Windows 7 refusing to shut down
Posted on 02/10/2020 10:55:39 AM PST by dayglored
Users rage, rage against the dying of the light (and support)
It's not only end of support that Windows 7 diehards have to contend with. Late last week a new problem emerged – systems that refuse to shut down.
Complaints have been widespread on Reddit, Microsoft's official Answers forum and on on SevenForums. Some users also reported other issues, such as not being able to view their documents folder in Explorer.
Fortunately the problem seems to be fixable in most cases. The favourite solution is to tweak the UAC (User Account Control) settings with the Group Policy setting "Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode" or the equivalent registry setting. Then run gpupdate/force, and everything goes back to normal.
Windows 7 refusing to shut down
There are other workarounds, such as using shutdown from the command prompt, or logging off and then shutting down.
This does not explain the reason for the problem, which appeared mysteriously on or around 7 February. There may be a clue in two other popular fixes.
The setting that seems to fix new Windows 7 shutdown issues
One is to disable a service called Adobe Genuine Monitor Service. This gets installed with Adobe software and presumably attempts to verify that you are not running hacked, cracked or stolen key versions.
Another theory is that it was security software Bitdefender wot dunnit. "I'm afraid it looks like BitDefender is responsible for this WORLDWIDE CRISIS!!!" said one disgruntled user.
We are not convinced since it appears that not only Bitdefender users have suffered on this occasion.
El Reg suggests changing the UAC setting, which is probably a good plan anyway. No, Microsoft has not been resorting to dirty tactics to force users to upgrade to Windows 10 (or migrate to Linux); but it would not be surprising to see increasing numbers of mysterious issues with Windows 7 as it becomes less well supported not only by Microsoft but also by third parties. ®
You may find that you can’t get device drivers for Windows 7 on a recent (last few years) laptop. Like network, audio, fingerprint ID, camera, etc. Microsoft put a lot of pressure on device manufacturers to only provide support for Windows 10 after about 2016.
Whoops... Got carried away... The two VM machines are running XP...
huh? Mine shuts down just fine-
I had only a little trouble figuring out the minimal drivers to get my Ryzen 5 to talk to Windows 7. There’s tons of resources, but it will obviously differ by manufacturer and mobo.
Normally, your BIOS will have a setting for 'wake on lan'. Turn that off, and they can't do it any more.
That did it, thanks,......... Your a good man McGee
Using ethernet direct connection and no wifi slows that malarkey as you unplug your network cable when not using the computer.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.