Help with a couple of small Windows XP glitches

The other thread addressed to IT professionals inspired me to ask for help with a couple of small things.

Everything is running OK except that:

1) Windows restart doesn't work. It shuts down but doesn't reboot. I have to reboot it manually, even after updates that are supposed to reboot the machine.

2) Internet Explorer (7) stopped recognizing my preference for sites in English.

Any ideas, keeping in mind that I'm a computer ignoramus?

It's an Acer TravelMate 6592.

 

have you recently had a virus or anything on that machine?

the shutdown/restart issue could be something in the BIOS, the basic computer settings specific to a computer/system board before it ever gets around to loading the operating system. You can do a web search for your computer model and BIOS to find out how to access the BIOS.
But then, if you've never gone in and changed settings in the BIOS, it's unlikely (though possible) that they would change.
It could also be Windows power settings.
Click Start, then click Run, type cmd in the box and click OK.
In the new black box that opens, type:

shutdown -f -r

and hit enter. "-f" simply forces any running programs to close, and "-r" is for restart. If it correctly restarts, there's probably a problem with Windows power settings.

As for IE, I don't ever open IE anymore, so my memory is rusty on it, but there is a way to reset all defaults in IE, then try setting the language preference again. There may be a better way of doing this, so we'll wait and see if anyone else has any better ideas.
Well, I do have a better idea...Firefox! (or Opera, or even Chrome), but I don't have any other ideas for IE.

Let us know what happens with the command line restart above.

 

OK, I ran "shutdown -f -r" and all I got was a message window saying the system was going to be shutdown but it didn't do anything. Was I supposed to hit return? As I said, I'm a computer ignoramus.

 

hmmm, I'd run a virus scan of your computer, and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to rule out any thing there. If you don't already have an antivirus program, Microsoft Security Essentials is surprisingly good, and free (doubly surprisingly good being Microsoft, huh? )

after that, it's going to be trial and error. I might suggest installing CCleaner. It's a great hard drive utility, and even has a registry cleaner that works fairly well. It's not the most thorough or aggressive, but it does a great job. I've never had a problem after cleaning the registry (the registry is the "brain" of Windows OS - mess up the registry, it's pretty much reinstall time). It gives you the option to save a backup of the the changes it makes before it makes them so if there is a problem you can restore - definitely do that.

All of this may be overkill, but right now we're eliminating possible issues, and getting Windows squeaky clean in the process .

It certainly sounds like something has messed with the power management settings in Windows, though.

 

I'll look into the stuff you mentioned. I did look at the power settings for Windows, which have been replaced by an Acer program, and I didn't see anything that related to automatic reboot.

 

When did this problem start? Did it happen suddenly, or was it an intermittent problem that now occurs all the time?

 

ah, yes...brand specific power control can sometimes be an issue, glad you mentioned it.
you can also look on Acer's website, see if there are any updates for the power control drivers or software, and reinstall and see if that fixes it

 

I typically use the hibernate function instead of actually powering down my machines because they come back on line faster. If you try this and it fixes your shutdown issue, you can bypass a lot of troubleshooting for what would be a minor inconvenience for me, assuming the rest of the machine operates satisfactorily.

If you go into Settings / Control Panel / Power Options and click the Hibernate tab, you can put a check in that box and click Apply and close the window.

Next, right click on the Desktop and choose New / Shortcut. When the next box pops up, copy and paste the following line into the box that says "Type location of the item:"

%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe PowrProf.dll, SetSuspendState

Click Next, and where it asks for a name for the Shortcut, name it Hibernate and then click finish.

Anytime you want to shut your machine down, just go to the Desktop and double click the Hibernate icon. Your machine will save everything that is currently happening on your machine and in your RAM and go to sleep. The next time you push your power button, the machine will restore to where you left it.

I do this for all of my machines and only do an actual hard re-start once a week. In addition, I have all of the programs previously mentioned in this thread and run them frequently. My WinXp Pro machine has been running flawlessly, without a hiccup of any kind for the last three years since I built it from parts bought on New Egg.

 

I've recently started this same Hibernate sequence you mention, Hibernate during the week, on Friday I shut my workstation down so I have a fresh boot on Monday.

However, the OP issue is the computer won't restart, it'll shut down instead of restart. It is a minor issue in and of itself, but as I'm sure you're aware, could be a symptom of a greater problem.

 

Oh! I guess I did not read the OP correctly, my bad! So now that I have read through it again, let's try this:

A few years back, some people were reporting an issue like this, and I think it was before service Pack three came out. Something to do with corrupted sound card drivers or wav files.

Go to Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices > and click the Sounds tab. From the Program Events list, select the Exit Windows option. The Sounds drop down box below it will display the sound that plays when Windows shuts down, which is likely to be "Windows XP Shutdown.wav". Change it to None, click Apply, and close the window, then try and restart the computer.

 

ahh, I remember that, good recall!

 

It was never an intermittent problem. It just started happening and now happens all the time.

 

How long have you had the machine? How long has this specific problem been occurring?

 

I've had the machine two years and it just started about a month ago.

 

Good Day To you Sir.

Have you tried the fix in post #10 yet?

 

You may also want to try disabling the hybernation support in the power options. I've seen that cause odd shutdown/restart issues with Windows XP.

 

You are a genius, sir! I changed the options and they didn't do anything but, you reminded me that the problem started around the time that I plugged external speakers into the docking station, so I unplugged the speakers and voila!

The problem was caused by the external speakers.

 

ahh, it's in a docking station then.....

 

Well, actually, I have still have the problem when I plug the external speakers directly into the socket on the laptop. So, now I have two questions:

1. Would getting newer speakers help?
2. I set standy and hibernation to "never" in the power options. Is there any harm in leaving them that way or should I set them back to 6 hours?

 

Standy-by and hibernation are features that help conserve power on a laptop. The only harm that will come from you change is that your battery charge might not last as long when you are running on battery only.

As for getting new speakers...maybe? If you get new ones, check the return policy just in case it does not help.