Community Newsletter: Q&A: Why does my PC take so long to shut down? How to fix it?
- 9/12/08 9:06 AM
Get a Mac!
by cashiel - 9/7/08 6:39 AM In reply to: Error Smart by southerncatnot nearly so many problems with my Mac - I love it! things just work.
ERROR SMART, slow shut down
by RRE - 9/8/08 12:12 AM In reply to: Error Smart by southerncatre. comment by SOUTHERCAT. -
1st: Oh boy do I agree 101%. A PC is just a commodity now and should work straight out of the box with no messing about. As much As I enjoy tinkereing with a new toy, and luckily can fix most of my own problems, there are many folks out there who are clueless with PC's and at the mercy to be exploited. They need an Platform solution. i.e. something that is Truely Plug & Go.
2nd: I to had downloaded and installed ERROR SMART and it did its scan which found nearly a 1000 things, 6 of which it corrected without asking but then wanted me to pay-up to fix the rest. So I said no thanks and went to delete it. Then I was offerd a months Free Trail, just supply an email address.
So there you go, an offer to test before I buy. 
There is a good software company out there: ASHAMPOO.com
by tonyfitz7 - 9/8/08 5:44 AM In reply to: Error Smart by southerncatASHAMPOO has been offering multi-usage software for some years now and I have successfully bought and used with much satisfaction many of their programs. They have an attractive 30-day trial period with in some cases a 10-day extension and all programs are fully functional during this time. Furthermore as software is gradually replaced the older versions are now offered FREE for upcoming new clients.
The conpany has an excellent support service (via e-mail) and their payments systems are secure and fast.
So if you want a program to fit your needs, AntiSpyware, Optimization, Media (burning CDs, videos etc.), Photo handling etc. etc they have something for everyone.
I'm a very satisfied customer now for 3 years so go check them out at Ashampoo.com.
TonyFitz7
Safety and performance
by Dy0d - 9/8/08 11:49 PM In reply to: Error Smart by southerncatFirst of all, I hope this comment won't get flagged as advertisement, I just want to help as I had a similar problem to yours.
A few months ago I was looking for a good antivirus program and after looking through many pages I found some names. However in other pages I found some comments advising to change the operational system (OS). As Windows is the most popular OS of all, it is also one of the most targeted by ill-intentioned users (I can't tell whether this is true).
If you make a product that will last forever people will eventually stop buying it. That's why cars, refrigerators, TVs, computers, and all modern products do not last for more than a few years before breaking up (actually, computers just get obsolete).
Perhaps I went offtopic. What I wanted to say is a good antivirus / change of OS might prevent further problems with the speed of the computer in general (in many cases they slow down because of malicious programs).
I cannot tell how different the OSs are (in the matter of safety), for I have just tried Windows but perhaps some of you can?
SouthernCat's extended comments
by LivinInTraffic - 9/9/08 2:16 PM In reply to: Error Smart by southerncatMy sentiments exactly. We would never accept a car or home entertainment center that becomes inoperable inside of 2 - 3 months of active use, so why should we accept this monoply that bill gates has on operating systems that allow spyware and the like. He has
ways to end all of this madness but refuses to go beyond the call of duty for the customer. Its like incarcerating people for minor drug
violations, there is too much money in it for the cities and counties.
Free Software
by Basshole01 - 9/20/08 8:44 AM In reply to: Error Smart by southerncatFor antispyware....I use Windows Defender from Microsoft....do a search on their page....free
Also I use Lavasoft's Ad-Aware... also free for personal use...
Anti-virus,...I use AVG also free for personal use....
I get them from www.download.com
Hope this counts....I cant afford anything but free 
Error Smart
by wtfwtfwtfwtf - 9/8/08 9:44 PM In reply to: ERROR SMART by torticollisError Smart is a scam that infects your computer with a virus. You should get rid of this program if you have it installed.
A little bit help fixing computer speed
by frescar_11 - 9/17/08 1:15 AM In reply to: PC takes long time to shut down by Goshawk96Goshawk96! Sorry for getting in into your profile..
I try everything to solve computer speed. My computer has a lot of memory. Hardisk is in 45 % and still suffering slow system and of long time in shutting down. Viruses, cookies, remnants that created during installations and un-installation of priogram contribute and affect computer speed "YES". It is all about cleaning and it was cleaned succesfully but remain slow during shut down. What I did is accedentally used Wise Registry Cleaner Pro 3.7 and foundout very good as it has everything I need can boost almost everything and simply solved the problem. Good news is made twice the speed of my computer and it is great. My question is.. Is this will not make unconsiderable effect to my computer at later time? thanks!
Computer speed
by Basshole01 - 9/20/08 8:47 AM In reply to: A little bit help fixing computer speed by frescar_11A lil disk cleanup and defrag helps a lot as well...in all programs>system tools
Do the cleanup first, then defragmentation
Computer Speed
by Basshole01 - 9/20/08 8:56 AM In reply to: Computer speed by Basshole01sorry, .. All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Cleanup or Disk Defragmentor
Try scanning your registry...
by pbasch - 8/22/08 7:10 PM In reply to: Why does my PC take so long to shut down? How to fix it? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Sometimes the registry gets bloated with useless stuff, and that can slow down your shutdown. I had a horrible situation with an anti-spyware package (Counterspy) that ended up filling up my registry with about half a million lines of... what, I don't know. But my registry blew up, and couldn't be fixed. Any attempt to scan it or fix it just hanged. Had to reinstall. Hope you don't!
