Article ID: 202633 - Last Review: May 7, 2007 - Revision: 4.3

How to troubleshoot Windows 98 shutdown problems

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This article was previously published under Q202633

SUMMARY

This article describes how to troubleshoot problems that may occur when you attempt to shut down and restart your computer.

Note that this information is also available in the Windows 98 Startup and Shutdown Troubleshooting Wizard. Microsoft recommends that you use this wizard, but this text-based article is available for your convenience. The Windows 98 Startup and Shutdown Troubleshooting Wizard is located at the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/windows/tshoot (http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=http%3a%2f%2fsupport.microsoft.com%2fsupport%2fwindows%2ftshoot)

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

273746 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/273746/ ) How to troubleshoot Windows Me shutdown problems

MORE INFORMATION

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

Incompatible, damaged, or conflicting device drivers
A damaged exit sound file
Incorrectly configured or damaged hardware

To troubleshoot these issues perform the following steps in order, one at a time, testing after each step to determine if the issue is resolved. If the issue is not resolved, continue to the next step.

If you have installed new hardware or software on your computer, uninstall it and check to see if your shut down problem is resolved. If it is, contact the manufacturer of the hardware or software.
Start your computer in Safe mode and then shut down. If your computer does not shut down properly in Safe mode, there may be a compatibility issue between Windows 98 and your computer's BIOS. For information about how to contact your hardware vendor, click the appropriate article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
The third-party contact information included in this article is provided to help you find the technical support you need. This contact information is subject to change without notice. Microsoft in no way guarantees the accuracy of this third-party contact information.
For information about how to contact your hardware vendor, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors (http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors)

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.
- Determine if the shutdown problem is caused by a command or a driver that loads automatically from the Win.ini, System.ini, Autoexec.bat, or Config.sys file, or whether a program in the Startup folder conflicts with the startup process. To do this perform clean boot troubleshooting.
  
  For additional information about how to perform clean boot troubleshooting, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  192926 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/192926/ ) How to perform clean-boot troubleshooting for Windows 98
- Disable some device drivers. Some of the most common device drivers that may cause problems are device drivers for sound cards, video adapters, and network adapters. Disable any devices in the following categories:
  - Display adapters
  - Floppy disk controllers
  - Hard disk controllers
  - Keyboard
  - Mouse
  - Network adapters
  - PCMCIA socket
  - Ports
  - SCSI controllers
  - Sound, video, and game controllers
  To disable device drivers:
  1. Right-click My Computer on the desktop, click Properties, and then click the Device Manager tab.
  2. Double-click a device type, for example, Sound, Video, or Game Controllers.
  3. Click one of the listed devices, and then click Properties.
  4. Click to select the Disable In This Hardware Profile check box.
    
    Important Record all of the devices that you disable so that you can enable them again later.
  5. Click OK, click OK, and then restart your computer.
  Test to determine if the issue is resolved by restarting your computer. If your computer does not shut down correctly, repeat steps a through e, but disable a different hardware device in step d. Also, to test your video adapter, click Start, click Run, type msconfig (without the quotation marks), click OK, click Advanced, click to select the VGA 640x480x16 check box, and then click OK. If you disable your sound card, video adapter, and network adapter, but the issue is still not resolved, re-enable these devices by following steps a through e, but in step d, click to clear the Disable In This Hardware Profile check box, and then continue with the next step.
  
  Note If you are unable to change the video adapter by using these steps, change your video adapter driver to "Standard VGA." To do this:
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Display.
  2. Click Advanced on the Settings tab, and then click Change on the Adapter tab.
  3. Click Next, click Display a list of all the drivers in a specific location, so you can select the driver you want", and then click Next.
  4. Click Show All Hardware, click Standard Display Types in the Manufacturer box, click Standard Display Adapter (VGA) in the Models box, and then click Next.
  5. Click Yes, click Next, and then click Finish.
  6. Click Close, click Close, and then click Yes when you are prompted to restart your computer.
  If the issue is resolved when you change your video adapter to the Standard VGA driver, contact your video adapter manufacturer to inquire about the availability of an updated Windows 98 video adapter driver.
  
