Vista and Shutting Down

Hello Aisling:

i thought it might have been driver incompatibility or something initially (or perhaps because i have to remove all usb-connected external devices or something before shutting down) tried those, success rate is random. eeks. anyone know a more foolproof way?

It's an awful thing to deal with I hope we can help. I have the vista and have enjoyed it functionality without reservation.

You shouldn't need to remove any outboard devices.

If it run OK but then after installing some soft/hardware the trouble began or if ran okay but after update trouble started you may need uninstall updates one at a time to find the trouble or uninstall software etc. you getting this?

Next time before shutting the pooter down press Ctrl/alt/Del simultaneously and release. The task manager will come up, search among the tabs to find out what's running in the back ground that maybe causing the pooter to hang.

You say it started malfunc right away? Uninstall vista and reinstall.

1)If computer came with Vista preinstalled, there shouldn't be any problem with it. If it is practical, first thing would be to go online to the Windows update website, and look for updates. Their software is fairly adequate in describing the reason and/or problem the update fixes or resolves. If you find some that Windows recommends for your computer, then download and install them. (Every new operating Windows has introduced has required fixes. XP is up to Service pack 3, possibly 4 now.) So I would try that first. If there are none, and the machine is still under warranty, I would take it back to the place you bought it (if practical) and ask them if anyone else with an identical system purchased at the same time has had similar problems.

2) If you installed Vista yourself, i.e. computer had XP (or other OS) running previously, things to do:

a) If you saved it, before you started installation, the install sofware should have given you a message telling you that it had generated a list of bugs/compatibility issues detected when it examined your computer for resources, programs, etc., and asking if you wanted to view it or save it.

b) If you didn't save it or print it out for record, only choice may be to uninstall

and reinstall Vista.

Hello Aisling,

Vista out of the box needs lots of help. My Vista has updated itself twice in the last three days. As stated above go to the MS website and down load all the applicable upgrades and try that.

If that doesn't work contact MS Tech support http://support.microsoft.com/ explain your problem and let them fix their issues.

If that doesn't work go to the place that you bought the computer and have them fix it. And have them show you what they did. That way if you have a system disaster recovery (hope not) you know how to fix the shutdown hangup yourself once your up and running again.

I have 3 external USB devices and never remove them to shut down or boot. The whole idea of USB was the ability to hot swap or change I/Os with little or no interface issues.

Brad

JohnDG has got the right idea.

I have had Vista for 6 months and my conclusion for Microsoft. 'Don't test your software on your customers. You make billions of dollars a year, spend some on some testing before release.' And my conclusion for everyone else, BUY A MAC.

This has got to be the most unstable program I have ever used. Even when it loads it's own updates, you have to go back and unload them for the damn program to work.

I have had problems shutting down, opening programs, logging onto the internet etc... All of which would sit 'thinking' for an infinate amount of time waiting for me to HARD shut down.

I have now turned off all automatic updates and anything else the computer tries to do for you, 'to make your life easier'. And it works half like it should. (Still takes the longest, out of all windows programs, to do anything.)

I'm sorry to inform you that you have been misled.

Vista is an enormously complicated, spectacularely bloated, inefficient and ineffective tool that was foisted upon CONSUMERS who have been tricked into believing that newer is better.

I recently purchased a new laptop.

After introducing myself, and getting several suggestions from the sales person, I said: "I want to write. I want to look up information on the internet. I might use it sometimes to organize photos, which I will store on a separate, portable hard-drive. I'm not into muti-media, video mixing, graphical dispaly minipulation or running complex 3-D engineering and architectural programs. What do you suggest?"

"Here, buy this," he said. He pointed to the Lenova. It's Windows XP based. It's the most reliable PC based computer out there.

I did. I'm "completely satisfied!"

So, just copy all of your files to a portable hard drive.

Completely delete the "VISTA" program.

Initialize your hard drive.

Buy a new Windows XP program.

Install it.

Be Happy and Productive!

My computer hangs up on shutdown most of the time. I just hit Ctrl/Alt/Del and then hit the power switch when it starts to reboot. You could also hold the power switch in until it shuts off but then it complains of an improper shutdown when turned on again. By the way I'm still using Windows 98 because that's what my printer and scanner work with and I can't find drivers that will work with Windows 2000. When I tried to install XP it crashed my hard drive and I had to put it in another computer to recover my files and transfer them with a memory stick. My recovery disk wouldn't work. I had to replace the hard drive.

You're not the only one. I bought a lenovo laptop last December with Vista already installed. From the 1st automatic update that it ran I have had endless problems. Programs freezing, error messages coming up during the loading up phase. In fact, at one point, windows was freezing 6 or 7 times a day. I've had to remove all the updates that have been loaded since I bought the lap top and have turned off the automated update program, since i can't afford to have a computer that crashes every 1.5 hours. I agree that it's disgraceful that a company such as Microsoft can launch a product that has so many problems and then expect it's customers to be it's testing guinea pigs. As it happens, I am in the process of looking for a new desk top computer and have come to the conclussion that a MAC is a far better and safer proposition than a windows based computer. I'm sure that eventually, microsoft will solve the problems but they shouldn't really occur in the first place.

Vista has some built in diagnostics that checks to see what is taking your computer so long to shut down. Go to the Control Panel and click on "Performance Information and Tool". Next click on "Advanced Tools". If there are any problems that Vista detects it will show up on at the top of the next screen as a "Perfomance Issue" you can click on the link for more details.

(Off Topic) Vista is not wthout it's problems, but I think it is their best OS yet. I have a triple boot system (XP, Vista, & Ubuntu) and I always end up using Vista. Linux is making great strides with each new release and I can see a day maybe 3 or 4 years from now were I may switch totally away from MS. Right now though, I experiance more lock-ups with Ubuntu and XP then I do with Vista, and I use Vista 90% of the time.

Hello AccuDave,

My Vista rarely locks up but many of my programs do. Especially MS Internet Explorer. When I'm doing lots of research on the web opening and closing browsers after a while I just have to reboot. The IPL fixes it until I exceed some limit.

I learned in IE to click on tools →manage add ons →enable or disable add-ons and turn all the add ons to DISABLE. Then enable them one by one to find the ones with issues. About half. This increased my speed a lot but it still has issues. I can't speak for Ubuntu but running Linux I had to try to crash it.

Brad

I know HP laptops do have this problem. There is a new alert on the HP's that they'll apparently fix for free. I don't have the link with me but you should be able to find it on the HP's website, if indeed your's is an HP. You'll need to know your HP's model number and serial number. Mine isn't on the update list but does have this problem once in a while, and yes it does have Vista.