A suggestion
by Nanny - 8/22/08 7:19 PM In reply to: Why does my PC take so long to shut down? How to fix it? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Victoria, I did this for a friend of mine on her computer and it straightened things up and made her computer boot much faster. Her computer was freezing on the "saving settings". It is something that, if it doesn't work, you can easily change back.
Remove the Welcome Screen
If you dont want to use "Fast User Switching", you may want to disable the Welcome Screen. You must be logged in as an Administrator to do this. Note:To do this follow the directions below:
1) Click on Start
2) Click on Control Panel
3) Double-click on User Accounts
4) Click on "Change the way users log on or off"
5) Uncheck "Use the Welcome Screen" (note: this will also disable "Fast User Switching")
6) Click on Apply Options
7) Close the User Accounts window and the Control Panel
8) The next time you reboot your computer, the classic login prompt will be used
What if I dont want the Welcome Screen OR the classic prompt? Can I disable both?
To Login automatically to a user account, follow the instructions below:
1) Click on Run
2) Type in the following command and click OK
control userpasswords2
3) Highlight the user you want to log into automatically, then uncheck the box for
"Users must enter a username and password to use this computer"
4) Click on Apply and you'll be asked to verify the username and password to log in automatically
5) Click OK and the next time you restart your computer, you'll automatically be logged in without having the classic prompt or Welcome Screen.
I've also heard that Roxio 5 creates problems. There is a patch on the Roxio site but I haven't had any experience with it.
Hope this helps.
Nanny
Three programs that might help
by jojoleb - 9/7/08 4:19 AM In reply to: A suggestion by NannyAll superusers can skip this post. This is the 'dumb' version of how to fix your machine for people like me who don't know a thing about comptuers, except how to use the applications. Below are three programs that I have used that have fixed and maintained my system so that it runs smoothly. Once again, these are for people like me who don't know (and don't care to know) how to repair and tweak the operating system.
The first utility is called Crap Cleaner (CC). It is TRULY free and will clean up your registry and hard drive. The same folks also have come out with an easy to use and free defragmenter called Defraggler.
It is a very nice program, but the weakest of the three in terms of overall repair/fixing.
http://www.ccleaner.com/
The second, and more thorough, is made by IoBit and is called Advanced Windows Care personal edition. It is free for personal use. There are no features to turn on or off here but it is a better registry cleaner and error corrector than CC. This company also makes a free for personal use defragmenter--I haven't tried it yet. Anyway, this one seems to work nearly as well as the last option below and is free for personal use. This is the one I would start with as it is free and does an excellent job of fixing these kinds of problems in Windows.
http://www.iobit.com/advancedwindowscareper.html?Str=download
The final contender is Tune Up Utilities 2008. It has many features including a defragmenter and system optimizer. It has a fully functional demo version that will both diagnose and make repairs. The full version is $39.95 (the 'listed' price is always $49.95, but the program seems to be on a perennial discount....)
http://www.tune-up.com/products/tuneup-utilities
In my hands, the IoBit product seems to work every bit as well as the Tune Up product, but has fewer features and runs all of its checks and fixes automatically. If you want to pick and choose, the Tune Up Utilities works the best. Although these may not be the 'ultimate' programs to fix your computer they do prevent the need of loading and running many separate programs, do not require a large knowledge of the underpinnings of Windows, and most importantly fix Windows settings without destroying your machine. The last point is important when tweaking some of the 'hidden' Windows settings--you want to fix things without crashing your computer.
Hope this works.
Why does my computer take so long to shut down.
by Ancient-One - 8/22/08 8:06 PM In reply to: Why does my PC take so long to shut down? How to fix it? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
There could be several answeres to this, however, I highly suspect this one. At least try this one first, I'm relatively certain it will solve the majority of your problems. In shutting down, you computer must first close all running programs, Then, if your computer is loaded with many hundreds of junk files, it must go through them all also. The more junk you have on it, the longer it takes to shut down.
What is considered junk? It is hundreds and hundreds of files you problably have left on your computer that have built up so large, your computer must go through ALL of them before shutting down so that is what is taking so long.
Junk files are:
1. Temp Files,
2. Internet files,
3. Cookies, etc.
To give you an example. In checking my junk files nightly (and cleaning) just before shutting down, in just one day of surfing the net, you could have as many as 10 MB - in JUST ONE DAY!. I once found I had 59 MB in just one day. Multiply this by say -- 30 days - and you can see why a computer would slow to a crawl to shut down.
I too had this problem before a close friend told me about the two FREE programs that solved my problem. First, let me say my computer was taking as much as a full minute and a half then. The program that I was mentioning that solved my problem completely (And FREE) is "CCCleaner" - Now, I run it every evening before shutting down and my computer now regularly shuts down in 7 seconds. Just make certain you ONLY check the boxes on the left side to delete "Cookies" - "Temp files" and Internet "files", Nothing more.
The other thing that could cause your problem is having your registry files all screwed up. The OTHER FREE program I have been useing for that is "Advanced WindwsCare2 Personal" It will keep your Regisrty clean AND optimized perfectly. very simple and easy to use. BOTH of these programs I have been running for over a year now, and I swear by both of them. By the way, both of these programs are rated highly.
You can find more info on them by Googling them. OH! Almost forgot, I'm running XP Pro. I believe both of these programs are also "Vista" compatible.
Hope this helps.
Good luck,
Ancient-One
Free my poor tired rearend
by PapaGus - 9/5/08 9:07 PM In reply to: Why does my computer take so long to shut down. by Ancient-OneI looked at both of the "FREE" software mentioned - neither one are free - so that negates everything else that was said.
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