Why won't my laptop switch off?

[Notquitegrownup]

When I select Start - turn off computer - I get the pop up window asking me to confirm whether I want to Hibernate, Stand by, Turn off or Restart, but if I select Turn off, nothing happens.

I hibernated all night last night, but it still won't turn off today at all.

TIA

Try doing a restart first, then try to turn off.

I have this too and someone has told me that it's a virus. I have utd anti virus but I'm worried now that it can't update because I can't re-start. I cannot ctrl-alt-delete and like notquitegrownup I can't turn off. Any ideas?

Pull the power cord and the battery to force a shut down. No power equals computer shuts down!

Reboot, update virus scanner. Scan.

An easier way to force a reboot that often works is to hold down the on/off button for about 10 seconds. If that doesn't work then it's battery out time.

Definitely get your AV up to date, in Windows World viruses update quickly and you need to be up to date with those changes.

I forced a shut down this morning and when I turned it on again I had the usual message that windows had closed unexpectedly and something about a system resume.
The virus scanner says I am up to date and protected but I still can't shut down. And now Adobe is saying it has a runtime error.

My computer is making me cry

I press the on button to switch mine off. It seems to work and I have not yet melted the keyboard or broken the internet.

There's a difference between pressing the off button and having Windows shut down "nicely" and holding down that button and, in effect, ripping the power cable out and turning it off then and there.

Windows doesn't like just being turned off and it's the sort of thing you want to avoid doing unless you have a problem.

Download and run this:
www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php

It will check for "bad" things that might be lurking around.

Windows might "just" be on the verge of collapsing into a broken heap. Before doing anything make sure you've got all your stuff backed up somewhere.....

Oh I can do that Diggery, it's not a physical problem.

Thanks for that Badgers. I am currently trying to uninstall Abode (because the "solve pc issues" thing wants me to) and it's taking ages. I will back up and try the download when it's done.

Neither Microsoft or Adobe are famed for the quality of the software they write :)

What is this machine's history?

I presume it's Windows 7?

Did you buy it new? Did you upgrade it?

Its Windows 7 and was new last Christmas I think, bought by my step-mother and barely used so passed on to me a couple of months ago. I've done nothing except install Word, Excel etc a couple of weeks ago.
I'm failig to uninstall Adobe 9, after 15 mins or so I get a message saying that the install server is not responding. Was not entirely aware I had an install server . Maybe that's the problem...

Did you happen to make restore disks before you added word etc? Because it sounds to me that might be your best bet at this point!

Or we can try to find your install server. Perhaps behind the sofa? [hgrin]

Not behind the sofa, I just hoovered. Back of the hot cupboard?
I need basically I think to uninstall Java and Adobe as I've installed old versions when I put word etc in as a package and that's upset it.'ve overwritten with old versions iyswim and it's buggered things inside (actual technical term btw). Is my guess. But it's not playing ball so I will make it sleep and try again.
I can send it for mending on Monday but I need it for work so I really don't want to ....

Huzzah, some success. Still can't uninstall or reinstall blinking Adobe but have uninstalled Java, waited for a pop up asking if I wanted to update and now I can ctrl-alt-del and shut down.
I'm working through the "solve pc issues" messages and it seems to have done the trick, maybe anyone else having this problem could give it a try?

It might be worth trying to download a new version of Adobe and seeing if installing that will also clear out the manky version.

Windows 7 does have known issues connected with shutting down but let's get Adobe fixed and out of the way first before rummaging through those.

take the battery out?