XP won't shut down

[TurcoLoco]

Sounds like some sort of corruption with the APM/ACPI or something along those lines.
How long ago did this problem start? More importantly, what was the last changes you have done on the system (manually or using a program) that might have caused this?

What happens if you do this:
START > RUN > cmd > OK (type) shutdown -s -f -t 00 > ENTER

[sandpaper600]

I noticed this problem right after I did the fresh install of XP on my SATA hard drive. I'm not sure if it was doing it before I used Tweak XP or not, because I installed it & put on the shortcuts before I ever tried to shut down for the first time.

I've never fooled with the power management settings for over 2 years. It's been the same. For 2 or 3 days before the crash I was making signs & typing guidelines for a Motel. I made these using Word 2000. I didn't access the internet or download or install anything new.

One night, everything was fine, the next day I try to start up & found the hard drive had crashed. When I booted to my other HD & looked at the files on my old "C", there were only about 10 files on it, all named by small letters, like b, d, or m. The size of the files are anywhere from 5300kb to 555,700kb, totaling about 5 or 6 gig. The file types are all "file". I can't manipulate them in any way, not even delete them. My old "C" drive was 80gb PATA, (about 80% used), which I ran as a slave to "her" 40gb.

Just for the Hell of it, I reformatted the drive & reinstalled XP on it. That night it seemed to work OK. But the next morning it wouldn't boot again, so I installed XP on the 250 & just unhooked the 80.

When I run the command line you gave me, the system shuts down to a black monitor screen, but the tower never shuts off. Since I've been having these problems, I have the power button set to shut down when I press it, & that is what I have to do to get it to turn off.

Here is some other info that may or may not have anything to do with anything. I have 3 hard drives in one tower. Up until I had the crash, my wife booted up one on one (40gb), I booted off another (80gb), and we both used the 250 for storage. We've been using this method for the past 4 or so years. This is the 2nd computer I've assembled to do this with, & up until the other day we had no problems. We go into the setup screen and change the first boot drive to the appropriate one and go.

When I had to put my OS on the 250 (after the crash), I noticed that sometimes when I was going to change which drive to boot to, the 250 wasn't listed, just "her" drive and another entry called "other bootable cards". If I chose this, it would boot to my HD. Sometimes I would look at the boot drives and it would list her drive, my drive AND the "other bootable cards" entry.

One other thing, when I was booted up on the 250 ("my drive") and ran the command line you gave me, I said it shut down to black screen, but never turned off. Well, I pushed the power button to turn it off and when I restarted it, it booted to "her" HD. I restarted again and went into setup, selected "my" HD (it was listed), and started up fine.

This is the first time I've had any issues like this and I'm at a loss as to it's cause. (Obviously, cause I'm here!) I am on cable internet, but have my firewall turned on and I have a firewall on a Belkin router. I'm using AVG antivirus. The 80gb drive was about 3 yrs old, the 40gb is about 4 yrs old and the 250gb is less than 1 yr old. All 3 are Maxtor.

Sorry to be so windy, but I'm trying to give you anything I can to help.
Mark

[TurcoLoco]

Hello Mark,

Sorry for the delayed reply but I got a lot going on in my life, not to sound like a drama king but that is really the case...anyhow.

After reading your long post and trying to make sense of it all, I decided that it'd be better to permanently leave this forum, sell my earthly belongings and relocate to Tibet to become a monk.....lol....kidding (kinda)....

Ok, seriously though, first of, the most common cause of the problem you just describe (regardless of how what proper method you use) is either a corrupt file in Windows or an incorrect Power (APM) related settings in BIOS.

When you initiate the shutdown process in Windows, the Operating System goes through its preconfigured instruction sets to close applications, shutdown services, etc. the final command sent utilizes the kill power feature of the BIOS, which causes BIOS to power off via the PW/PW_ON cable that is connected from the front of the case to the motherboard (this is commonly the cause with ATX cases of course).

In a rough way the above is the process, what could be the culprit? The Os file(s) that handles that power off commands (corrupted) or power related settings either in Windows or in the BIOS in related to Power options.

What you need to figure out (you might have already answered this in your last post but I might have missed it):
~ What was changed in this system prior to this issue?

~ Changed Hard Drive? Is the new Hard Drive a higher capacity than the previous one? If so, is it supported by BIOS and/or the OS (more importantly BIOS)? IF not certian, have I checked the mobo manufacturer's we site to see if there is a newer BIOS version? (If yes, read the version details to see what got fixed, if nothing about supported HD is listed, read general product spec sheet)

~ Re-installed OS fresh or using what was already installed possibly in another system?

~ Did I work in the case? If yes, could I have possibly unplugged or loosened up any of the cable connecting from the case power switch to motherboard?

~ Did I feel brave and messed around with the BIOS settings? If so, have I tried resetting the settings?

Remember, each motherboard has a different reference for SATA drives. Mobos often sees SATA drives just like SCSI drives, in plain English, they do not detect them! Only IDE Hard Drives and CD/DVD-ROM drives that has the ATA-33 connection will be detected in BIOS. So, your SATA drive may not be detected, as long as the OS sees it once the the SATA drivers are installed during OS installation, things should work fine when booting or shutting down the system.
I am not 100% clear on how you have the drives connected. I believe you have 2 PCs, but not sure which PC is having the problem, regardless which drives do you have connected in the troubled PC? and which one is the boot drive?
OR
Are you and your wife sharing the same PC and just switching between hard drives in the same PC by changing the BIOS settings (which is really an odd way and can't say a proper way either)?

But to start you off with common, simple things to check for: on the troubled system START > RUN > powercfg.cpl > OK > check to make sure all settings are correct.
Then during reboot, go into BIOS settings and check the settings on the Power Configuration section.

[sandpaper600]

I just got started checking some of the things you suggested and I came across this item in system info. The file system on the drive that is giving me trouble is NTFS, not FAT 32. Is that a problem?

[TurcoLoco]

I just got started checking some of the things you suggested and I came across this item in system info. The file system on the drive that is giving me trouble is NTFS, not FAT 32. Is that a problem?

Completely irrelevant unless the FAT 32 partition is larger than 32GB then (even though still unlikely) might have been...but I suggest you check other possibilities first.