I just joined the ranks of the stupid...suggestions?

Li0nhead

Right had a problem with the computer for a few weeks and finally decided to sort it out.

Myself i am the one in the family who they call up to sort out their PC problems, usually caused by downloading illegal software from some dodgy site. One occasion my brother in law got me in and i explained that its because he used them sites and ive cleared all the viruses and other nastys. Straight after i finished he asks 'which is the best site for pirate software to use?'. I just shook my head and said 'you did not listen to a word i said, did you?'.

Upgraded various part of my computer over the years. Basically i am saying i'm half way to knowing most things related to my home PC. But this one has me stumped.

Basically a few weeks ago my computer started freezing during the shutdown process. Checked the hard drive, scan shows fine, did the usual checks for viruses etc, restored my system from a backup prior to when the problem started. Still doing it.

About to get to the stage today of re-installing Windows 7 (day off work). Thought i would check here for any suggestions first.
Any ideas or just go ahead and follow the obvious steps of first reinstalling windows 7, if that does not work then try a new hard-drive etc?

scheming_gypsy

Sounds more like it's a process that it can't close properly so it's just sticking there till it can.
Does the mouse still move and caps lock light come on or does everything die?

Li0nhead

Everything freezes. No mouse movement, not keyboard response, no sound from the computer itself (other then the fan).

Seems to be at the point where the 'logging off' screen comes on (before the 'shutting down' screen appears) or just before.

santer_2

Try Giga Tweaker, click system in customisation, click system shutdown, tick close non responding programmes, click apply

http://download.cnet.com/GIGATweaker/3000-18512_4-10970936.html

scheming_gypsy

Mouse and keyboard locking up would normally point to hardware failure.

If you were planning on a re-install anyway i'd give it a shot, you could spend hours trying numerous different things and then still end up giving it a rebuild.

S0litaire

it does not sound like a hardware problem it's defiantly a process that's hanging and not shutting down correctly.

Before you shutdown, kill any program running in the task bar. then see if it shuts down properly

If not, it might be a service

If you want to do a bit of investigation then you can stop services and programs starting so you can narrow down the problem service using "MSConfig" program:

start the machine
open the windows menu and search for "msconfig" start this app.
Go to the "services" tab
make sure there's a tick in "hide microsoft services"
Untick all the services listed.(make a note of which are ticked and not ticked.)
click apply then ok and reboot when prompted

RussJK

Also can start in Safe mode, then restart and see if it hangs.

You can post a Hijackthis log if you want:
http://www.trendmicro.com/ftp/products/hijackthis/beta/HijackThis.exe