Windows 7 What would stop a computer from Shutting down/rebooting?

[Mugsy]

My computer refuses to Shutdown/Reboot.

I exit Windows (64bit Win7 Home), it goes through the normal shutdown process (exits windows, goes through "Shutting down" message, the screen goes black,) but the computer never shuts off. Lights & fans stay on (as does the Num Lock LED on my keyboard.) I must Hard poweroff/reset using the buttons on my PC.

This does NOT happen from Safe Mode or Linux (dual boot PC), so it is NOT a hardware or BIOS issue.

I've tried disabling all of my Startup programs/Services using MsConfig but it didn't help. I don't even need to Login. If I try to Shutdown/Restart from the Login menu, the same thing happens.

All virus/malware scans come back normal. My Power profile doesn't have anything in it that would cause something like this AFAICT.

I've gone through all my Services and everything appears to be the same as before. If something is set wrong. I can't tell.

The Event Viewer reports only a few minor errors (Nvidia Streaming, etc), two of which ("SHandler" 70 & 40) existed before the trouble began.

I'm stumped. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Neemobeer]

Typically a malfunctioning driver, service or application can cause the system to hang during a shutdown or reboot. The fact that it works fine in safe mode highlights this.

It's more likely to be a driver since they run at the same level as the OS

 

[Mugsy]

Typically a malfunctioning driver, service or application can cause the system to hang during a shutdown or reboot. The fact that it works fine in safe mode highlights this.

It's more likely to be a driver since they run at the same level as the OS

Thanks for the reply. A bad driver seems like the most likely possibility (it checks all the boxes) as I've gone over my Services with a fine-toothed comb and have tried disabling every app using MsConfig. Drivers load early and don't load at all in Safe Mode, so it makes perfect sense.

I have an old backup from last December... too old to return to... that didn't have this problem. Is there a way to backup just the active/working drivers from that old backup and then port them to my current system?

TIA.

 

[Neemobeer]

There isn't anyway to determine which ones are good. You'll probably have to disable devices and test

 

[Neemobeer]

It's likely a bug in a driver. You could look through the driver support page and just update all your drivers or read the release notes and see if one of them addresses a known issue

 

[Mugsy]

There isn't anyway to determine which ones are good. You'll probably have to disable devices and test

Hmm.

A number of drivers are for critical system devices that I'm not sure can be disabled.

I don't trust installing "new" drivers when I know I have working drivers from an earlier backup. (Installing "new" drivers is probably how I got into this mess in the first place.) I would restore the old "drivers" & "DriverStore" folders from my backup, but I wouldn't know which ones to use.

Any ideas on how best to do this? TIA.

 

[Neemobeer]

I would install the new drivers. Not only do they fix bugs but also security vulnerabilities. The only reason you should ever go with an older driver is if it's the only one available or if your system absolutely will not run with a newer driver.

 

[Mugsy]

Sorry for the late reply.

Most hardware makers stopped producing drivers just for Win7 long ago. Newer versions are typically just universal drivers for Win8/10 that include support for Win7.

I tried to disable individual drivers looking for any that might be a problem, but some drivers defy being disabled, so I still can't tell which (if any) are at fault.

I found a program online that claims to allow me to backup and restore my old drivers, but it does not appear to work.

Any suggestions on how to ID bad drivers? TIA