Windows won't close down

[MorseLady]

I did a clean instal of XP Pro SP2 from the OEM setup disc today and there were no problems but since I installed SP3 it won't close down. I click turn off and it seems to close down then after about 20 seconds it boots up again and the only way to close down is switch off. Is this a known SP3 issue?

[t34b4g5]

I did a clean instal of XP Pro SP2 from the OEM setup disc today and there were no problems but since I installed SP3 it won't close down. I click turn off and it seems to close down then after about 20 seconds it boots up again and the only way to close down is switch off. Is this a known SP3 issue?

Greetings.

I have not heard of this issue.

Firstly did this event happen prior to installing the sp3? Have you tried disabling restore point, then uninstalling the sp3, restarting the computer then enabling restore point then restarting again, then try re-installing sp3 again and see if that solves the issue.

Also check your power on and power off settings in your BIOS.

[MorseLady]

The computer was running OK until I installed SP3 and I have never had this no shutdown issue with any of my machines before and that includes at times W2K, W2K Server, Server 2003, XP Home and Pro and Millenium and sometimes dual or multiboot. At the moment I am only running one direct boot OS XP Pro OEM Version 2002 and one data partition.

I will try uninstalling SP3 and see if that restores my shutdown. I have another computer running XP Home SP3 and that did the same thing the other day but not all the time like this one but I hardly use it so cannot really judge. I am beginning to have other problems on this new XP Pro instal too and again it was fine before the SP3 instal kindly offered on Windoze Update. I had blamed previous issues which forced me to do a clean instal in the first place on other things but the machine had never been the same after I installed SP3 a few weeks ago.

Just some of the problems are I cannot instal any more Windoze Updates even priority updates but I can download them then as instal begins to run I am told there is a problem on my computer preventing installation. My Norton antivirus won't automatically go to autoprotect on boot up as it should and did before the SP3 instal and I cannot activate autoprotect via the tray icon until about ten minutes after boot up.

Maybe I should have stuck to my original intention to FDISK and start again which as far as I am aware is the only way to completely clean the hard disk of undetected trojans and so on - see my thread on tech to tech. If uninstalling SP3 does not work then I will FDISK because I am getting fed up with corruption on my disk.

[t34b4g5]

Ok try this.

Uninstall sp3 like i mentioned, then once you have restarted go to windows update and see if you can download and install updates.

if you are able to install any updates then install. Then keep checking windows update for any updates that are available for your system.

Once you have installed all updates try installing sp3.

I have just spent a little while on a spare machine, and i found that if you do the above then install sp3 then it doesn't give errors.

[MorseLady]

Thank you very much, that was very kind of you to try it out I will let you know how I get on. I must say I would prefer not to FDISK because I have about 85GB of photos on my data drive and transferring them back on here a from my backup computer or DVDs after FDISK and reconfiguration would take ages.

By the way I like your clever username and I got caught out by the instructions to view your avatar! Nice one

[NooNoo]

Angie, what does the event viewer have to say? (control panel, administrative tools)

[t34b4g5]

Thank you very much, that was very kind of you to try it out I will let you know how I get on. I must say I would prefer not to FDISK because I have about 85GB of photos on my data drive and transferring them back on here a from my backup computer or DVDs after FDISK and reconfiguration would take ages.

By the way I like your clever username and I got caught out by the instructions to view your avatar! Nice one

Greetings.

No problemo, i noticed that once you install sp2 and don't grab the rest of the updates and just install sp3 straight away it will continually give you a failed to install updates.

I tried various tricks to get them to install but they just wouldn't..

So i just installed sp2 and downloaded and installed via windows update site all the needed updates. I kept checking until i had them all.

then i installed sp3 and checked the update site again and there were more to download.

As we know windows updates have to be downloaded and installed in a particular order, other wise it get's a little screwy and gives errors etc.

Also on a side note you mention that you thing there might be a trojan or virrii hidden with your important files.

once you get a chance do a full scan with your antivirus app in Safe Mode

don't forget to disable system restore points before you start the scan.

As you may catch the nasties, but as soon as you restart into normal mode they will re-appear from a restore point. So disable that restore point and then do a full system scan.

