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How to Troubleshoot Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown Problems

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The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition

View the Microsoft Knowledgebase article from which this report was taken by clicking here

SUMMARY

This article lists steps to help you troubleshoot problems using the Shut Down command in Windows 98 Second Edition.

The following topics are discussed in this article:

• Functions Performed During Shut Down
• Common Causes of Shut Down Problems
• Review Q&A Before You Begin
• Check the Programs that Are Running
• Check the Hardware
• Known Issues
  • IRQ Steering
  • Plug & Play BIOS
  • NVRAM/ESCD
  • Fast Shutdown registry key is enabled
  • Anti-virus Program
  • Replacing Configmg.vxd File
• Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown Supplement

MORE INFORMATION

When Windows 98 Second Edition does not shut down properly, it may appear to stop responding (hang) for several minutes when the following is displayed on your screen:

Please wait while your computer shuts down

or it may display only a blank screen and a blinking cursor.

Functions Performed During Shut Down

Windows 98 Second Edition tries to perform many functions during shut down including:

• Completion of all disk write functions.
• Flush of disk cache.
• Runs the Close Window code to close all currently running programs.
• Transitions all protected-mode drivers to real mode.

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Common Causes of Shut Down Problems

Shutdown problems in Windows 98 Second Edition can be caused by any of the following:

• A video card that is not assigned an IRQ in real mode.
• An program or terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) program may not close correctly.
• An incompatible, damaged, or conflicting device driver is loaded.
• A damaged Exit Windows sound file.
• Incorrectly configured or damaged hardware.
• An incompatible Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) configuration setting.
• An Advanced Power Management or Advanced Configuration and Power Interface setting.
• The Fast Shutdown registry key is enabled.

NOTE: Windows 98 Second Edition includes the latest updates for Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI), OnNow, and Advanced Power Management (APM). In addition, the Fast Shutdown code which was implemented with the initial release of Windows 98 has been removed to support these new features.

Although Windows 98 Second Edition includes many new drivers, not all third-party manufacturers have had a chance to update their hardware drivers. Some existing computers or devices may require an updated BIOS or device driver to fully support Windows 98 Second Edition.

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Review Q&A Before You Begin

To help reduce the amount of time you spent determining the origin of your issue, first examine the following:

1. Q. Has anything in the computer changed since it worked correctly the last time you shut the computer down?
   
   A. If something has changed, that is probably the origin of the issue. Make sure that if you installed something that is compatible with the hardware and software already on your computer. If nothing has changed, try the steps in the "Check the Programs that Are Running" section of this article.
   
2. Q. After you restart your computer in Safe mode and then shut down, does your computer shut down properly?
   
   A. If it does, then try the steps in the "Check the Programs that Are Running" and Check Hardware sections of this article; the issue is probably a TSR or device driver. If it does not shut down properly, see the Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown Supplement section in this article.
   
3. Q. Do you have enough space on your computer to install into a new folder?
   
   A. This may be the quickest method to determine if you are dealing with a hardware level issue. If you install into a new folder, apply the Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown Supplement as referenced in this article, and you still experience problems shutting down, check with your hardware manufacturer for an updated BIOS or other workaround. For additional information about installing Windows 98 into a new folder, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   Q193902 How to Install Windows 98 Into a New Folder

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Check the Programs that Are Running

To check the programs running, use the Microsoft System Configuration Utility tool (Msconfig.exe) to clean-boot your computer. If a clean-boot resolves the issue, you can then use the System Configuration Utility tool to determine the program that is the cause of the shutdown problem.

For information about how to perform a clean-boot and how to use Msconfig.exe, click the articles number below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q192926 How to Perform Clean-Boot Troubleshooting for Windows 98

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Check the Hardware

To check the hardware configuration on the computer, use Device Manager to troubleshoot the installed hardware. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
2. On the Device Manager tab, disable all devices under the following branches:
   • Display adapters
   • Floppy disk controllers
   • Hard disk controllers
   • Keyboard
   • Network adapters
   • PCMCIA socket
   • Ports
   • SCSI controllers
   • Sound, video, and game controllers
   • Mouse
     
     To disable a device in Device Manager, follow these steps:
     
     WARNING: When you have a serial mouse and you disable the COM ports, if Windows writes back to the BIOS that the COM ports are disabled, you will have no mouse until you enable the COM ports in the BIOS again.
     1. Double-click the branch containing the device you want, click the device, and then click Properties.
     2. On the General tab, click to select the Disable In This Hardware Profile check box, and then click OK.
     3. Restart your computer.
        
        NOTE: When you disable the mouse and then restart your computer, you may receive the following message:

     Windows did not detect a mouse attached to the computer. You can safely attach a serial mouse now.

     To re-enable your mouse, use the following keyboard commands:

     1. Press CTL+ESC to activate your Start Menu.
     2. Press the UP arrow until Settings is highlighted, press the RIGHT arrow to select Control Panel, and then press ENTER.
     3. Press the DOWN and LEFT arrow keys until System is highlighted, and then press ENTER.
     4. Press the LEFT arrow key to highlight Device Manager, press TAB, press TAB, and then press the DOWN arrow key and highlight the device listed under the expanded Mouse branch.
     5. Press TAB once to highlight Properties, press ENTER, press TAB once to select Enable Device, and then press ENTER. The mouse should now work.
     6. Click OK and then click YES to restart your computer.
     7. If the mouse still does not work after step e, press TAB and then press ENTER. Press ENTER when you receive the message to restart your computer.
3. If the problem is resolved, enable the devices you disabled in step 2, and then verify that no devices are conflicting.
   
