(XP) - How Do I Create An Emergency Start Up Disk For Windows XP

For those of you wanting to create an Emergency boot disk that will boot you straight to the desktop here is a simple method.

1/ Insert a floppy disk into your floppy drive.
2/ Open the command prompt (Start Menu/All Programs/Accessories/Command Prompt
3/ Type format a: and press Enter.
4/ Next open Windows Explorer
5/ On the top toolbar click Tools followed by Folder Options
6/ In the Folder Options Windows click the View tab
7/ From the list select Show Hidden Files and Folder and place a check mark in the box to the left of this option.

8/ Still in the folder options window scroll down another two lines and then remove the check mark next to the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) option. A message will appear telling you that you have decided to display operating system file. Press OK to close this message. Now press Apply followed by OK
9/ In Windows explorer again look for the C: directory - this is the root directory
10/ You are looking for the following files NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM copy these to the floppy drive.
11/ Next open Notepad (Start Menu/All Programs/Accessories/Notepad) and type the following:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

12/ Next click the File menu and select the Save as Command. In the text box type "a:\boot.ini" (You must include the quotation marks. The boot ini file should then be saved to the floppy. You can now exit notepad
13/ Now reboot your machine to test the emergency disk. If all has gone well you should be able to boot to the desktop.

Please note the boot ini file applies only to a single partition hard drive. If you are dual booting this will need to be altered accordingly.

(N/W) - How can I configure TCP/IP settings from the Command Prompt?

In order to configure TCP/IP settings such as the IP address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, DNS and WINS addresses and many other options you can use Netsh.exe.
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Netsh.exe is a command-line scripting utility that allows you to, either locally or remotely, display or modify the network configuration of a computer that is currently running. Netsh.exe also provides a scripting feature that allows you to run a group of commands in batch mode against a specified computer. Netsh.exe can also save a configuration script in a text file for archival purposes or to help you configure other servers.

Netsh.exe is available on Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

You can use the Netsh.exe tool to perform the following tasks:

Configure interfaces
Configure routing protocols
Configure filters
Configure routes
Configure remote access behavior for Windows-based remote access routers that are running the Routing and Remote Access Server (RRAS) Service
Display the configuration of a currently running router on any computer
Use the scripting feature to run a collection of commands in batch mode against a specified router.


What can we do with Netsh.exe?
With Netsh.exe you can easily view your TCP/IP settings. Type the following command in a Command Prompt window (CMD.EXE):

netsh interface ip show config

With Netsh.exe, you can easily configure your computer's IP address and other TCP/IP related settings. For example:

The following command configures the interface named Local Area Connection with the static IP address 192.168.0.100, the subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, and a default gateway of 192.168.0.1:


netsh interface ip set address name="Local Area Connection" static 192.168.0.100 255.255.255.0 192.168.0.1 1

(The above line is one long line, copy paste it as one line)

Netsh.exe can be also useful in certain scenarios such as when you have a portable computer that needs to be relocated between 2 or more office locations, while still maintaining a specific and static IP address configuration. With Netsh.exe, you can easily save and restore the appropriate network configuration.

First, connect your portable computer to location #1, and then manually configure the required settings (such as the IP address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, DNS and WINS addresses).

Now, you need to export your current IP settings to a text file. Use the following command:


netsh -c interface dump > c:\location1.txt

When you reach location #2, do the same thing, only keep the new settings to a different file:

netsh -c interface dump > c:\location2.txt

You can go on with any other location you may need, but we'll keep it simple and only use 2 examples.

Now, whenever you need to quickly import your IP settings and change them between location #1 and location #2, just enter the following command in a Command Prompt window (CMD.EXE):


netsh -f c:\location1.txt

or

netsh -f c:\location2.txt


and so on.

You can also use the global EXEC switch instead of -F:

netsh exec c:\location2.txt

Netsh.exe can also be used to configure your NIC to automatically obtain an IP address from a DHCP server:

netsh interface ip set address "Local Area Connection" dhcp

Would you like to configure DNS and WINS addresses from the Command Prompt? You can. See this example for DNS:

netsh interface ip set dns "Local Area Connection" static 192.168.0.200

and this one for WINS:

netsh interface ip set wins "Local Area Connection" static 192.168.0.200

Or, if you want, you can configure your NIC to dynamically obtain it's DNS settings:

netsh interface ip set dns "Local Area Connection" dhcp

As you now see, Netsh.exe has many features you might find useful, and that goes beyond saying even without looking into the other valuable options that exist in the command.

How Do I Repair My Windows XP Installation

There are times when you may have problems with your pc. Sometimes these are somewhat minor, at other times they may be major problems. When a major problem occurs and you cannot satisfactorily get your machine working correctly, you have two basic options. A Clean Install or a Repair. While a clean install may be rather drastic, the Repair option may get you up and running in a shorter time.

The repair option simply renews all of the operating system files, therefore all your personal data should remain intact. However, there is always the first time for everything, so even before attempting a repair make sure that you have 'backed up all valuable data' Better to be safe than sorry.

1/ Before you proceed make sure that your pc is set, via the BIOS, to be able to boot from a CD.

2/ If you cannot boot from your CD you can always use a Windows 98/Me startup disk to begin the install. Boot to the DOS 'A' prompt, making sure you select the option to install CD drivers. Once at the 'A' prompt change the drive letter to that of your CD-ROM and then locate the I386 Folder on the CD. Once you have changed to the I386 directory type, at the prompt, WINNT.EXE and press Enter.

3/ Insert your Windows XP CD into the CD-ROM and reboot your PC

4/ Your system will reboot and the an option will appear which sates 'Press any key to boot from CD'

5/ Press any key and the Windows XP setup will begin to load from the CD

6/ At the 'Welcome to Setup' screen press Enter

7/Setup will search your hard drive for any copies of Windows. When it locates a copy you will be asked whether you wish to Install a new copy or Repair

8/ In this instance press the 'Setup Windows XP Now' option by pressing Enter

9/ On NO ACCOUNT press the Repair option. At this stage this will only invoke the Recovery Console and you do not want that option.

10/The licence agreement should be the next thing that pops up on screen. Press F8 to accept the agreement

11/ In the next window you will see a list of your hard drive. If you only have one copy of Windows installed this will be all that is in the box. If you have multiple copies of Windows operating systems these will also be displayed.

12/ Make sure the Windows copy you wish to repair is highlighted and then Press the 'R' key to begin the repair operation

13/ Now follow the onscreen instructions to repair your installation

How Do I Rectify A Missing Or Corrupt Ntoskrnl Error

Another error message that you may occasionally get is a missing or corrupt ntoskrnl. Like most of these type of problems it is usually a simple case of copy an new copy from your XP CD to your hard drive.

1/ Place your Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM and Reboot your PC

2/ XP's setup program will automatically start and files will be loaded to memory

3/When you reach the Welcome to Setup screen choose the Repair option by pressing R

4/ This will open the Recovery Console

4/ The list of Windows installations will appear

5/ As you only have one installation on your PC you need to press the number which is relevant to your installations location. This, obviously will typically be 1

6/ You now need to enter your Administrator password to gain access. If you are using Windows XP Home edition the administrator password is blank by default so simply press Enter

7/ At the command prompt change to the drive letter that contains your CD

8/ Next type: cd i386

9/ The directory should now change to the i386 directory

10/At the command prompt you now need to type: expand ntkrnlmp.ex_C:\Windows\System32\ntoskrnl.exe

11/The relevant file should now be expanded and copies to the windows\system32 directory of your C:\ drive

12/ Finally, remove the Windows XP cd from your CD-ROM and, at the command prompt type: Exit

How Do I Rectify A Missing Or Corrupt NTFS.SYS Error

Windows XP can be formatted in two different file systems, FAT32 and NTFS. If you are running a machine with a FAT32 files system and then decide to convert to NTFS using the converts option - see How do I convert my FAT32 file system to NTFS - on rebooting you may get a missing or corrupt ntfs.sys error. Here is how to rectify this problem

1/ Insert the Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM and reboot your pc

2/ Allow the basic setup files to load into memory

3/At the Welcome to Setup screen press R

4/ This will start the Recovery console and the list of Windows installations will appear

