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Perpetual Reboot

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by largomd4life

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I am troubleshooting an HP Pavilion 6646C running Windows 98 SE. The problem Im having is the computer wont shut down. When I try to shut down the PC it just reboots. Even if I do a hard shut down by just turning it off with the button, it shuts down and then restarts. Also if I unplug the power cable from the PC as soon as I plug the cable back in (without turning on the PC) the PC turns on by itself. The only way I can turn off the PC is by unplugging the power and just levaing it unplugged. Any suggestions?

14 replies

by maxwell edison

Windows 98 is known for its shutdown problems.

Shutdown problems in Windows 98 Second Edition can be caused by any of the following issues:

The Fast Shutdown registry key is enabled.

There is a damaged Exit Windows sound file.

A program or terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) program may not close correctly.

An incompatible, damaged, or conflicting device driver is loaded.

There is an incompatible Advanced Power Management (APM) or Advanced Configuration and Power Interface(ACPI) setting.

There is an incompatible Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) configuration setting.

The computer contains incorrectly configured or damaged hardware.

There is a video adapter that is not assigned an IRQ in real mode.

The following Microsoft article describes how to troubleshoot shutdown and restart problems in Windows 98 Second Edition:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;KO;q238096

(REMOVE SPACES from the pasted URL.)

See the article for the specific information, appropriate resolution, and additional links.

Good luck,

Maxwell

by maxwell edison

Last link (some redundant information):

http://www.aumha.org/a/shtdwnsez.htm

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"There is a widespread shutdown bug with WINDOWS 98 SECOND EDITION. The problem does not affect a majority, or even significant minority, of Win98 SE computers, but is sufficiently widespread."

"As with other Windows shutdown problems, this can be caused by many factors including, but not limited to: a damaged exit sound file; a background program that will not close out properly; incorrectly configured or damaged hardware (especially incompatible APM or ACPI power management settings); an outdated BIOS, conflicting programs, or an incompatible, damaged, or conflicting device driver."

"In August, 1999, a couple of months after the problem emerged, Microsoft released a patch for this problem. This Win98 SE Shutdown Patch has had several “fine tuning” updates since. In the time since The Patch was released, is has solved the shutdown problem formost people with the problem (my estimate is about 80%). For others, though, it did not solve the problem. Here are some of the issues that appear to be involved and how one might address them."

See the link for the rest of the article.

Maxwell

by timwalsh

Maxwell does a good job of explaining the numerous shutdown issues with Win98, however, I think the problem lies elsewhere. The known problems with Win98 don't explain the power anomolies it sounds like you are experiencing.

I would look at 3 specific areas:
Power supply - if possible, switch out your power supply with a known good one and see if this solves your problem.

Front Panel Power Switch (Mechanical) (Mechanical switches are connected directly to the power supply, not through the motherboard) If you have a mecanical switch, it could be shorted, broken or improperly connected. Switches do go bad sometimes.

Front Panel Power Switch (contact) (Contact switches could be self contained or they may exist on separate circuit board at the front of your computer case; in either situation they connect to your motherboard, not the poewer supply.)The Switch could be broken or improperly connected to the motherboard.

If you can narrow the problem down to the switch you probably will need to go back to the manufacturer (HP) to get a replacement.

There is a possibility that the power circuitry on the motherboard itself is fried.

Did you by chance rebuild your computer or disassemble/reassemble your computer just prior to when the problem started occurring?

Good Luck.

by thechas

You might have a stuck, shorted, or bad power switch.

Also, make sure that an LED is not connected across the power switch terminals.

Another posability, is a very corrupt device driver or registry.

I would try updating the video and motherboard drivers.

If none of the suggestions fixes the problem, I would then swap in a different hard drive, install 98, and see if the system shuts down properly.
If so, your best option would be to back up the hard drive, and re-install 98.

Chas

by largomd4life

Well so far this is what I have tried. I have switched out Power supplies, I also set Bios back to factory defaults, and I restored the registry to an previous date. Still no go.

by hinrgman

I believe you have a shorted power switch button or contact.
This is exactly how any PC I have repaired had the same symptoms of a defective switch.

by vh_s

I think the problem lies in your power switch. Either the switch is stuck / broken, or somehow the power switch jumper on the motherboard is shorted (defect cable inside the CPU?).

Check that out first.

vh_s

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