Computer Problem Fixed! Thanks!

[tylermalan]

I have a custom-built computer that's running Windows XP. I've had it for almost 3 years now. I recently moved, and just unpacked it out of the box. I hooked it up and everything runs fine, except for one thing...

They way it used to be:

I would shut down my computer by going to Start -> Shut Down -> Shut Down. My computer would shut down Windows, and automatically turn off my computer.

They way it is now, after having unpacked my computer from the box it was moved in:

I go to Start -> Shut Down -> Shut Down. My computer shuts down Windows, but does NOT automatically turn off the computer itself - the fans and lights are still on. If I try to turn it off by holding down the power button, it doesn't turn off... it only turns the computer back on. I can only turn the computer off by hitting the switch on the power supply or unplugging it or something.

Any ideas? If not, any sites that this would be better to ask at? I'm not really a member of any computer tech forums... yet!!!!

 

[Ferret]

That's really weird. Never heard of that...The only thing I can think of is a loose cable inside, but that doesn't really make sense.

 

[Merkuri]

Does the screen go black and look like it's shutting down, and the only sign you have that it's on is the fans? Or does it say "It is safe to shut down your computer" like old PCs used to?

It's possible the machine may just need a longer cooling-off phase. If the screen goes black and all signs (except the fans) say that it's off, try leaving it that way for an hour or so (or overnight, if you're gonna go to bed) and see what it does.

 

[Delta]

The only time I had a similar problem was when I was dual-booting Windows/Linux... the Linux OS somehow didn't interface with the motherboard properly, and I had the same behavior (from Linux) that you describe. I don't suppose you're dual-booting or moved around the partitions? (For me, there was no fix, I just got in the habit of powering off like you describe.)

 

[Wye]

As a last resort, when the computer is in that state where is supposed to be off but isn't, push the power button (the regular one) for 4 seconds and it will turn off. Don't just press and release, hold it for 4 or 5 seconds until everything goes out.

 

[tylermalan]

My screen DOES go black... it doesn't say "It is now safe to..." like older computers. That's also what used to happen, but right when the screen went black, everything else would shut off. I'm not dual-booting or moving around partitions... My wife suggested that it might be a loose cable, also, so we cracked it open to look, and nothing seemed really out of the ordinary. There were a few cables that were not plugged in, but that's alright as far as I know - not everything has to be plugged in somewhere, right?

The big thing (and the only real variable that I can think of) is that it wasn't doing this before the move (2.5 weeks ago), but it is now.

 

[Delta]

I'm stumped.

 

[Merkuri]

If it really did start happening when you moved (as opposed to slightly before or slightly after) then it sounds like it's either a bad connection somewhere or you damaged something inside your PC when you moved it. You might want to carefully unplug and re-plug things inside the machine, or at least make sure every connection you see is snug. Especially the connections on the motherboard.

Remember to ground yourself by touching something metal (like the PC case) before working inside the machine. Static electricity is a real threat to a computer.

 

[trancejeremy]

It could be locking up as it is shutting down. You might open up the computer and make sure all your cards are fully seated.

You might look under "Power Options" under settings and make sure Advanced Power Management Support is enabled. I installed XP on a computer recently and it wouldn't turn off from windows (it would under Win 98) until I turned APM on.

 

[SteelDraco]

It could be locking up as it is shutting down. You might open up the computer and make sure all your cards are fully seated.

As a corollary to that, check the Event Viewer and see if you're getting a crash when you shut down. Go to Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Event Viewer. Click on System in the left-hand panel. You'll see a big long list of error messages your computer has generated. You're looking for a red circle with a white X over it. They're timestamped, so look for one that happened when you were shutting down. If you see something like this, post it here - it might tell us what the problem is.

And yeah, check the power management settings. You might need to check for the same thing in the BIOS. It's possible that something got jostled - did you have anything else odd happen when you reinstalled your computer? In particular, I'm wondering if you had to reset the system time. If you did, the CMOS battery might have gotten moved around - that would reset your BIOS settings.