5/ As you only have one installation on your PC you need to press the number which is relevant to your installations location. This, obviously will typically be 1

6/ You will need to enter your Administrator password. If you are using Windows XP Home edition the administrator password is blank by default so simply press Enter

7/ At the Recovery Console command prompt type: cd \windows\system32\drivers

8/ Next press Enter

9/ The windows system 32 drivers directory will now open

10/ Now type: ren ntfs.sys ntfs.old

11/ Again press Enter

12/ If a message appears telling you that the Ntfs.sys file was not found, then the file is actually missing rather than corrupt

13/ The above command will change the name of your corrupt file from Ntfs.sys to Ntfs.old

14/Now type the following at the command prompt substituting the X (after copy) with the drive letter of your CD and the X (after drive) with the drive letter of your hard drive. The hard drive usually being the C:/ drive

15/ copy X:\i386\ntfs.sys drive X:\windows\system32\drivers

16/ Remove the Windows XP CD from your CD-ROM

17/ Now in the command prompt type: Exit

18/ Restart your PC to make sure the problem has been rectified

How Do I Correct An NTLDR Or NTDETECT.COM Not Found Error

For some reason or other this problem has appeared quite regularly in the XP newsgroups and while it can be an inconvenience - you not being able to boot your pc - the actual remedy is relatively simple. However, although the remedy is simple, the way you go about it will be dependant upon whether you are able to boot your system from the Windows XP CD or whether you need to boot from an older Windows 98/Me startup floppy disk.

Booting directly from the Windows XP CD

1/ Place your Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM and Reboot your PC

2/ XP's setup program will automatically start and files will be loaded to memory

3/When you reach the Welcome to Setup screen choose the Repair option by pressing R

4/ This will open the Recovery Console

5/ The list of Windows installations will appear

6/ As you only have one installation on your PC you need to press the number which is relevant to your installations location. This, obviously will typically be 1

7/ You now need to enter your Administrator password to gain access. If you are suing Windows XP Home the administrator password is blank by default so simply press Enter

8/Now enter the following depending upon which file you need to replace. In both instances replace the 'X' with the drive letter of your CD-ROM

COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C\:

COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C:\

11/ Finally remove your XP CD from the CD-ROM and then type Exit

12/ Reboot your machine to see if the the problem has been cured

Using a Windows 98/Me Startup Disk

1/ Insert a Windows 98 startup disk into your floppy drive and reboot your machine

2/ From the floppy menu make sure that you boot with CD-ROM support

3/ Once you are at the DOS 'A' prompt insert your Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM

4/ Next, at the 'A' prompt type X (where X is the drive letter of your CD-ROM)

5/ The DOS prompt letter should now change to that of your CD-ROM's drive letter

6/ Now type cd i386 (the cd in this case means change directory)

7/ You should now have access to the i386 directory on your CD-ROM

8/ Finally you need to copy either the NTLDR or the NTDETECT files from the i386 directory to the root of your C:/ drive.

9/ After copying has been completed Reboot your machine to check that the problem has been solved

How Do I Repair A Missing Or Corrupt HAL.DLL

There may be an occasion when you boot up your PC that you receive an error message such as HAL.DLL file is corrupt or missing. In many cases this can simply be a misconfiguration in the Boot.Ini file and can easily be corrected by instigating a suitable repair.

1/ Place your Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM and Reboot your PC

2/ XP's setup program will automatically start and files will be loaded to memory

3/When you reach the Welcome to Setup screen choose the Repair option by pressing R

4/ This will start the Recovery console and the list of Windows installations will appear

5/ As you only have one installation on your PC you need to press the number which is relevant to your installations location. This, obviously will typically be 1

6/ Type in your Administrator password. If you are using Windows XP Home edition the administrator password is blank by default so simply press Enter

7/Now type bootcfg /list

8/ A list will now appear of all the entries in your boot.ini file

9/ Next type bootcfg /rebuild

10/ Your boot.ini file should now be repaired

11/ Finally remove your XP CD from the CD-ROM and then type Exit

12/ Reboot your machine to see if the the problem has been cured

How Do I Get XP To Empty The Temporary Internet File Folder When My Browser Closes

The temporary internet file folder stores a complete record of all of your internet activity. Web sites attached files to this folder that enable them to quickly launch pages that you have previously visited. The only problem is that the temporary internet file folder can easily become bogged down with files you no longer need. There is also the security aspect. You don't want someone pocking around trying to find out what sites you have visited. The easiest way to prevent this is to make sure that the Temporary Internet Folder is cleared every time you close Internet Explorer.

1/ Click the Start button

2/ In the start menu click Control Panel

3/ When the Control Panel Window opens click the Internet Options icon

4/ The Internet Options window opens

5/ Now click the Advanced tab

6/ Look down the list of options in the advanced window until you find the Security section

7/ Place a check mark next to the option 'Empty temporary internet files folder when browser closes.'

8/ Click OK to exit

In some cases you may find that when checking the advanced tab in the Internet options window the 'Empty temporary internet files folder when browser closes.' option is not available. This is due to a registry problem and can be remedied in two ways:

Method One

1/ Click the Start button

2/ From the Start menu click Run

3/ In the Run dialogue box type: regsvr32 /n /i inetcpl.cpl

4/ Press OK

5/ If this doesn't work then proceed to method two.

Method Two

1/ Visit the following site http://windowsxp.mvps.org/ie/persistent.htm and download the Cache.reg file.

2/ Once the file has been saved to your desktop double click the file

3/ A message will appear asking you if you want to make the registry alteration

4/ Click OK

5/ The details of the cache.reg file will be added to the registry

6/ Now go to Control panel, click on Internet option and then click the Advanced tab.

7/ The Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser closes option should now be available

How Do I Convert My FAT32 File System To NTFS

Windows XP supports two types of files system, FAT32 and NTFS. Of the two, the NTFS is by far the more secure. Unfortunately, your operating system may have been installed using the FAT32 files system and now, after some considerable thought, you may decide that you really want an NTFS file system. This doesn't present a problem to Windows XP although you should be aware of a few important points.

On Converting you may loose files. You are warned about this when you begin the conversion. Another point is, do not covert if you have a multi-boot system containing Windows 98, 98 or Me. If you do have these operating systems and you decide to convert you will be unable to start the previous versions of Windows. If you need to multi boot with these operating systems and you still want an NTFS file system you would be advised to completely reinstall Windows XP and, at the format stage, select that the partition be formatted in NTFS.

1/ Click the Start Button

2/ Next click All programs, followed by Accessories

3/ In the Accessories drop down menu select Command Prompt

4/ At the Command Prompt type: Vol C:

5/ You should now see the following information:

Volume in drive C: is XP Home (or whichever version of XP you have)

Volume Serial Number is FF47-80EB (obviously yours will not be the same, but you get the general idea)

7/ Make a note of the Volume in drive details and the Volume serial number.

8/At the Command Prompt type: convert c: /fs:ntfs (Replace the c: with whatever drive letter you are converting)

9/ Press Enter

10/ When asked for the Volume Label for drive C: type XP Home (or XP Pro depending upon your current operating system)

11/ Press Enter

12/ Because you are converting the C: drive (this contains the operating system), a message will appear informing you that the drive cannot be converted. You will then be given the option of scheduling a conversion the next time you boot your machine.

13/ Schedule the conversion and reboot

14/ After rebooting the conversion should proceed as normal.

How Do I Create An Emergency Start Up Disk For Windows XP & Disable Error Reporting

How Do I Create An Emergency Start Up Disk For Windows XP

For those of you wanting to create an Emergency boot disk that will boot you straight to the desktop here is a simple method.

1/ Insert a floppy disk into your floppy drive.
2/ Open the command prompt (Start Menu/All Programs/Accessories/Command Prompt
3/ Type format a: and press Enter.
4/ Next open Windows Explorer
5/ On the top toolbar click Tools followed by Folder Options
6/ In the Folder Options Windows click the View tab
7/ From the list select Show Hidden Files and Folder and place a check mark in the box to the left of this option.

