Stump the Puzzler

Message Log 05.17.1997

Problem:      When I shut down my computer it goes from the "Shutting
down microsoft windows 95" screen to a blank screen.  There it stays for
about a minute then it goes to the "It is now safe to turn off your
computer"  Why does it take so long to get from the blank screen to the It
is now safe to shut off your computer screen.  It never used to do that.
It has now been doing that for about a month.  Any ideas on what it could
be, and how it could be fixed?

REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE?

Well James,

Congratulations! You are the first person to use the "Stump the Puzzler
Form", and you also have a good question that I don't have an easy answer
for. I do have some ideas though.

Some background first: When Windows 95 first starts up, it builds the
Registry "on-the-fly". It combines information from the SYSTEM.DAT and
USER.DAT files. The SYSTEM.DAT is a database of information about the
devices installed on your machine, and USER.DAT contains data about your
desktop and programs. The Registry also extracts information from
SYSTEM.INI and WINDOWS.INI and other "INI" files it finds so your system
can use older Windows 3.x and some DOS programs that don't know about
Windows 95. When Windows 95 goes through the Shutdown process, it removes
the Registry and saves the data back to the SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT
databases. For more information about the Registry a good place to start
is:

PC Webopaedia Windows 95 Registry Page
http://www.pcwebopaedia.com/Registry.htm

You can edit the Registry manually, but I don't recommend it. The Registry
Editor is not user-friendly, and you can completely wreck your system very
easily. There are no warnings, and even experts do not attempt to edit it
without making backup copies of SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT first. Scanning the
following article from Windows Magazine can give you a feeling for the
complexity of the Registry:

Windows Magazine Registry Article
http://www.winmag.com/library/1997/0201/featu159.htm

I have the feeling, something you might have installed in the last month is
slowing down the shutdown process, or maybe something got corrupted. At
C/NET's Shareware.com site page below, you can download the freeware
Registry cleaning program "RegClean". It probably won't solve the problem,
but it's a good place to start. I downloaded and ran it on my system, and I
found no problems with it.

RegClean
http://www.shareware.com/top/MS-Windows95-noframe.html

A few months ago, PC World Magazine published an article on a more drastic
variation of this problem (when the Shutdown process won't finish at all).
This article is a step-by-step trouble-shooting guide. I recommend you
print it. Some of steps are pretty drastic, and a slow shutdown may be
easier to live with than trying to fix it by these methods. You will have
to be the judge.

PC World Magazine How-to Article
http://www.pcworld.com/software/opsystems/articles/mar97/1503p252a.html

Finally, James, after I post this e-mail back to you, I will have to go to
work on my Web site. In the "Stump the Puzzler" form I said I will post the
questions and answers on the LAROKE site so others can have a shot at
answering them too. I haven't built that part of the site yet, so you've
put me to work!

Keep me informed on your progress with this problem.

I Remain,
L. R. Kephart
LAROKE Microcomputer Consultants

                                 \\\ | ///
                                  ( 0 0 )
+----------------o00----------------(_)------------------------------------+

e-mail: webmaster@laroke.com

Personal: http://www.laroke.com/larryk4674/index.htm
Business: http://www.laroke.com
+----------------------------------------------o00-------------------------+

                                 I___I___I
                                  II   II
                                 oo0   0oo

REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE?

Remember a while ago I told you about a problem with my computer?  It
was taking a long time to start up and shut down.  I figured out why.  The
chipset in the mother board went bad.  I replaced the mother board and it
works great except we had a power surge and it fries my computer.  So I
built a new one.   Right now it is still a p75 but in Feb I am putting in a
p 233 since that is all my new mother board supports.  I have a Quantum 32
series 3.2 Gig hard drive, 32 Mb of ram, K 56 Flex modem, 24x CD-Rom drive,
Sound Blaster 16 AWE 64, 3.5 floppy, 14" Color monitor, 2 Mb S3 video
card.  I had to replace everything but the sound Card and 3.5 floppy
drive.  All totaled up it cost about $1,500 less the parts I didn't replace
and the monitor.  It is an ok system now.  I also bought a Connectix Color
Quick Cam for it and a Color flatbed scanner.  (9600 DPI resolution) and I
am going to buy a Vivitar digital camera...  Do you know anyone who wants a
Color Eyeball camera.  It is the conectix Quick cam.  I am selling it. 
Only 3 months old.  Asking $125 obo, (Half of what I paid)  If you do let
me know.
 
Well just wanted to tell you what the slow start-up / shut-down problem was
caused by.
 
                                James

REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE?

("Lawyer stuff" in a nation with more lawyers than the rest of the world combined, disclaimers are sadly necessary)

NOTICE OF LIABILITY: All information presented herewith is provided on an "As Is" basis, without warranty or the implication thereof. Neither LAROKE Microcomputer Consultants nor the individuals associated with the preparation of the information supplied herein shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained within this presentation.

LAROKE Microcomputer Consultants
155 East Boca Raton Road
Boca Raton, Florida 33432
(561)368-0659 (Tel & Fax)