[MorseLady]

Noo I had forgotten about Event Viewer, thanks for the memory jog. Not used it since my MCP and other Server courses mea culpa I did a test shutdown and then went to Event Viewer and in both Application and System there is an error for that time. In Application it is error EventSystem category 50 and in System three identical DCOM errors all timed the same as the other

I also notice since I did my clean instal yesterday there have been many errors and warnings for different things.


t34b4g5 My OEM disk of XP Pro already has SP2 integrated so I already had SP2 when I went to Windoze Updates. It offered me SP3 first so I thought that was how it should be done. After installing SP3 I was able to grab some more priority updates straight away but later when I got a notification icon of priority updates ready to be downloaded I could not instal them, only download. By the way I always go to WU via the start menu and not by clicking the notification icon and I have it set to notify only because I like to be in full control of my machines

Regarding the trojan, that was on a previous but one instal. My NAV did not detect it but a Symantec online scan did and could not delete it which is why I did a clean instal. The clean instal I have just done was because my disk went crazy after installing NIS 2008 and I had a denial of service and a complete system hang.

I really fee FDISK would be the best option now. I have either a trojan or a partition table or other disk error. I feel OK about FDISK now Noo and I have just repaired my lawnmower with a clever lash up and mowed the grass, don't worry I had to learn about electricity for my ham radio Licence. Argos did not have the one I wanted and the one I bought had impossible assembly instructions so I need to waylay one of the builders working nearby to finish the assembly

[NooNoo]

You go girl!!!
You wanna do my lawn?

Can I have more info on those dcom errors? Particularly the event id and the description.

[MorseLady]

Noo the event ID for DCOM is 10005 user Administrator no category and there are quite a few instances of them always in threes.

I have just deleted SP3 but now I cannot reboot or close down at all absolutely nothing happens if I click either.

I have decided to FDISK because there are other problems and it is obvious the machine is corrupt. Thanks for the links OMG.

Re the lawn, you must be kidding Noo I am worn out after mowing my back lawn which is about 45ft long by 26ft wide and like a meadow. I have got some young trees growing in it and am planning a Rose bed in the middle to break it up although it will mean the cat cannot have a good run! He has mad half hours and runs like a Greyhound. The lawnmower fix was just to get the grass under control whilst I wait to pounce on a nice man to assemble my new one. I would not recommend this fix and it is only because I am a radio amateur and know how to join wires safely and also my bungalow was rewired just over three years ago and has one of those trip boxes, even a lamp blowing can trip the supply. I was sure that it was not the motor but the solenoid in the safety handle so I cut the wire connecting the handle to the motor and cut the main power lead and joined them up and it worked. Just means unplugging from the extension reel every time I want to stop it.

Right having made sure all my photos are backed up on another machine and DVD I am going to FDISK like NOW! I can use my other computer if I need to until this one is sorted. I am not nervous, honestly

[NooNoo]

You'll be fine... but I would recommend zero filling the drive with the drive utility available from the drive manufacturer

[MorseLady]

I came back to say that I have been offered updates from WU and that might correct things so will see if I can instal them and then see if the machine shuts down.

Sorry Noo I don't understand what is zero filling? Will be back in a few minutes.

Just editing to say it offered me SP3 again which I declined and it is now offering me 88 updates of over 40MB, mostly security and a few updates and one critical update. I will take them out of curiosity but I still intend to FDISK.

[NooNoo]

Zero filling is often called "low level format" but it's not, the term was hijacked from an older type of format for old hard drives.

Zero filling fills your drive with zeros overwriting partitions, mbr and anything else that's on the drive, so if you have partition errors, or something marking the mbr, it's gone.

Seagate IDE drive zero filling here

western digital tools

Now you are going to tell me you have SATA drives aren't you!!

[MorseLady]

Now you are going to tell me you have SATA drives aren't you!!

Yes does it matter? I will hold off FDISK until you say it's still OK. I have one SATA disk of 200GB but will have to find my receipt to see what make it is but in Device Manager it says WDC.

I have been given an estimate of over an hour for my WU download for my 2MB broadband. Then there are the optional ones if I choose.

EDIT: so much for WU time estimates as it has already downloaded half the updates! Maybe the installation takes most of the time. ................ now all updates downloaded took about 15 minutes and has already installed nearly half of them!

[NooNoo]

seagate tutorial

seagate and maxtor seatools

western digital data lifeguard

Now tell me you have hitachi..... hitachi is down at the moment but here is the link to drive fitness

IDE and SATA should be recognised by the latest editions of each of the tools, so these should be fine.