   Enable devices in the following order:
   • COM ports
   • Hard disk controllers
   • Floppy disk controllers
   • Other devices
     
     To enable a device and check for possible conflicts, follow these steps:
   1. Double-click the branch containing the device you want, click the device, and then click Properties.
   2. On the General tab, click to clear the Disable In This Hardware Profile check box.
   3. On the Resources tab, verify that there are no conflicts listed under Conflicting Device List. Note that the Resources tab does not appear for each device.
   4. Click OK, and then restart your computer.

If the problem is not resolved, run the Automatic Skip Driver Agent tool to enable any device that has been disabled. To start Automatic Skip Driver Agent, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, click System Information, and then click Automatic Skip Driver Agent on the Tools menu. For information about how to use Automatic Skip Driver Agent tool, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q186588 Description of the Automatic Skip Driver Agent (Asd.exe) Tool

If the problem is resolved by these steps and you determine a specific device is the cause of the shutdown problem, please contact the manufacturer for an updated version of the driver or firmware for the device.

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Known Issues

• IRQ Steering
• Plug & Play BIOS
• NVRAM/ESCD
• Fast Shutdown registry key is enabled
• Anti-virus Program
• Replacing Configmg.vxd File

• IRQ Steering
  This option allows several PCI devices to share the same interrupt request (IRQ). If the BIOS is not fully compliant, this option may lead to machines not shutting down properly… even if 2 or more devices are not sharing an IRQ.
  
  To disable PCI bus IRQ Steering, follow these steps:
  
  
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
  2. On the Device Manager tab, click System Devices.
  3. Double-click PCI Bus, click to clear the Use IRQ Steering check box on the IRQ Steering tab.
  4. Click OK, click OK, and then restart your computer.
  5. After you restart the computer, attempt to shut down your computer again.

  For information about how to disable PCI bus IRQ Steering, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q182628 How to Disable PCI Bus IRQ Steering in Windows

  If your computer now shuts down successfully, you may need to change the BIOS configuration or you may need a BIOS update. For information about how to do so, contact your BIOS manufacturer.

• Resume by Ring and LAN
  Some shutdown-related issues may be solved by disabling the "Resume by Ring and LAN" feature in the BIOS. For information about how to do so, contact your BIOS manufacturer
  
• Plug and Play BIOS
  In some cases, the BIOS and Windows may not be communicating properly with the computer hardware during the shutdown process. It is possible to configure Windows 98 Second Edition to ignore the presence of a PnP BIOS and communicate directly with the hardware.
  
  NOTE: This should only be done for testing purposes, as leaving the PnP BIOS disabled may cause some hardware to stop working.
  
  To configure Windows to not use the PnP BIOS, follow these steps:
  1. Reboot your machine and hold the CTRL key until you see the Windows 98 Start menu.
  2. Choose Command Prompt Only.
  3. Type the following at the command prompt:

     cd \<Windows>\System

     where <Windows> is the folder in which Windows is installed.

  4. Rename the Bios.vxd file to Bios.old.
  5. Restart your computer.
  6. After you restart, attempt to shut down Windows.

  If shutdown is now successful, it is most likely an indication the system BIOS is contributing to the shutdown problems. Contact the motherboard manufacturer or BIOS vendor for a possible update.

• NVRAM / ESCD
  There are also specific settings for how the BIOS and Windows interact during the Startup and Shutdown processes. To check this, disable the NVRAM / ESCD updates feature to determine if it resolves the shutdown problem. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
  2. On the Device Manager tab, select System Devices.
  3. Select Plug and Play BIOS, and then click to select the Disable NVRAM / ESCD updates check box on the Settings tab.
  4. Click OK, click OK, and then restart your computer.
  5. After you restart the computer, attempt to shut down your computer again.

• Fast Shutdown registry key is enabled
  The Microsoft System Configuration utility includes an option to disable Fast Shutdown. If this option is unchecked in Windows 98 Second Edition, your system may reboot instead of shutting down. To resolve this issue, change the FastReboot value data from 1 to 0 in the following registry key:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Shutdown

  NOTE: When you apply the Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown Supplement, which addresses shutdown issues, the Disable Fast Shutdown option is no longer listed on the Advanced tab in Msconfig.

• Anti-virus Program
  If you have an anti-virus program that is configured to scan your floppy disk drive when you shut down your computer, your computer may stop responding. For information about this issue, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q231666 Anti-virus Causes Computer to Stop Responding When You Shut Down

• Replacing Configmg.vxd File
  Microsoft has also learned that some customers have been replacing the Windows 98 Second Edition version of the Configmg.vxd file with the Windows 98 version to address shutdown issues. Microsoft strongly recommends that users not do this. This is an untested scenario that could result in blue-screen error messages, CPI errors, and hardware failures. This update detects whether the appropriate version of the Configmg.vxd file is installed, and replaces any earlier versions with the Windows 98 Second Edition version.

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Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown Supplement

Microsoft has released the Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown Supplement that addresses shutdown issues on computers with specific hardware and software configurations running Windows 98 Second Edition. These issues include computers restarting when shut down and computers hanging on shutdown.

Microsoft recommends following the troubleshooting steps outlined in this article. If, after following the steps outlined in this article, the computer continues to exhibit shutdown problems, Microsoft suggests applying this update. For additional information about the Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown Supplement, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q239887 Availability of Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown Supplement

NOTE: When you apply the Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown Supplement, which addresses shutdown issues, the Disable Fast Shutdown option is no longer listed on the Advanced tab in Msconfig.

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Additional query words: w98sesstop hangs freeze freezes lock locks up exit turn off manually shuts down crash crashes

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