Windows XP Slow Shutdown
Windows XP Slow Shutdown is not an uncommon problem. While many have accepted this as an inevitable fact when computer is aging, other find it surprising how their computer has slowed down since they started using it. To understand this, you have know what happens to your computer during shutdown:
When you shut down your computer, it ends all the processes that you used from the very minute you boot your computer—most of these processes are actually part of the Windows XP operating system. Each process waits in line while your computer closes one by one; so the more processes you use, the longer you have to wait before your computer finally shuts off. It is safe to say, therefore, that using more programs during each computer session makes it longer for you to wait before your computer completely shuts off. However, there is nothing ordinary if you have to wait for more than 5 minutes before your computer completely shuts down. Having to wait longer than normal is usually caused by some underlying problems.
If your computer that takes forever to shut down, problems could be installed third-party driver or software, poor maintenance, or registry problems.
Correcting The Problem
Microsoft doesn’t point direct fingers, but third-party drivers or softwares are said to be the reasons why your XP shuts down sluggishly. While installed programs may cause your computer to slow down, Microsoft should have already addressed this issue by improving their system. Nonetheless, the only thing we can do is to ensure that the programs we remove are uninstalled properly. Uninstall unwanted, unused, or unimportant programs in Add/Remove Programs found in your Control Panel.
Just like your car, your computer operating system needs to be checked regularly through anti-virus/anti-spyware programs and built-in maintenance programs such as disk defragmentation and disk cleaning. Running these programs will remove files (virus or spyware) that cause your computer to slow down and free up some disk space to allow your computer faster queuing during shutdown.
Windows registry is the primary reason for slow shutdown of almost all XP users. Windows registry is the location where Windows saves every important and critical keys and data, which can affect the total performance of your pc.
Speed up Windows XP slow shutdown tip: One way to speed up shutdown time is to go to Windows Registry by typing “regedit” in Run option; and follow this folder, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory Management. Set ClearPageFileAtShutdown to 0. Now, you can change the setting of your Windows Registry, but make sure that you know what you are doing otherwise, you may create irreversible damage to your pc. So if you are unsure on how to do it, leave untouched and get a registry cleaner to be sure.