Why won't my HP machine shutdown properly?

My computer has started to power up every time with the "an illegal shutdown has occurred" and then it goes into the file checking routine which runs on and on until I cancel. The previous shutdown was not illegal and was performed without problem. All files were closed and the shutdown routine was used with the computer turning itself off.

This problem just started to occur in the last week. So what is different. I down load the pop up stopper "Free Surfer mkll" as was suggested in your newsletter of 2 weeks ago.

I removed my firewall "Zone Alarm Pro" as the year subscription was up and with it in place my access to the internet was blocked. A pretty tricky way of getting one to resubscribe don't you think?

I have ran McAfee on line virus check and no problems were found.

Any ideas????

Wally Klovstad

This question was answered on January 15, 2003. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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Your profile states you are using a Hewlett Packard PC, running Windows ME.

I need to ask if this is the OS that came with the machine The HP Bios is really unfriendly to upgrades If you configured it right, the best thing might be to uninstall Windows ME, if this is indeed your situation.

Otherwise, uninstall Free Surfer I have to wonder if it doesn't have an issue with the Windows Shutdown screen Generally, the rule of thumb is, if something on a PC is changed and something else breaks, put the PC back in the condition it was in before the changes were made.

The web sites I am finding say Free Surfer (a popup killer) is a resource hog I have to wonder if this program is really ready for prime time Besides, on an HP machine, it's best to let the OS have as much leeway as it wants with system resources.

I use POW, by analogX to kill popups, then selectively nuke popups as I go, finding the same popups occur over and over again Besides, I get a certain sick satisfaction from killing them, myself It's sort of like a video game, I guess.

Uninstalling ZoneAlarm has become another matter for contention After seeing the carnage resulting from this operation, I will never recommend the program to anyone again Better visit their site and follow the directions for uninstallation as closely as you can It takes a registry hack to get rid of the thing.

When an OS will not shutdown properly, and in your case, despite appearances, that is exactly what is happening, some file or routine is running in the background which refuses to vacate the machine properly ZoneAlarm has issues when uninstalled of leaving files behind and not uninstalling cleanly This may be the cause of your problem.

RG

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Posted by Robert of Mesa Community College on January 15, 2003

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