8/ Still in the folder options window scroll down another two lines and then remove the check mark next to the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) option. A message will appear telling you that you have decided to display operating system file. Press OK to close this message. Now press Apply followed by OK
9/ In Windows explorer again look for the C: directory - this is the root directory
10/ You are looking for the following files NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM copy these to the floppy drive.
11/ Next open Notepad (Start Menu/All Programs/Accessories/Notepad) and type the following:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
Default= multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows [operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows="Windows XP"

12/ Next click the File menu and select the Save as Command. In the text box type "a:\boot.ini" (You must include the quotation marks. The boot ini file should then be saved to the floppy. You can now exit notepad
13/ Now reboot your machine to test the emergency disk. If all has gone well you should be able to boot to the desktop.

Please note the boot ini file applies only to a single partition hard drive. If you are dual booting this will need to be altered accordingly.


How Do I Disable Error Reporting

Error reporting is particularly useful for sending details of faults etc to Microsoft. However, because most users never get any feedback from these 'bug' reports many users never bother to send an error report. If you are one of these people then it is far more convenient to have the option disabled. To disable error reporting proceed as follows:

1/Click the Start button

2/ Next click Run

3/ In the Run dialog box type: msconfig

4/ The System Configuration Utility will now open

5/ Click the Services tab

6/ Remove the check mark next to the option Error Reporting Service

7/ Click OK

8/ The alterations will not take effect until you have restarted your PC

How Do I Format My Hard Drive Using Windows XP

Before formatting your hard drive you should take the opportunity to back up all important files and folders. As soon as you reformat your hard drive ALL data on that drive or partition will be destroyed.

1/ Before you can format your drive from the Windows XP CD you must ensure that your pc is able to boot directly from the CD - see Enabling CD-ROM support in the BIOS

2/ Insert the XP CD into your CD-ROM and reboot your machine.

3/When the Welcome to Setup screen appears press Enter

4/The next screen will show the license agreement. To accept press F8

5/Setup will now scan your drive for existing copies of Windows.

6/ If another copy of Windows is found you will be given two options

a) Repair

b) Install New Copy

7/ You need to install a New Copy so press ESC

8/ The next Window will show a list of all current drives and partitions.

9/ Select the C: drive for your installation to be installed to and press Enter

10/ The next window will show the format options. These are:

Format the partition by using the NTFS file system (quick)

Format the partition by using the FAT32 file system (quick)

Format the partition by using the NTFS file system

Format the partition by using the FAT32 file system

Leave the current file system intact (No Changes)

The FAT32 file system is not available if your hard drive or selected partition is larger than 32GB

11/ Select the file system you want to use and press Enter

12/ Your hard drive/partition will now begin to format

13/ After formatting has been completed Windows XP will continue to install on your hard drive.

How Do I Clear Windows Paging File At Shutdown

You may not consider clearing the windows paging file as a necessary part of your security housekeeping. Ok it can add quite a few seconds to your final shutdown time, but it doesn't need to be done on a regular basis and you can always disable the option as and when you want.

But why clear the paging file you may ask. Well the simple answer is security. It is not unknown for a third party software application to temporarily store unencrypted information such as passwords or other sensitive material in memory. Obviously the way Windows uses virtual memory it is possible for this information to end up in the paging file.

To clear the file proceed as follows:

1/ Click Start button

2/ Next Click Run

3/ In the Run dialog box type: Regedit

4/In the Registry Editor Window navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management.

5/ In the list that appears on the right of the Registry window look for the Value Name: ClearPageFileAtShutdown

6/ If the Value does not exist Right Click on the Memory Managment key and, from the drop down menu select New

7/ When you click New another drop down menu will appear. Click DWORD Value

8/ You should now see a box with the words New Value#1.

9/ Right click on this box and select Rename

10/ In the rename box Type: ClearPageFileAtShutdown

11/ After you have renamed the value, right click on it again and select Modify

12/ Change the Value to 1

13/ The registry entry should now look like this: ClearPageFileAtShutdown REG_WORD 0x00000001 (1)

14/ The changes will not come into effect until you have restarted your computer

15/ To disable the feature just reset the Value to 0

How Do I Run / remove Netmeeting ?

How Do I Run Netmeeting

To the untrained eye Netmeeting is not readily visible in Windows XP. The reason for this is that, by default, it is not listed on the All Programs Menu. Instead it is actually hidden from view. To initialise the netmeeting installation do the following:

1/ Click the Start Button

2/ Click Run

3/ In the Run dialog box type conf

4/ Netmeeting should now open

5/ All you need do now is setup your contact details, video and microphone


How Do I remove Netmeeting

Not everyone uses Netmeeting, so for those who have no intension of ever using it here are the instructions for removing it.

1/ Click the Start button

2/ On the Start menu click Run

3/ In the Run dialog box type: RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection C:\WINDOWS\inf\msnetmtg.inf,NetMtg.Remove (It is better to copy and paste this command into the Run dialogue box)

4/ Press the OK button

5/ Netmeeting should now be removed from your system

How Do I Remove NTFS File System

If your hard drive is formatted in NTFS and you need to reformat the drive to use either FAT or FAT32 all you need to do is insert your Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM, reboot your system and follow the instructions below:

1/ After restarting your PC the Windows Setup will begin

2/ At the Welcome to Setup screen press F10

3/ Pressing F10 opens the Recovery Console. This is a DOS based screen so you need to first specify the operating system location, i.e. C: Drive and then log in as using your Administrator Password.

4/ After logging in type map and then press Enter

5/Highlight the drive you want to reformat. Drive letters may differ in recovery console to those in windows xp

6/ Type format x: /fs:fat32 Substitute the 'x' for the drive letter you wish to reformat and then press Enter.

7/ Confirm your choice by typing Y and then pressing Enter

8/ Once the hard drive has finished formatting type Exit and then press Enter to restart your computer.

WINDOWS XP SHUTDOWN & RESTART TROUBLESHOOTING

Shutdown problems in Windows XP can be caused by many factors, just like earlier versions of Windows. These included: a damaged exit sound file; incorrectly configured, damaged, or incompatible hardware; conflicting programs, or an incompatible, damaged, or conflicting device driver.

For a step-by-step troubleshooting method that applies to all versions of Windows 9x, see the generic Windows Shutdown Troubleshooter. Some of its steps may be found to apply to Windows XP as well, though many will not.

Windows XP shutdown issues mostly center around a very few issues, especially legacy hardware and software compatibility issues.

Currently, the leading cause of Windows XP shutdown problems is hardware incompatibility, including driver issues. These are detailed below where known. However, it is impossible to list every possible hardware or driver issue individually. My best advice is: Check all drivers for all hardware devices to ensure that they are the current best for Windows XP.



REBOOT INSTEAD OF SHUTDOWN

Most Win XP shutdown problems reported thus far have been that it reboots when shutdown is attempted. This may be a global symptom emerging from several distinct causes, because, by default, XP executes an automatic restart in the event of a system failure. Therefore, more or less anything compromising the operating system during the shutdown process could force this reboot.

Disabling the “restart on system failure” feature may permit the exact cause to be isolated: Right-click on My Computer, click Properties, click the Advanced tab. Under “Startup & Recovery,” click Settings. Under “System Failure,” uncheck the box in front of “Automatically restart.”

Here are some things that have produced this reboot-instead-of-shutdown symptom:
By now, the Roxio/Adeptec Easy CD / Direct CD software is well documented as being the major cause of this undesirable shutdown behavior. SOLUTION: Roxio has released new drivers (here) to solve this problem in both the Platinum and Basic editions of Easy CD Creator 5. As expected, at least half of the Win XP shutdown problems went away with the release of these patches.

One warning about this patch comes from correspondent Bert Smith: Be sure to read the directions! “Roxio Easy CD Creator Platinum 5.0 can be a real hassle to get working under Win XP,” Bert wrote, “and there is the risk of your computer not booting if you blindly go ahead and install it without first consulting the Roxio Web site.” Bert also mentioned that Roxio’s “Take Two” backup program (normally part of Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum) is uninstalled when the Roxio patch is applied.

Direct CD. Many Easy CD users (but not all) found that installing Easy CD 5.0 does not cause the shutdown problem, provided they do not install the Direct CD component.

UDFRINST. Several people solved this reboot-on-shutdown problem by deleting the UDFRINST file. This file is part of the Roxio CD-RW software for systems not using Direct CD.

