Shutting Down My Computer

[irban]

Every evening (24/7) when I shut down my computer I am getting a message that it cannot close because there is a programme running. I am given a choice of cancelling or forcing a close down. As I have nothing to cancel I choose to force a close down. It then takes approx 2 minutes to finally close. My problem is that having checked that my browsers (Mozilla and IE 9) are both closed what could be running in the background and, more importantly, how do I find it and get rid of it.. Any suggestions would be most welcome. Thanks

[jim360]

Normally it should say which program is still running. If not then, before you shut down, you could try running Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del; Start Task Manager) and go to the Applications tab. That should be empty if no programs are running, I think, so that it should also tell you what still is active.

[hc4361]

It's the processes tab you need to look at in task manager

[gness]

Irban...if you do nothing at all..what happens?

My computer does this often....I know there isn't a programme running so I just leave it and it shuts down in a couple of minutes if that....because if I start pressing buttons something will go wrong....☺...but I'm sure Jim has the proper answer....

I put it down to having a male laptop......bit dozy and grumpy come evening... ;-)

[irban]

Jim there are 14 items listed in task manager. None of them make any sense but should I delete them and if so how

[jim360]

You shouldn't delete them, but it would be nice if you could let us know what is still running -- if there's anything there that isn't normal for a computer it's worth knowing. I suspect it's probably programs such as Skype, or similar, in which case you have nothing to worry about.

[flump1]

Irban, you may need some of those thing running, please don't delete till Jim or one of the others come back .

[irban]

I am sorry but there nearly 30 items in task manager (i forgot to scroll down) I dont understand most of them , they are terms that mean nothing to me (just strange names and numbers)

[bibblebub]

There are ways to speed up shutdown by giving programs less time to respond before they are forcibly closed but these necessitate editing the registry and so shouldn't be attempted by those who are not used to such low-level actions. But I can confirm that they do work, and there are also tweaking programs which include these options so you don't directly deal with the registry.

[jim360]

That sounds like rather a lot, especially if you don't know what they are... can you take a screenshot, or just type it out as a list, or something? (Print Screen, paste into paint, save, go to tinypic.com and upload it there (follow the website's instructions).

[irban]

Sorry Jim but I do not understand your instructions. However here are four of the items in question.
scuhost.exe 32
dwm.exe
HPWAMain.exe.
suhost.exe all the others are pretty much the same

[Tuvok]

Before you shutdown make sure you have closed everything you had open.

Now do CTRL ALT DELETE

Star Task Manager and see if there is anthing else still running.

If so select it and then END TASK - but not for Explorer

Now see if the computer shuts down.

If it does then you may have found the culprit.

If not, then its a service that is not terminating. Next step would be to see if there is anything in the Event log.

Let us know which version of windows you are using.

[irban]

windows 7 home premium

[irban]

there are 30 plus items listed. How can I tell which one to end (this is after I have shut everything down)

[Tilly2]

If you are getting in a tizzy, just let it shut down on its own.

[Hypognosis]

You have listed a few example names. Type any of those into a search engine and the results will quickly find every forum post where other people have queried strangely named items.

Most are benign, several are part of a program you chose to install (virus scanners have background tasks always running) and, rarely, you will encounter malicious software and all manner of internet discussion of how to rid yourself of it.

Spend a few minutes per day familiarising yourself with the items revealed by Task Manager and you will soon have an eye for what doesn't belong there.

[jim360]

Some of those programs, in particular suhost.exe and scuhost.exe, are associated with Viruses/ Trojans/ other nasty pieces of program. I would strongly suggest taking your computer in to a tech support centre.

[irban]

A big thank you to everyone who responded to my request for help in solving the shut down of my computer. Lots to ponder. Just out of interest I shut down my lap top at 8-30pm on Saturday but rebooted it at 11-30pm to look at The Answer Bank, play a game of Hearts on Royalgame.com and 2 games of draughts. When I finally shut my computer down it closed within 7 seconds without any problems. Once again many thanks to everyone for your time and expertise