Laptop won't shutdown

Hello. I have a Gateway laptop (M6750) with Vista that is refusing to shut down. Whenever I click "shutdown" or "restart" it gets stuck. Eventually, I will have to hit the power button to get it to turn off. Of course, I then get the screen asking if I want to restart windows normally once I turn it back on. My solution has been to never shut it off - just let it go to sleep. However, this doesn't really seem like a good idea. While I can utilize the computer programs I know efficiently, I don't know much about the "behind the scenes" stuff, so please be specific with any comments. Thanks! Debora

 

Debora, first try this:
Verify what level of serivce pack is installed on vista: (If you have Service Pack 2 that is the latest)
http://www.ehow.com/how_5932400_tell-vista-service-pack-1.html

Next, shutdown the computer, turn it on and quickly press F8 a few times, a menu will come up and select safe mode- Login then allow the desktop to load, then see if you can do a normal shutdown.

Note: If this has started recently you may be able to fix it via system restore: (the idea being if it started last Friday roll back to the day before or a few days before) http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ht/system-restore-vista.htm
Please post back and let us know the results of the above suggestions.

 

This happened to me on Windows 7

The solution is to go to your Device Manager, then to your Network Adapters, then right click on your LAN adapter (not the WiFi), then select Properties.

Next, go to the Advanced tab, then scroll down to the end and set "Wakeup Capabilities" to Disabled.

Then Change "Shutdown & Wakeup" to disabled.

Then go to the Power Management Tab and ensure that "Allow This Device To Wake Up The Computer" is NOT checked!

Press OK to apply the changes then restart your computer twice