Shutdown Issue

I have two fairly new (14 months and 10 months) Dell Inspiron 530 desktops.
Both run Vista Home Premium 32-bit.  Not networked.  The only hardware
differences between the two is in the processor and ram - one is a core 2
duo with 2 GB ram; the other is a core 2 quad with 4 GB ram.  The quad,
right from the start, has always been quick to shut down - about 12 seconds
after the Shutting Down screen appears.  The duo, on the other hand, has
always been slow to shut down - about 120 seconds.

Is there some diagnostic information I can pull from each system to compare?
It seems I'm in a good position to troubleshoot the slow shutdown with this
arrangement, but I can't quite figure out how to pull it all together.  Any
suggestions would be appreciated...very appreciated.

Shutdown Issue

Shutdown issues are generally caused by a program and/or process that is
refusing to exit gracefully. The program and/or process can be from malware
or can be legitimate (such as an invasive antivirus like Norton or McAfee).
If you are using a Norton or McAfee product,  uninstall it and replace with
a better program such as NOD32, Kasperksy, or Avast (free). The Windows
Firewall is adequate for most people. With Vista, shutdown issues can also
be caused by old/poorly written drivers so make sure all drivers are
updated. See Step B. below for general driver directions.

A.The first step is always to make sure your computer is virus/malware free.

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

B. Drivers - The First Law of Driver Updates is "if it ain't broke, don't
fix it". Normally if everything is working you want to leave things as they
are. The exception is that heavy-duty gamers will usually want to update
their video and sound drivers to squeeze every last bit of performance out
of the hardware to get the fastest frame rates. If you're not one of those
people, you don't need to update your drivers if there are no problems you
are trying to solve.

Never get drivers from Windows Update. Get them from:

1. The device mftr.'s website; OR
2. The motherboard mftr.'s website if hardware is onboard; OR
3. The OEM's website for your specific machine if you have an OEM computer
(HP, Dell, Sony, etc.).

In your case, you would only get drivers from Dell.

Read the installation instructions on the website where you get the drivers.

To find out what hardware is in your computer:

1. Read any documentation you got when you bought the computer.
2. If the computer is OEM, go to the OEM's website for your specific model
machine and look at the specs (you'll be there to get the drivers anyway)
3. Download, install and run a free system inventory program like Belarc
Advisor or System Information for Windows.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html - Belarc Advisor
http://www.gtopala.com/ - System Information for Windows

C. If the computer is virus/malware-free, drivers are current, and no Norton
or McAfee programs are installed, then do clean-boot troubleshooting to see
which program/process is the culprit:

How to perform a clean boot in Vista and XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/331796

D. If you need more information, here is an excellent shutdown
troubleshooter:

http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.htm

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Shutdown Issue

Shutdown Issue

Turns out, I was clearing the pagefile on shutdown.  Disabling that
option took care of the problem:

the pagefile on every shutdown means overwriting the data by zeros,
and it takes time.  To clear/not clear page file you can apply this
reg tweak. Back up registry before trying this. Start > Run > Regedit
GotoHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\ Control\ Session
Manager\ Memory Management.  Modify (if not present, rt click in open
space and create) the Value Data Type/s and Value Name/s :

Data Type: REG_DWORD [Dword Value]
Value Name: ClearPageFileAtShutdown
Setting for Value Data: [0 = Clear Page File Disabled / 1 = Clear Page
File Enabled]
Exit Registry and Reboot."

There is a bit of information available on shutdown in Event Viewer, check

There is a bit of information available on shutdown in Event Viewer, check
Custom Views, Shutdown Problems.
Source: Diagnostics-Performance, Event ID 20x, Task Category: Shutdown
Performance

Michael

I had a similar shutdown problem with a Dell XPSI read an article that

I had a similar shutdown problem with a Dell XPS

I read an article that suggested uncheck the system management, set any page
file settings to zero, reboot, delete any remaining page files left on your
drives, reboot again and then enable system management of the memory again.

It worked for me - page file clears itself on shutdown and creates a new one
on startup

Hope it helps
Andy

BS!

BS!