CDRALW2K.SYS. Correspondent Larry Blumette identified the CDRALW2K.SYS file (version 1.0.0.1048) as the Roxio file causing his shutdown problems and error conditions. When he deleted or renamed this one file, his problems went away. (Of course, you lose your CD functionality that way, too.)

Video Pack 5. Roxio’s Video Pack 5 causes the same problem because it contains includes the main parts of Easy CD 5. SOLUTION: Uninstall Video Pack 5 and also delete CDRALW2K.SYS (Tip from Christian Männchen). However, this solution may also have the side-effect of disabling access to your CD or DVD drive. SOLUTION TO THE SIDE-EFFECT: Apply one of the repair methods in MSKB Article 270008, Code 31 Messages Occur After Removing Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4.02c in Windows 2000 (Tip from Peter Kingsley).

Whether or not APM is enabled makes a difference — but the effect could go two ways. Some users report that XP reboots on shutdown if APM is enabled, but shuts Windows down just fine if APM is disabled. Other users report exactly the opposite behavior. According to Jack Dunne, this is similar to a known Windows 2000 problem. The issue seems related to the computer’s specific hardware or BIOS — so, as with all NT operating systems, stick to the Hardware Compatibility List where possible.

USB Connections As can be seen from remarks in the Misc. Hardware Issues section below, several different USB-related issues can impact shutdown. One of the most concrete examples was a “reboot on shutdown” problem contributed by correspondent Rick Bross. If his several USB devices (PDA cradle, flash card reader, etc) were plugged into the motherboard’s USB ports, his computer would reboot on an attempted shutdown; but when, instead, he plugged them into an external USB 2.0 hub, shutdown went just fine. (This was with Win XP Professional SP1 on a Supermicro X5DAE dual Xeon motherboard. The same devices plugged into an Asus A7M-266D dual AMD 2000MP system on the same OS worked without problem.)

“Wake on” power settings Power-management settings that have the computer “wake” on LAN, USB, modem, or (for that matter) probably anything else may also trigger a restart after shutdown. Correspondent Simon Wei provided this tip after a friend of his found an old old Logitech USB mouse would trigger “wake on USB” after every Windows shutdown. Their solution was to remove that particular mouse and all worked fine. The principle is much more far-reaching than this one example.

Hidden “wake on” power settings If you have an Ethernet card integrated into your motherboard, you may have hidden “wake on” settings that are harder to find. Site visitor Jim Porter found that his Asus P5GDC-V Deluxe motherboard had a “wake on” setting in Device Manager | Properties | Advanced rather than in the BIOS or Power Management settings. (The Asus P5AD2 and P5GD2 boards have this also.)

Y-SB3 Logitech Internet Keyboard can also cause this problem. If you use it as a simple generic keyboard, there’s no problem; but, if you install the Key Commander software that drives the special Internet functions, Win XP will restart instead of shut down. Unfortunately, Logitech has decided that they will not be updating this driver for this keyboard. (Tip from Jan K. Haak.)

Logitech MouseWare 8.6. Windows reboots when shutdown is attempted. The software caused a BSOD with KBDCLASS.SYS. Removing the software solved the BSOD the problem. (Tip from Pablo Cheng.) MouseWare 9.0 and 9.1 also have been linked to reboot-instead-of-shutdown in Win XP. Removing the software resolves the problem. (Tip from Aswin Kindts, Greg Williams, and others)

Webstar DPX USB cable modem. In the one case known to me, the problem was solved by switching the modem’s connector from the USB 1.1 port on the motherboard to the USB 2.0 PCI card. (The modem was provided by Telewest Broadband, manufactured by Scientific Atlanta.) (Tip from Ann L. Goonan.)

SHUTDOWN HANGS ON “SAVING YOUR SETTINGS”

During shutdown or reboot, Win XP may hang (stop responding) at the “saving your settings” screen. During such a hang, there is no response to Ctrl+Alt+Del; the mouse may or may not work. The problem may be intermittent.

This is a known bug in Windows XP, for which Microsoft has a supported fix. To learn how to get this patch, see MSKB 307274, “Windows XP Stops Responding (Hangs) During Windows Shutdown.” The necessary patch is included in Windows XP Service Pack 1, and also is now available on the Windows Update site under “Recommended Updates” for Win XP Professional, titled “Restarting Windows XP.” However, to find it, you may need to reconfigure how Windows Update appears for you, by enabling the Windows Update Catalog as follows: At the Windows Update page, click Personalize Windows Update at the left, and then Enable the Windows Update Catalog. Save your settings. This adds the Windows Update Catalog link in the left box. Click this link, then click Find updates for Microsoft Windows systems. Pick Windows XP in the drop-down list, click Search, take Recommended Updates, and find the “Restarting Windows XP” patch which references Q307274.

As a workaround, newsgroup correspondent “lou” resolved this problem by dismantling the Windows XP logon Welcome screen. In the Control Panel, click User Accounts, then click “Change the way users log on or off.” Uncheck the box that says “Use the Welcome screen.” This removes the initial logon screen with individual icons for each user and, instead, pops up the classic logon prompt that requires each user to type a user name and password.

SBLive: DEVLDR32.EXE PROBLEMS

In the early days of Win ME, one of the biggest culprits for shutdown issue was the Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live. History repeated itself in the Beta phase of Win XP. SOLUTION: The SBLive drivers in the released version of Win XP solved the shutdown problem for most (but not all) SBLive users.

Here’s the commonly reported problem scenario people encountered: On attempting shutdown, nothing at all appears to happen for a prolonged period of time. Eventually, an “End Task” window appears, wanting to terminate DEVLDR32.EXE. No matter what one does, one ultimately is locked out of shutting down other than by a power switch shutoff. (NOTE: This problem exists with the SBLive in Windows 2000 also.)

You may have to do a couple of extra steps to get rid of old files so that the new drivers will install correctly (especially if you installed the final version of Win XP on top of one of the Beta versions), or to remove troublesome support software. Correspondent Sean Caldwell summarized his steps: Shutdown Windows. Remove the Creative card. Reboot in Safe Mode. In the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 folder, delete the DEVLDR file. Fully shutdown the computer before rebooting.

Some users report that the DEVLDR problem continues to plague them even with the new drivers. If installing the new drivers doesn’t solve your shutdown problem, try these solutions:
Correspondent Martin Sladek wrote: “I’ve run into the very same problem with SBLive Value drivers. The problem was so severe I ran without the software all together. Since then, SBLive 5.1 came out, and I had installed the 5.1 version of the software in Windows 2000 Pro. I’ve not had a single problem since.”

But updating your drivers in Win XP may not be as easy as one would hope. Some problems especially appear where multiple users are enabled on the system and one switches between users during a single Windows session. There may be numerous files with the same name (but different version numbers!) variously located in the I386, SYSTEM32, and SYSTEM32\REINSTALLBACKUPS\0000 folders. These may conflict with each other. If you rename DEVLDR32 (ver 1.0.0.22) in SYSTEM32, another one will replace it. (First, you need to press Ctrl+Alt+Del and end DEVLDR in Task Manager). But if you use DEVLDR32 (ver 1.0.0.17) from the I386 folder, this problem doesn’t occur. Reboot when finished to reinaugurate the disabled service. (Tip from Terence Shortt, aka tbone8200 on dellTalk.)

MISC. HARDWARE ISSUES

In addition to hardware issues mentioned under other specialized topics on this page, many users have written identifying specific hardware as at the root of the Windows XP shutdown issue. Here’s what they have reported:
CD-ROM DRIVE: Samsung 24x. Correspondent Y. Leroux has identified the culprit in his shutdown problem, but doesn’t yet have a permanent solution. If his Samsung CD-ROM drive is empty, Win XP hangs on shutdown. To work around the problem, he either leaves a CD-ROM in the drive, or leaves the drive door open. He wanted to share this tip with others (thanks, Y.). Does anyone have a permanent solution for this one?

DVD-RW DRIVE: Pioneer DVR-106 or DVR-108. Correspondent L. Frankenberg traced his shutdown problem to this hardware. Correspondent Bob Berberick found the same for the DVR-108, and reported that a firmware update for the DVR-108 now available from Pioneer resolved his problem. It would probably be worth trying the firmware update for the DVR-106 as well, though I have no reports from anyone as to whether this solves the shutdown problem.

