damage the operating system and leave it unable to boot.
See BlackViper’s comment about MSConfig: Notes for a Happier Computer and User
• Do not use “msconfig” to disable services, type “services.msc” in the Run box instead! http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/servicecfg.htm
He has a listing of all Vista Services and what they do and recommended settings
Hi again, gpzbc, I’m sorry my previous advice wasn’t helpful.
Have you revised the Event Viewer? Maybe the cause of your problem was listed there (revise the System log specially).
Anyhow, I have another idea ;). Your problem may be due to the system is unable to end avast services, which may be due to the avast self-protection.
Again, if you want to test it, yo have to go to Avast settings → Troubleshooting and check “Disable avast self-defense module”
Even if it solves your problem, disabling avast self-protection isn’t safe, so you should ask for help to locate the conflict which causes the problem and solve it.
Well, back to the drawing board. >:(
My computer just hung on shutdown despite the fact that I had On-Access Protection and the self-defense module disabled.
sigh…
I am going to try testing this now to see if it stops the hang on shutdown problem.
In MSConfig, there are three nvidia startups. They are:
* nvidia compatible windows vista display driver, version 176.44
* nvidia media center library
* nvidia hotkey service, version 176.44
I think I am going to disable the nvidia media center library and the hotkey service. But I think I will leave the display driver alone since it seems like I might need that.
Can anyone advise me?
I advice you should try update your NVIDIA drivers (also, your problem remind me I had to update my display drivers too, so I have just did it ;D) ad your system before disabling anything.
Look up Windows Update, because there should appear something like “NVIDIA drivers update” (I suppose it because I haven’t found any information about version 176.44, only later versions) as optional update. You can manually download the updates from here: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us.
In addition, you should ensure that your system is up to date, i.e. you have all updates and Service Pack 1.
If this procedure doesn’t solve either your problem, I’m agree with you, you should only disable media center library and hotkey service, but you should learn before how get these startups back if any problem appears (for example, if your computer is unable to display anything, you should boot on VGA mode, etcetera).
Hmmm… That’s weird. Windows Update tells me that I have the latest nvidia driver installed. And I went to the Dell drivers website and they also say that I have the latest version.
Well, I think that since I am having problems, I am going to update to the version 179.48 that is available on the Nvidia website. Hopefully it will help. If it doesn’t then I will just roll back the driver update.