Web Talk

Despite Windows Vista is more secure and stable than its predecessors, every now and then it may happen that, once you click on “Shut Down”, Windows Vista will simply refuse to perform such an operation, taking a lot of time before turning itself off. Here are the most common causes to shut down issues and the most effective remedies.

1. “OOBE” wizard is taking its sweet time, therefore delaying Windows Vista shut down. OOBE stands for “Out-of-the-box-experience”. This kind of service is activated during the first days you start using Vista. It is meant  to configure your system properly and perform maintenance functions to delete unnecessary files. In this case don’t worry. Even though your Vista is taking 10-15 minutes before shutting down, that’s the regular procedure. Everything is normal. The only thing to do is…waiting.
2. Sometimes the shut down time takes a lot of time right after you have installed some update or Service packs. Even in this case everything is fine and you have only to wait. Eventually, this time will become shorter to normal as the days goes through.
3. If your Vista is taking a lot of times to shut down and, at the same time, it is not involved in one of the two causes just mentioned before, then maybe something is really wrong in your Vista. Here is what you can do:

• Uninstall everything (programs, drivers and updates) you have installed during the days before you started experiencing the issue with the shutting down.
• Use System Restore and try a Last Known Good Configuration.
• Open Task Manager (press CTRL+ALT+CANC) and try to identify the service or program which is causing the issue. If for example, before shutting Vista down, you closed a program, and the same program is now in the task manager, try to kill it. After that try to shut Vista down again.
• Upgrade your computer CMOS/BIOS. Sometimes CMOS and BIOS settings can cause startup and shutdown problems.
• Read this article provided by Microsoft itself about ‘How to perform a clean boot procedure to prevent background programs from interfering with a game or a program that you currently use”