When I wish to turn off my PC in Windows XP, I click on
Turn off Box and the PC merely restarts. It does not
shut down. Am I missing something??
Most likely, you're missing a shutdown error. The default setting in
XP is to restart when there's a system error. When these occur at
shutdown, it's usually a driver or program that won't unload
gracefully causing the problem.
Start> Run> eventvwr.msc will bring up the Event Viewer where you can
check for a more detailed error message. Double click on any item with
a date/time stamp that coincides with the unexpected restarts to see
the detailed report.
If still no luck, you can disable the automatic restart. System
Properties> Advanced> Startup and Recovery> Settings. In the System
Failure section, uncheck the box for automatic restart. The next time
the error occurs, you may get a blue screen with an error message.
That message may be different than what's showing up in Event Viewer
so make a note of it. Then manually restart or shutdown the system.
Since these errors are usually software or driver related, there are
many possibilities. It will take some effort and detective work on
your part to uncover the cause on your system. To help you with this
process, see the troubleshooting guides for XP shutdown problems at
this site:
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.htm
Sharon F
MS MVP - Windows XP
