Windows 8 Won`t shut down

2 Hell and Back

I`ve had a Windows 8 machine for about two weeks.

No probs until a few days ago, and the machine won`t shutdown unless i press the power button for about ten seconds (first of all when you click shutdown nothing would happen, now i just get an endless shutting down message until battery dies anyway)

After some research, the things I have tried without success are:

1) Disabled fast-start
2) Downloaded some patch fix
3) Running sfc / scannow (no issues found)
4) shutdown -s in the command prompt (as admin) doesn`t work

Any other ideas? Thanks

Soundman

Taken from elsewhere:

First of all try to run sfc /scannow command in Command Prompt to reset the system integrity violations.

If above one not works, then there are couple of things you can do:

Create a shortcut for shut down dialog - http://www.thewindowsclub.com/windows-shut-down-dialog-box

Shut down from right click context menu on Desktop - http://www.kapilarya.com/how-to-add-shut-down-restart-lock-computer-sign-out-options-manually-to-windows-8-context-menu

Use the power button utility to do that - Download Power Button For Taskbar In Windows 8

Also check whether pressing Alt+F4 combination lets you to shut down the PC.

This one below seems to fix it though is probably a last ditch effort as such. It is like a reinstall of the OS but not as harsh.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2293-refresh-windows-8-a.html

Soundman

And for the first option you will need to run Command Prompt as Administrator:

Just press Windows Key + Q and then type cmd in search box. Pick Command Prompt from search results. Right click on it, from bottom options, choose Run as administrator.

2 Hell and Back

Soundman wrote: »

And for the first option you will need to run Command Prompt as Administrator:

Just press Windows Key + Q and then type cmd in search box. Pick Command Prompt from search results. Right click on it, from bottom options, choose Run as administrator.

Yeah I`ve been running stuff as administrator thanks. I will try the shutdown shortcut options.

Do any of you think its problematic to be using the physical power button to turn off the computer?

Bit of an odd problem this is.

Soundman

While it will not hurt your computer, you MIGHT lose some information in any files you had open at the time.

More often than not, all that you might see is some delay in the next start of your computer, while some file closure and clean-up happens.

There might be, more than likely, some oddities that windows do not re-open to the properties you thought you had set prior to the forced shutdown.

If you can make sure you have programs closed and give about 15 seconds or so to make sure that they have closed fully it should be fine, though more often than not you aren't allowing the HDD spin down of it's own accord so could be causing undue stress and wear on the drive thus shortening its lifespan. In the short term you should be fine but I wouldn't rely on this method to shut down all the time.

2 Hell and Back

The shortcut to power button option seems to have worked-this time anyway!