Windows 98 Hanging on close?

There could be any number of reasons,if it is hanging at shut down the video drivers may be causing it ,so download the latest drivers for your video card,also run scan disk to see if you have any disk errors.You can also check by hitting CNTRL+ALT+DEL to see what is not responding at shutdown.

What kind of pc is it. I just got a Dell 4100
and I had the same problem I got a BIOS update from Dell and flash it and that solved the problem. If you don't have a new Dell then a driver is most likely to be your problem.

It could be caused by hardware and software.Check for incorrectley configured hardware in device manager.
Could be caused by terminate-and-stay resident programs that do not close correctley at shut down, to check what programs are running use MSCONFIG utility to check for errors.
It could also be that the "shutdown fast registry key" is enabled in the registry , disable it.It could also be incompatible,damaged or conflicting device drivers that are loaded.
Also a know problem is a damaged Exit Windows sound file that can create havoc, disable "play a sound when exiting".
Also check for BIOS incompatebilities.if IRQ steering is enabled (allows more than one PCI device to share one IRQ) and your BIOS does not support it you'r bound to get trouble.Check it!
Also check your anti virus software. If it is setup to scan your floppy(stiffy) drive at shut down disable it and try a shut down.
To narrow down the cause I need more info of the machine and configuration but I know that this will put you on the right track.
Jacques Clausen

The previous answers had some good suggestions that I have seen solve this problem but here are some additions:

1. Start/Run/MSCONFIG, click on the startup tab and uncheck everything you can temporarily do without that is starting on boot up (including the virus checker Jacque mentioned). Close out, cold boot the PC, then shutdown. If it works, work backwards to see which item is the culprit.

2. Also in MSCONFIG - Click on the advanced button and check the 'VGA 16 X 640 X 480' box
and cold boot again. This will force Win98 to boot in 'plain vanilla' VGA mode. This might be helpful if it is a video driver problem like someone else mentioned.

3. In BOTH the computer BIOS and Windows power management (start/settings/control panel power) disable advanced power managment. Some programs conflict with this.

4. Try setting your screen saver to none and turn off active desktop if on.

Virus checker and power management are the two I have seen be the culprit the most often.

Obviously, once you have found the problem child re-enable the other things you need.

When windows shuts down it attempts to close down all programs running in main and virtual memmory . If it can't close down one of the programs it HANGS . A frequently used solution is to enable / disable quick shutdown . This can be achieved from programs / accessories / system tools / system information ,then on the tools menu select system configuration , then go into ADVANCED and look for " disable fast shutdown " check mark . Make sure you press APPLY / OK before you exit . Restart the PC and hope for the best . Also use Taskman.exe from the RUN window to find what programs are running before you shutdown if any unusual programs are running , close them manually and then try to shutdown . Do this for all apps that load at startup inorder to find the culprit . Then you can disable this program in the Startup tab in system configuration ( see path above ). It is a bit tedious but such is LIFE .

Good luck !

Hi!
This is a KNOWN Win '98 problem. Microsoft has a patch (support.microsoft.com), but you can workaround by going to Run, MSConfig, Advanced and check the Disable Fast Shutdown. Always works for me. If not, the patch is at the microsoft site.Good luck!

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