MODEMS: Intel Ambient HaM Modem. Causes Win XP to hang at shutdown. Previously, this was only resolved by disabling the modem. SOLUTION: Intel subsequently issued updated drivers that resolve this issue. They can be downloaded here. (Tip from Mark Gillespie.) However, a new problem with the Ambient Ham was introduced in Windows XP SP1, detailed below.


NOTE: The same problem has been reported for the Creatix V.90 Ham PCI Modem. Correspondent Gert Verheyen wrote that Creatix has an updated driver and, more importantly, detailed instructions about manual removal of the old one and installation of the new one. Go to the Creatix support page and click on V.90 HAM (internal) at right. The removal of the old driver first seems to have been the critical detail.
MODEMS: Billion BIPAC PCI Passive ISDN-card. Reboot instead of shutdown issue conjoined with BSOD error message STOP 0x000000D1: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL in file SERIAL.SYS. Previously, this was only resolved by disabling the Billion ISDN card. SOLUTION: Billion has now released a new driver 3.24 that solves this problem, available here. (Tip from Leo Foederer.)

MOTHERBOARDS: Asus P2B-F, P2B-VM, or P2L97. Causes a shutdown problem because Win XP Setup doesn’t enable ACPI by default. SOLUTION: Manually enable ACPI during a Win XP install or reinstall. Correspondent Bill Anderson (based on a solution by “Willy”) gave a lengthy description of how to do this, edited a little for space reasons. (Thanks also to correspondents Ward from Belgium & Tony Gray.)

Boot the computer from the Win XP CD-ROM.
Win XP Setup says it’s checking hardware. Soon after, at the bottom of the screen, it offers the opportunity to press F5. (If offered the chance to press F6, press F5 instead! – Tip from Mick Stone) Do this at once, and cross your fingers! [Various users report difficulty with this. Apparently, sometimes it works; sometimes not. It may be in the timing of exactly when you press the key. You may have to try repeatedly, or try pressing F5 and F6 repeatedly. – JAE] When successful, you’ll see a two-paragraph instruction that begins, “To specify additional SCSI or other mass storage devices.” Press to brings up a small window that appears to contain only two options, but, in fact, contains more (use the arrow keys to scroll up). If this windows doesn’t appear at this point, you need to start over and do more pressing of F5!
When the small window does appear, use the up-arrow to choose “Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI).” (It’s the third from the top of the list.)
Next, you may see that two-paragraph SCSI/mass storage instruction again. If so, press . Many drivers will load, then you should see the Win XP installation screen. If you are running this after Win XP is already installed, choose the Repair option.

MOUSE: Logitech. If you have a Logitech mouse, and an outdated version of the MouseWare software installed, you may receive the following error message on a blue screen at shutdown: STOP 0x000000D1, (0x0000002b, 0x00000002, 0x00000000, 0xEEEE1b01) IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL Kbdclass.sys. SOLUTION: Update the Logitech MouseWare software. (Reference & more information: MSKB 810980.)

VIDEO CARDS: Hercules 3D Prophet 4500 and all other video cards based on the Kyro II video chip. Causes restart and shutdown issues (or, in some cases, only restart issues) until the video adapter is removed. SOLUTION: New XP-specific drivers are now available from Hercules. At present, they remain uncertified (PowerVR, who makes the Kyro II chip, is working on that), but they reportedly work just fine. Download the Kyro II drivers here. (Tip from MS-MVP Don Lebow.)

USB Devices. If you have one or more USB devices attached to your computer, you may receive the following error message on a blue screen at shutdown: Stop 0x000000D1 (0x00000040, 0x00000002, 0x00000000, 0xfc96a9dc). SOLUTION: Upgrade to the latest Win XP service pack. (Reference & more information: MSKB 317326.)

USB: Keyboard or Mouse + Selective Suspend. Some USB input devices (such as a USB keyboard or mouse) do not support the Selective Suspend power management feature. When these devices are used with Selective Suspend turned on, the computer may hang during shutdown, or otherwise not shutdown correctly. WORK-AROUND: Disable power management for your USB hub: Open Device Manager (click Start, click Run, type DEVMGMT.MSC, click OK). Double-click to expand Universal Serial Bus Controllers. Double-click USB Root Hub. Click Power Management. Uncheck the box “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.” OK your way out. NOTE: Doing this may significantly reduce laptop battery life. (Reference & more information: MSKB 315664.)

USB: Lexar Media Combo Digital Film Reader (USB). There is a problem with the SAUSB.SYS file, apparently part of the Win98 SE driver set for this device, retained during an upgrade to Win XP. Deleting the file solved the problem. The newer version 4.3 SAUSB.SYS driver from Lexar’s Web site works perfectly, and does not cause a shutdown problem. (Tip from correspondent Eric Brown.) Though one correspondent reported that the even newer version 4.5 driver (SAUSBI.SYS) also can be used in Win XP , Lexar says this driver doesn’t work on XP. One correspondent has confirmed that this matches his experience in trying (unsuccessfully) to use 4.5 on both Widows 2000 and XP.


“STOP” ERROR MESSAGES AT SHUTDOWN

Some users, when attempting either to shutdown or restart Win XP, get an error message similar to the following: STOP 0x0000009F: DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE

Stop Messages literally means that Windows has stopped. (Which isn’t the same as saying it has shutdown!) See Knowledge Base Links: STOP MESSAGES for much more information that the brief remarks below. Most Stop Messages indicate hardware issues; some are caused by troublesome software or a system service problem. The links page just mentioned provides a 10-step approach to troubleshooting STOP Messages in general, then itemized analysis on the most common of these. (STOP messages are identified by an 8-digit hexadecimal number, but also commonly written in a shorthand notation; e.g., a STOP 0x0000000A may also be written Stop 0xA.)

Here are a few that may affect Win XP shutdown and restart. Stop 0x9F and Stop 0x8E are two of the most common of these at shutdown, and generally point to a bad driver. Stop 0x7B on restarting means Win XP lost access to the system partition or boot volume during the startup process, due to a bad device driver, boot sector virus, resource conflict, boot volume corruption, or other problem listed here. Stop 0xC000021A can when on restart after a system administrator has modified permissions so that the SYSTEM account no longer has adequate permissions to access system files and folders.

MS-MVP Jim Pickering advises the following as one approach to these problems: Restart the computer. Press F8 during the restart and select “ Last Known Good Configuration.” If you catch the problem when it first occurs (meaning you likely have installed only one or two drivers or new service), this will return you to a previous working condition. System Restore provides an alternate approach, especially if you need to go back further than the last known good configuration, and Device Manager provides a tool for rolling back to an earlier driver.

SHUTDOWN WORKS, BUT IT’S REAL SLOW
If it appears that Win XP is not shutting down, give it some time. Some users report a minute or longer for shutdown to visibly start. Generally, this is a consequence of software that is running when shutdown is attempted. It also may have something to do with particular hardware. If you experience this problem, be sure to close all running programs before attempting shutdown and see if this solves your problem. If so, then you can determine, by trial and error, which program(s) are involved.


Newsgroup correspondent “Sarah” provided one specific solution for this. In Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services, stop the Nvidia Driver Helper service. (You can also get this by launching SERVICES.MSC from a Run box.) Many other newsgroup participants quickly confirmed that this solved this “extremely slow shutdown” problem for them (it’s the most successful solution for this problem to date). According to correspondent Gan Ming Teik, downloading and installing the new version 23.11 Nvidia driver also solves this problem.


Correspondent Ron Spruell found that disabling the Terminal Services service reduced his shutdown time from over 2 minutes (hanging at the “Windows is shutting down” screen) to about 10 seconds. To disable Terminal Services, follow the steps in the prior paragraph for launching SERVICES.MSC. Please note that Terminal Services is required in Windows XP for running Remote Assistance, Fast User Switching, and (in XP Pro) Remote Desktop.


Correspondent Graeme J.W. Smith reported a more obscure cause of slow shutdown: In Win XP Professional, the Group Policy Editor has a security option to clear the pagefile at system shutdown. The same setting also forces the hibernation file to be wiped at shutdown. These processes take long enough that users may think that shutdown has hung. To change the setting, click Start | Run, type GPEDIT.MSC, click OK. Drill down to Computer Configuration | Windows Settings | Security Settings | Local Policies | Security Options. In the right pane, find “Shutdown: Clear virtual memory pagefile.” NOTE: Since someone actually has to have set this policy, the problem will be pretty rare, but is worth mentioning. However, Forum participant “roadrunner” reported that the personal security app Privacy Eraser automatically enables “Clear virtual memory pagefile,” and, therefore, may be the cause of a slow shutdown.


The Gear Software Security Service (GEARSEC.EXE), which enables iTunes for Windows to read and burn CDs, has been reported by many users to cause Windows XP to hang at the “Windows is shutting down” screen for as long as 20-30 seconds. WORK-AROUND: Stop the service prior to shutdown. One way to to this (suggested by “Thornburgh”) is to create a batch file with the one line net stop gearsecurity. You can either launch this batch file manually, or (in Win XP Professional) use GPEDIT.MSC) to specify this batch file as the shutdown script (under Computer Configuration | Windows Settings | Scripts | Shutdown). Gear Software’s forum has a thread on this issue here. (Tip from correspondent “Andy”)


MS-MVP Gary Thorn discovered that the Event Log can slow down Win XP shutdown. Disabling event logging removed the slowdown. If this works for you, then the real troubleshooting begins: finding out, by trial and error, what item that is being logged is causing the actual slowdown. (In Gary’s case, the Telephony service was causing the problem.) To disable the Event Log, launch the Services console as detailed in No. 2 above, and disable Event Log (right-click on Event Log, click Properties, under Startup Type select “Disabled”).


In a domain environment, don’t forget to check any logoff scripts you are pushing. These can be a source of slow or hanging shutdown processes. Site visitor Tony Barkdull, for example, found that an enforced logoff script caused show shutdown for laptops that were off-site. He solved it be creating a logoff script on the local machines that deletes the Active Directory logoff group policy after it runs so that the logoff scripts are absent while a user is off-site, but are repopulated when they return. — A related cause of slow shutdowns is offline synchronization of data, which is increasingly common with mobile computing, but is usually much more obvious to the end-user.

POWERDOWN ISSUES

“Powerdown issues” are quite distinctive from “shutdown issues.” I define a shutdown problem as one wherein Windows doesn’t make it at least to the “OK to shut off your computer” screen. If Windows gets that far, or farther, then it has shut down correctly. However, the computer may not powerdown correctly after that. This is a different problem, and I encourage people reporting these issues to make a clear distinction in their labeling.

When Windows XP won’t powerdown automatically, the APM/NT Legacy Power Node may not be enabled. To enable this, right-click on the My Computer icon, click Properties | Hardware | Device Manager | View. Check the box labeled “Show Hidden Devices.” If it’s available on your computer, there will be a red X on the APM/NT Legacy Node. Try enabling it and see if this resolves the powerdown problem (Tip from Terri Stratton). Or, to check the other side of the APM/ACPI coin, open the Power Options applet in Control Panel. If there is an APM tab, make sure the “Enable Advanced Power Management Support” box is checked. (MSKB 313290)

This should resolve the powerdown issue in most cases. However, other factors can sometimes interfere with correct powerdown functioning. In that case, consider the following tips:
Try some of the solutions on my Shutdown & Restart Shortcuts page. If you really have a hardware inability to powerdown, these won’t solve it; but for some other underlying causes of powerdown failures, they just might.

If you change the default power settings in the BIOS, it can lead to a powerdown problem. Restoring all BIOS power settings to default will likely fix it. (Tip from Kelly Theriot)

Sometimes, not all appropriate Registry settings are made when you enable all the right power management settings in Windows. You can force the critical Registry setting with the “ShutNTdown” Registry patch. Please follow sensible Registry editing protocol. Backup your Registry before the change (or run System Restore to create a restore point). After installing it, test Windows shutdown. If the fix doesn’t work for you, remove it by restoring the Registry to its prior state. (For those who want more background information, the fix provided by this patch is based on information contained in MS Knowledge Base article 155117 for Windows NT 4.0.)

On some hardware, power management features simply don’t work right. This is exceedingly rare on Windows XP when compared to any earlier version of Windows but, on some machines, especially if no BIOS upgrade is available, there seems no conclusion to reach except, “Yes, you’re right, it doesn’t work, so don’t use that feature.” Accordingly, several correspondents have noted that their Win XP computers will not powerdown correctly unless they have Turn Off Monitor, Turn Off Hard Disks, and System Standby all set to “Never” in Control Panel | Power Options. (Tip from Dan Mitchell & others)

How old is your power supply? Correspondent Andrew Walsh had a computer that wouldn’t power down after a Win XP shutdown until he replaced the power supply that was a few years old. Presto! His problem was gone.

Correspondent “Snake” restored powerdown functioning by disabling his CD-ROM’s AutoRun feature. The fastest way to do this is with the “Disable AutoRun” Registry patch that you can download here.

If you have Office XP installed, the culprit may be CTFMON.EXE. This module provides the Alternate Language Bar and provides text input service support for speech recognition, handwriting recognition, keyboard, translation, and other alternative user input technologies. When you close all Office programs, this module stays active. Removing it can cause serious problems with your Office XP products, but you can effectively disable it by setting the installation state to Not Available in Office XP Setup. This isn’t as easy as it sounds though — several steps are involved. For full instructions, plus more information on the file and its function, see What Is CTFMON and What Does It Do? (Tip from Jay Jones)

VIA Apollo Pro 133 motherboards have a “USB Keyboard support” BIOS setting that can interfere with proper power management function if it is enabled — especially with respect to preventing powerdown during attempted shutdown, and also preventing the computer from waking from Stand-by. SOLUTION: Disable it. This was originally reported on the Chaintech 6ATA2, and confirmed on other VIA Apollo Pro 133 boards. (Tips from “Zef,” The Netherlands, & Robert Lin)

Toshiba laptop (model not specified). Problems of Windows XP not powering off nor going into standyby were solved by uninstalling (then reinstalling) the Toshiba Power Saver software and Toshiba Hotkey for Display Devices. After doing this and a reboot, the problem was gone. (Tip from David Flitterman)

NEW PROBLEMS INTRODUCED BY SERVICE PACK 1 (SP1)

Some new shutdown and powerdown issues have arisen in Windows XP SP1. Here are the ones I know about:
HIBERNATION/STANDY PROBLEM WITH NERO SOFTWARE. If you have Nero CD-burning software (versions 5.0-5.5) installed on your computer, and invoke Standby or Hibernation modes more than once in a Windows session, the computer will hang on the “Preparing to...” screen and not go into Standby or Hibernation. SOLUTION: Uninstall Nero completely, and keep your eyes open for a new version of the program down the road. (Reference: MSKB 331506.)

WITH SP1, DON’T REMOVE SCSI ADAPTER WHILE IN STANDBY. Service Pack 1 for Windows XP introduced a new (but pleasingly rare) shutdown problem: If you remove certain kinds of SCSI adapter while the computer is in Standby, the computer may not shut down properly. There is a “hot fix” for this available from Microsoft. (Reference: MSKB 330172.)

SP1 + AMBIENT HAM MODEM + POSSIBLE IRQ ISSUE. Site visitor Mike Redman wrote that, after installing SP1, his computer would hang on the shutdown screen. Neither the mouse nor Ctrl+Alt+Del would respond. Either uninstalling SP1 or removing his Intel Ambient Ham 50.sys (unsigned driver) internal modem would solve the problem. FINAL SOLUTION: Moving the modem from PCI slot 4 to slot 5 and reinstalling the drivers. He wrote, ”This may be an IRQ problem which SP1 was supposed to fix.”


NEW PROBLEMS INTRODUCED BY SERVICE PACK 2 (SP2)

Some new issues have arisen in Windows XP SP2. Here are the ones I know about:
AUTOMATIC WINDOWS UPDATE INSTALLATION. Windows XP SP2 checks at shutdown for any Windows Updates have been downloaded and not installed, then offers to install them as part of the shutdown process. Understandably, this can cause a very slow shutdown on that one occassion and, if something goes wrong, can even hang shutdown completely. To see if your shutdown problem is caused by this issue, look for error 0x80248011 in any of the Windows Update log files, particularly %windir%\SoftwareDistribution\ReportingEvents.log. If present, this indicates a corrupt local metadata store for Windows Update. SOLUTION: Click Start, click Run, type SERVICES.MSC, click OK. Stop the Automatic Updates service. Rename the c:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder to c:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution.old. Restart the Automatic Updates service. (Tip from MS-MVP Bill Castner.)

REBOOT ON SHUTDOWN WITH HARDWARE-ENFORCE DATA EXECUTION PREVENTION. If your computer uses hardware-enforced DEP, as the 64-bit AMD processors do, and you installed hardware that requires the MPEGPORT.SYS driver, there is a conflict. At shutdown, the driver tries to run from the same memory space DEP monitors. A 0xFC Stop message occurs. If your computer is set to automatically reboot on a system failure, it will simply reboot instead. The solution is a new driver. Microsoft provides a work-around in MSKB 878474.


OTHER KNOWN ISSUES & HINTS...
BIOS UPGRADE. As with every new operating system that comes along — especially one that is as much of a “step up” as Windows XP is from Windows 9x — the recommendation is made to be sure your BIOS is updated. Many people have reported that this has solved their shutdown problems (and had other advantages) with Win XP, just as it has in earlier versions of Windows.

“ShutNTdown” REGISTRY PATCH. Download the “ShutNTdown” Registry patch mentioned above under powerdown issues. Please follow sensible Registry editing protocol. Backup your Registry before the change (e.g, run System Restore to create a restore point). After installing, test Windows shutdown. If the fix doesn’t work for you, remove it by restoring the Registry to its prior state. This is not the appropriate shutdown fix for most machines, but does help some users with Windows shutdown problems, and not just with powerdown issues as one might suspect.

UNSIGNED DEVICE DRIVERS. Some users have found that Windows XP won’t shutdown properly if unsigned device drivers are used. This is simply a variation of the broader device driver issue: Hardware manufactures have not yet released all necessary device drivers for Win XP. This will continue to be a problem for the next few months; it already has been reduced to a very minor cause of Win XP shutdown problems.

SIGNED DEVICE DRIVERS ON TOP OF UNSIGNED ONES. Good advice on a variation of the above comes from correspondent Attila Szabadkai. For his SBLive 1024 sound card he had originally installed non-XP drivers, then updated these with digitally signed XP drivers downloaded from Creative Labs. Result: He got a 0x0A Stop Message at shutdown. SOLUTION: He removed all drivers, and put back only the digitally signed one.

PROGRAMS HANG / BECOME UNRESPONSIVE. Sometimes programs don’t close down correctly, or hang for some other reason during the Windows shutdown process. This freezes up, or at least significantly delays, Windows shutdown. For example, a few people have reported an error message that EXPLORER.EXE has become unresponsive during shutdown when they have used Win XP’s native CD-burning capabilities during that Windows session. If Windows is hanging because it can’t force a program to terminate, one solution is to disable the automatic end task logic (AutoEndTask). Use this registry patch to force that setting change. (Be sure to back up the Registry first.)

PACE INTERLOK ANTI-PIRACY SOFTWARE. According to the MS Knowledge Base article Computer Hangs During Shutdown Because of Resource Conflict, PACE InterLok anti-piracy software installs a driver (TPKD.SYS) that uses the same IRQ as the Standard Floppy Disk Controller device. This can cause Win XP to hang at a blank screen (with mouse and keyboard nonresponsive) when you try to shutdown or restart. Additional symptoms may be that the floppy drive doesn’t show in My Computer; the Standard Floppy Disk Controller device in Device Manager may display the error status “This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use. (Code 12)”; and/or when trying to shutdown from Safe Mode you get the error message, STOP 0x0000009F Driver_Power_State_Failure. The solution is to get the updated TPKD.SYS file from PACE.

QUICK-SWITCHING USER ACCOUNTS. One reported quirk affecting shutdown is the three-account shuffle. Windows XP gives the ability to rapidly bounce between user accounts, with Win+L. If at least three user accounts exist, and you quick-switch through all three, and then log off all three in reverse order — “backing out” in an orderly way — then the machine may hang on shutdown. There may be other variations of account shuffling that cause this, but this one, clear example was provided by newsgroup correspondent John Ward. Microsoft has now identified something similar as a bug, in MSKB 320008, “You May Not Be Able to Shut Down Your Windows XP Computer.” The situation they describe is that only one user is logged on, quick-switching is used, and “Windows is under heavy stress.” A supported patch is available; see the article for details.

USING SHUTDOWN SCRIPTS & 802.1x AUTHENTICATION PROTOCOL. This combination can cause Win XP to take in excess of 10 minutes to shutdown normally. (IEEE 802.1x is an authentication standard for both wireless networks and wired Ethernet networks.) Here’s how the dominoes fall: The 802.1x authentication protocol stops after the user logs off. Shutdown scripts run after the user logs off. If the script is on a network share and the connection is no longer available (since authentication has terminated), the script can’t run. The default time-out for shutdown scripts is 10 minutes. So the computer sits there 10 minutes before continuing with its shutdown. (Reference: MSKB 311787.)

MISMATCHED RAM. Correspondent Morten Bech reported that a combination of PC-100 and PC-133 RAM was the source of his shutdown problem. When he resolved the mismatch (by removing the PC-100 RAM), he also resolved the shutdown problem. A general reminder of a great general tip: You will get the best results if all RAM in a particular computer matches in all respects!

CHANGE NTFS TO FAT32? MOVE THE PAGEFILE? Correspondent “Curiefleas” wrote that his reboot-on-shutdown problem was solved when he used a third party partitioning program to convert his NTFS partition to FAT32. It isn’t clear why this would be the case, but the tip was worth passing along. In a possibly related vein, other correspondents have reported a shutdown problem in XP either being caused by, or resolved by, relocating the pagefile! Is there some common issue involving substantial moving of the hard drive’s contents? These two hints intrigued me in light of a seemingly dissociated shutdown problem reportedly occurring in Win ME only immediately after a defrag. These all may be unrelated to each other — or not. I list them here as part of the ongoing data collection.

SHUTDOWN PROBLEMS IN WINDOWS NT/2000. In researching known causes of shutdown problems in earlier versions of NT-family operating systems, most of what I found referred to problems that were resolved in later versions. There is no reason to suspect their recurrence. For example, there were quite a few shutdown issues identified in NT 3.x that didn’t survive to NT 4.0. Very predictable causes were involved most often, especially difficulty with some 16-bit applications or specific hardware incompatibilities. Very few shutdown failure scenarios are documented for Windows 2000. All that I found were conflicts with specific software, specific hardware, or drivers. While these three frame a wide set of possibilities, they are sufficiently narrow to be very encouraging when joined with what we are seeing with Win XP. If approved compatible hardware and software are used, including XP-specific drivers, we see almost no shutdown problems at all. If other hardware or software is used... well, that gives us a starting place to focus our investigations.

SHUTDOWN PROBLEMS IN WINDOWS 9x. As stated at the beginning, I recommend that, if nothing above resolves your Win XP shutdown problem, try those troubleshooting steps that have worked for Windows 9x operating systems to help us establish a track record of exactly what does and does not apply, from that protocol, to the emergent scenarios in Windows XP.

How to troubleshoot by using the System Configuration utility in Windows XP

INTRODUCTION
This article describes how to troubleshoot configuration errors in Microsoft Windows XP by using the System Configuration utility (Msconfig.exe).

Back to the top
MORE INFORMATION
The System Configuration utility automates the routine troubleshooting steps that Microsoft Product Support Services Support Professionals use when they diagnose system configuration issues. When you use this utility to modify the system configuration, you can select check boxes to eliminate issues that do not pertain to your configuration. This process reduces the risk of typing errors that you may make when you use a text editor such as Microsoft Notepad. You must be logged on as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group to use the System Configuration utility.

To start the System Configuration utility, click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.

When you use the System Configuration utility, you can easily reset or change the configuration settings in Windows to include preferences for the following files and settings: • The System.ini file
• The Win.ini file
• The Boot.ini file
• Programs that are set to load during the startup process (these programs are specified in the Startup folder and in the registry)
• Environment settings
• International settings

To prevent any one of these items from loading when you restart the computer, use either of the following two methods: • Click the General tab, and then click Diagnostic Startup - load basic devices and services only. When you use this option, device drivers and software are loaded interactively when you restart the computer.

NoteWhen you use this method, Microsoft services such as Networking, Plug and Play, Event Logging, and Error Reporting are temporarily disabled. You also permanently delete all restore points for the System Restore utility. Do not use this method if you want to retain your restore points for System Restore, or if you have to use a Microsoft service to test a problem.
• Click the General tab, and then click Selective Startup. You can choose the files and the settings that you want the computer to load when you restart the computer. You can select any of the following options: • Process SYSTEM.INI File
• Process WN.INI file
• Load System Services
• Load Startup Items


The following settings apply to these options: • If the check box is selected, the configuration file is processed when you restart the computer.
• If the check box is cleared, the configuration file is not processed when you restart the computer.
• If the check box is selected, but is unavailable, some items are still loading from that configuration file when you restart the computer.
• If the check box is not selected, but is unavailable, the configuration file is not present on the computer.
• You cannot clear the Use Original BOOT.INI check box.

NoteWhen you clear the Load System Services check box, you disable Microsoft services such as Networking, Plug and Play, Event Logging, and Error Reporting. You also permanently delete all restore points for the System Restore utility. Do not clear this check box if you want to retain your restore points for System Restore, or if you have to use a Microsoft service to test a problem.

Before you start a troubleshooting session, you can use the System Configuration utility to initiate a System Restore operation. To do this, click the General tab, and then click Launch System Restore. You can then create a restore point that you can use to restore your computer to a previous state.

To prevent individual items or lines from a specific configuration file from loading when you restart your computer, click the tab for that particular configuration file, and then click to clear the check box for the individual line or item that you do not want to load. Check boxes that are unavailable on the SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI tabs indicate that the lines are temporarily removed by the System Configuration utility. • To change the currently active line or item, click a different line or item or click Move Up or Move Down to move between items.
• To create a new entry in any one of the configuration files, click New.
• To edit a line that is currently selected, click Edit.

Note When you click to clear a check box for an item or a line, the Selective Startup option on the General tab is automatically selected.

After you make the selections that you want, click OK, and then restart the computer when you are prompted to initiate the changes.

To extract individual Windows files directly from the cabinet files, click the General tab, and then click Expand File.

To verify that all the configuration files and all the items that are listed in those files are loaded when you restart your computer, click the General tab, and then click Normal startup.

Back to the top

DNS Caching Issues with Win XP/2k

When Windows XP/2000 goes out to fetch a webpage, it keeps a good DNS entry and a bad DNS entry. This registry file will tell it to forget bad DNS entries and tell Windows not to cache it. [Registry File]* File is only for Windows XP/2000. DO NOT USE ON ANY OTHER VERSION!.

This utility will flush out your DNS cache. When you have a hard time reaching websites or certain ones, try this. Rebooting will do the same, but why go through all of that? [FlushDNS.bat.] Just save the file on your Desktop or stick it in the Start, Programs or Start, All Programs. Please click save as to save it. Clicking open will run it.

XP: Password is going to change in 14 days. How do I disable it?

Right-click My Computer and select "Manage."
Expand the Local Users Groups folder and click on Users.
Right-click the User you'd like to change the password, and select "Properties."
Place a checkmark next the text labeled "Password never
expires" and click Apply.

Speed up XP's Start Menu

The default speed of the Start Menu is slow, but you can fix that by editing a Registry Key. Start->Run regedt32 and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ MenuShowDelay

By default, the value is 400. Change this to a smaller value, such as 0, to speed it up.

If the speed of the Start Menu is slow, even after using the FAQ above, then you might try the following: Navigate to Display Properties> then Appearance then Effects and turn off the option titled Show menu shadow. You will get much better overall performance on your system.

Remove un-wanted programs in XP

This eKB will let you Remove Windows Components such as Windows Messenger, MSN Explorer, Pinball, Word Pad, Terminal Serve (XP Pro Only, Needed for Remote Desktop.) and programs in the Accessories menu on the All Programs menu.

Open Notepad (Start->All Programs->Accessories)

Click File, open. Navigate to the Windows folder or the WINNT folder if you upgraded from Win 2k or NT. Then open the INF folder. Open up the SYSOC.INF file.

Delete the HIDE towards the end of the line. Do not delete the commas. Don't put any spaces in-between the commas.

Sample sysoc.inf file: (Note all of them are listed here: MSN Explorer, Windows Movie Maker)
========================================================
[Version]
Signature = "$Windows NT$"
DriverVer=07/01/2001,5.1.2600.0

[Components]
NtComponents=ntoc.dll,NtOcSetupProc,,4
WBEM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wbemoc.inf,hide,7
Display=desk.cpl,DisplayOcSetupProc,,7
Fax=fxsocm.dll,FaxOcmSetupProc,fxsocm.inf,,7
NetOC=netoc.dll,NetOcSetupProc,netoc.inf,,7
iis=iis.dll,OcEntry,iis.inf,,7
com=comsetup.dll,OcEntry,comnt5.inf,hide,7
dtc=msdtcstp.dll,OcEntry,dtcnt5.inf,hide,7
IndexSrv_System = setupqry.dll,IndexSrv,setupqry.inf,,7
TerminalServer=TsOc.dll, HydraOc, TsOc.inf,hide,2 <== Terminal Server (Disables Fast User Login, Remote Desktop.) msmq=msmqocm.dll,MsmqOcm,msmqocm.inf,,6 ims=imsinsnt.dll,OcEntry,ims.inf,,7 fp_extensions=fp40ext.dll,FrontPage4Extensions,fp40ext.inf,,7 AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,hide,7 <== Auto Update msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7 <== Windows Messenger (aka MSN Messenger) RootAutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,rootau.inf,,7 IEAccess=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,ieaccess.inf,,7 Games=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,games.inf,,7 <== Games AccessUtil=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,accessor.inf,,7 CommApps=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,communic.inf,HIDE,7 MultiM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,multimed.inf,HIDE,7 AccessOpt=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,optional.inf,HIDE,7 Pinball=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,pinball.inf,HIDE,7 <== Pinball MSWordPad=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wordpad.inf,HIDE,7 <== WordPad ZoneGames=zoneoc.dll,ZoneSetupProc,igames.inf,,7 [Global] WindowTitle=%WindowTitle% WindowTitle.StandAlone="*" =========================================================== Click File, then save. Open The Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. Click on Add/Remove Windows Components. You will now see options for Accessories and Utilities (the programs in the Accessories menu on the Start panel), MSN Explorer and several other components.

How can I access the temp folder quickly? and remove files in temp folder?

This is known to work on Windows 98 and up.

Start->Run Type "%temp%" without the quotes.

This uses the SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP that is in you autoexec.bat file. If it isn't in there add the line.

Print Screen

Print Screen

First get the layout you want on your monitor, then hit the PRINT SCREEN key. Next Open up a blank Word document or another word processor or drawing/graphics program. Select the edit menu, then paste.

Extra tip: Hitting Alt+Print Screen at the same time copies the active window to the clipboard and not the whole screen.

Speed up shutdown times

It's not only start-up that you'd like to speed up; you can also make sure that your system shuts down faster. If shutting down XP takes what seems to be an inordinate amount of time, here are a couple of steps you can take to speed up the shutdown process:
Don't have XP clear your paging file at shutdown. For security reasons, you can have XP clear your paging file (pagefile.sys) of its contents whenever you shut down. Your paging file is used to store temporary files and data, but when your system shuts down, information stays in the file. Some people prefer to have the paging file cleared at shutdown because sensitive information such as unencrypted passwords sometimes ends up in the file. However, clearing the paging file can slow shutdown times significantly, so if extreme security isn't a high priority, you might not want to clear it. To shut down XP without clearing your paging file, run the Registry Editor (click Start > Run, then type regedit in the Run box) and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

Change the value of ClearPageFileAtShutdown to 0. Close the Registry, and restart your computer. Whenever you turn off XP from now on, the paging file won't be cleared, and you should be able to shut down more quickly.

Note: Please be careful when editing the Registry; you can do a lot of damage here. Don't change or delete anything unless you know exactly what it is.

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