Windows XP Shuts down instead of rebooting.

[pschjolin]

Lately almost all the XP machines in our office (15 out of 18 computer) will shut down instead of rebooting. It doesn't seem to matter how the reboot occurs. Examples:

1. Windows needs to reboot after an update. Click reboot and the machine shuts down..
2. Install new software or antivirus. Click reboot when asked. Machine shuts down.
3. Windows automatically reboots after automatic update. Machine shuts down.
4. I select reboot from the menu and the machine shuts down.

This is really annoying as I have maintenance scheduled each evening and over half of the computers are now off following an automatic update. I also use remote sessions to check on machines. Now I cannot (at least not at night).

The problem doesn't seem to be machine specific either. We have Dells, Compaq's Toshiba's and white boxes and most will shutdown instead of reboot.

I've searched Google for three hours and almost every post addresses the OPPOSITE problem (reboot instead of shutdown).

I don't have the specific CD burning programs on my machines (as one post suggested) and all virus and spyware definitions are up-to-date and not reporting problems.

For the moment I've changed automatic updates to "Notify only" and not to install anything unless I am physically present.

Anyone have any suggestions? I'm really baffled.

 

[rf6647]

Here is a bump - if you are still looking for help.

I would suspect the latest software that was added. You're describing the machine executes a soft shutdown instead of a restart. I've experienced problems where the machine does not execute the shutdown, but ends with the screen instructing the user to turnoff the computer. In two instances, using msconfig to find the offending startup program solved the problem, but did not conclusively finger the culprit -- the problem merely went away.

Another suggestion - investigate settings for the computer (device manager), under the detail tab. One time this device was "scrambled" by reload of XP and was marked by a notice requiring to 're-activate xp'. HAL (hardware abstraction) misidentified the ACP type.

Of course, there is always the chance that the events viewer may offer some clues to what is happening.

 

[pschjolin]

Still looking...

I would suspect the latest software that was added. You're describing the machine executes a soft shutdown instead of a restart. I've experienced problems where the machine does not execute the shutdown, but ends with the screen instructing the user to turnoff the computer. In two instances, using msconfig to find the offending startup program solved the problem, but did not conclusively finger the culprit -- the problem merely went away.

The computers are in a Real Estate office. Four are owned by the office; the rest are owned by the agents. All of the systems have web-based listing software and one local file-server-based contract generation program.

When I started noticing a few computers not restarting, I dismissed it as a 'Windows hiccup." A few days later, a few more wouldn't restart. That's when I started looking for a solution. Now almost all of them won't restart.

I tried using the "shutdown -r" command, but that didn't work either.

I'm out of town until the weekend. When I return, I'll look through the startup programs and go through disabling items. Now that I think about it, I'll try restarting from safe mode first. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks.