Windows XP Slow Shutdown is a problem since, well, XP has been first used by computer users. While many have accepted this as an inevitable fact when computer is aging, other find it surprising how their computer has slowed down since they started using it. To know why, let’s see what happens when you click the shutdown button:
As your computer shuts down, it ends all the processes that you used from the very minute you boot your computer-most of these processes are actually part of the Windows XP operating system (for you to use XP normally). Each process waits in line while your computer closes one by one; so the more processes you use, the longer you have to wait before your computer finally shuts off. It is easy to say, therefore that if you use more programs during operation, you will find it much longer for your computer to turn off. However, it isn’t normal to wait for 5 minutes before your computer completely shuts off. Waiting longer than normal is usually caused by several underlying problems.
If your computer that takes forever to shut down, problems could be installed third-party driver or software, poor maintenance, or registry problems.
Correcting The Problem
Microsoft may not be directly saying it, but the things to blame are the third-party drivers or softwares that you add in your computer. While installed programs may cause your computer to slow down, Microsoft should have already addressed this issue by improving their system. Nonetheless, the only thing we can do is to ensure that the programs we remove are uninstalled properly. Uninstall unsued, unwanted, or unimportant programs in Add/Remove Programs found in your Control Panel.
Just like your motor vehicle, your computer needs to be checked regularly for any problem by using anti-virus/anti-spyware programs and built-in maintenance programs such as disk defragmentation and disk cleaning. Regularly subjecting your computer in these programs will free up some disk space and remove unwanted viruses and spyware that will speed up XP shutdown time.
Almost all cases of slow shutdown is caused by windows registry. Windows registry is the location where Windows stores every important and critical keys and data, which can impact the total performance of your pc.
One way to speed up One way to speed up Windows XP slow shutdown time is to follow this sequence: go to Windows Registry by typing “regedit” in Run option; and follow this folder, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory Management. Set ClearPageFileAtShutdown to 0. Now, you can change the setting of your Windows Registry, but make sure that you know what you are doing otherwise, you may create irreversible damage to your computer. Hence, if you know that you don’t know what to do, leave your computer be and get a registry cleaner instead.
Windows XP Slow Shutdown is caused by several factors. But regardless of the reason, there are always solutions you can find online.