  For additional information about how to troubleshoot display problems, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  127139 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/127139/ ) Troubleshooting video problems in Windows
  For additional information about how to troubleshoot device drivers and hardware issues, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  133240 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/133240/ ) Troubleshooting device conflicts with Device Manager
- Determine if shutdown problems are being caused by virtual device driver(.vxd) files. To do this:
  1. Restart your computer, and while your computer restarts, press and hold CTRL until the Windows 98 Startup menu appears.
  2. Choose Step By Step Confirmation, and then press ENTER.
  3. Press Y when you receive each of the following prompts, and press N for all other prompts: - Load Doublespace driver - Process the system registry - DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS - DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\IFSHLP.SYS - Load the Windows graphical user interface - Load all Windows drivers
  4. After all Windows drivers are loaded, you are prompted to load all static .vxd files, one at a time. Note each static .vxd file name, and respond with "No" to avoid loading each file. The following list is a partial list of Microsoft static .vxd files:
    +-----------------------------------------+ | Static .vxd file | Provides support for | +-----------------------------------------+ | Vnetsup.vxd | Microsoft Networking | +-----------------------------------------+ | Ndis.vxd | Microsoft Networking | +-----------------------------------------+ | Ndis2sup.vxd | Microsoft Networking | +-----------------------------------------+ | Javasup.vxd | Microsoft Java | +-----------------------------------------+ | Vrtwd.386 | Clock | +-----------------------------------------+ | Vfixd.vxd | Video Phone helper | +-----------------------------------------+ | Vnetbios.vxd | Microsoft Networking | +-----------------------------------------+ | Vserver.vxd | Microsoft Networking | +-----------------------------------------+ | Vredir.vxd | Microsoft Networking | +-----------------------------------------+ | Dfs.vxd | Microsoft Networking | +-----------------------------------------+ | Ndiswan.vxd | Microsoft Networking | +-----------------------------------------+ | Msmouse.vxd | Microsoft Mouse | +-----------------------------------------+
  Test to determine if the issue is resolved by restarting your computer. If your computer shuts down correctly, define the problem further by repeating steps a through d, but respond with "Yes" to only one of the files in the list above, and then restart your computer. Test each file by restarting your computer and responding "Yes" to a different file each time. If your computer does not shut down properly, the issue is related to last static .vxd file you selected.
  
  Check the properties of the incompatible static .vxd file to determine the program with which it is associated. Uninstall and then reinstall the program to replace the .vxd file with a new copy of the file.
  
  For additional information about the System Configuration Utility tool, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  181966 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/181966/ ) System configuration utility advanced troubleshooting settings
- Install Windows 98 in a new folder. This may be the quickest method to determine if the problem is caused by a hardware issue. If you install Windows in a new folder 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 in a new folder, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  193902 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/193902/ ) How to install Windows 98 Into a new folder
Disable fast shutdown. To disable fast shutdown, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Information.
2. On the Tools menu, click System Configuration Utility.
3. On the General tab, click Advanced.
4. Click to select the Disable Fast Shutdown check box, click OK, and then click OK.
5. Click Yes when you are prompted to restart your computer.
For additional information about disabling fast shutdown, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
187607 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/187607/ ) How to disable fast shutdown in Windows 98
Test to determine if the issue is resolved by restarting your computer. If your computer does not shut down correctly, go to the next step.
Determine if the shutdown problem is being caused by a damaged exit sound file. To do this:
1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Sounds.
2. Note the name and location of the Exit Windows sound, click Exit Windows in the Events box, and then click None in the Name box.
3. Click OK, and then restart your computer.
Test to determine if the issue is resolved by restarting your computer. If your computer does not shut down correctly, repeat steps A through C, but restore your original Exit Windows sound in step B, and then go to the next step. If the issue is resolved, your Exit Windows sound file is damaged and you must replace it.
Determine if Advanced Power Management (APM) is causing the shutdown problem by disabling APM. (Note that not all computers have APM features.) To do this:
1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, double-click System, and then click the Device Manager tab.
2. Double-click System Devices to expand it.
3. Double-click Advanced Power Management in the device list, and then click to select the Force APM 1.0 Mode and the Disable Power Status Polling check boxes on the Settings tab. If the settings are already enabled, disable them by clearing the check boxes.
4. Click OK until you return to Control Panel, and then restart your computer.
Test to determine if the issue is resolved by restarting your computer. If your computer does not shut down correctly, repeat steps a through d, but click to clear the Force APM 1.0 Mode and the Disable Power Status Polling check boxes, and then go to the next step.
If you are running Windows 98 Second Edition and you are still experiencing problems shutting down your computer, view the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
238096 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/238096/ ) Problems shutting down Windows 98 Second Edition

If this article does not describe your shutdown-related issue, please see the following Microsoft Web site to view more articles about shutting down Windows 98:

Click here to view a list of shutdown articles (http://support.microsoft.com/search/default.aspx?catalog=lcid%3d1033&spid=global&query=w98shutdown&adv=)

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.