Sometimes, when attempting to shut down your computer using the Shut Down button in the Start menu on Windows 10/11, the device may not power off completely. The display may remain on, fans may keep running, and the indicators may stay lit. In this article, we will discuss what to do if your Windows-based computer does not shut down when you try to turn it off.
Windows 11 – from 11.2 €
Windows 10 – from 9.16 €
Tip 1. Disable Fast Startup in Windows
The Fast startup feature, introduced with Windows 8.1, can be the cause of the problem. By default, it’s enabled in both Windows 10 and Windows 11 if the device supports this mode. Fast startup is a hybrid of hibernation and a full shutdown.
To disable Fast startup in Windows:
1. Open Control Panel > Power Options (or type powercfg.cpl).
2. Select Choose what the power buttons does.
3. Click Change settings that are currently unavailable.
4. Uncheck the Turn on fast startup (recommended) option and save your changes.
Tip 2. Shut Down Windows via the Command Prompt
If the problem is related to fast startup, try shutting down the computer using the Command Prompt:
1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
2. Enter the command:
shutdown /s /f /t 0
If the computer shuts down normally after this, you can create a desktop shortcut to run this command.
Tip 3. Disable Tasks and Drivers That Prevent Shutdown
Some tasks or drivers may interfere with Windows shutting down properly. Run the command:
powercfg /requests
It will show a list of processes and tasks that may be preventing shutdown (ideally, everything should say None).
Terminate unnecessary processes and disable the Wake the computer to run this task option in the Task Scheduler.
1. Open Task Scheduler.
2. If you have a npcapwatchdog task in the Task Scheduler library. Go in the task properties, on the Conditions tab, uncheck Wake the computer to run this task.
Tip 4. Check Power Management Settings for Hardware
Check that devices do not have permission to wake the computer from sleep:
1. Open Device Manager (devmgmt.msc).
2. Expand Network adapters and open the properties of your Ethernet or Wi-Fi adapter.
3. On the Power Management tab, uncheck Allow this device to wake the computer.
4. Similarly, check the settings for USB Root Hubs and Bluetooth adapters.
Additional Tips:
1. Disable automatic restart on system failure: type SystemPropertiesAdvanced.exe in the search > Startup and Recovery – Settings > uncheck Automatically restart.
2. In the power settings, ensure that under Hard disk, it’s set to turn off after 20 minutes, and that under Sleep the Allow wake timers are disabled.
3. Check the process and service timeout values in the registry (default values for Windows 10 are shown below):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ControlWaitToKillServiceTimeout = 5000
4. Also check that the following user parameters are set (if they are set differently, change them to the specified values):
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\DesktopAutoEndTasks = 1
HungAppTimeout = 5000
WaitToKillAppTimeout = 5000
5. Update hardware drivers.
6. Disable the Delivery Optimization Service.
7. Run the power troubleshooter:
msdt.exe /id PowerDiagnostic
