Fan Fails to switch off during Shut Down Sequence

[BeemerBiker]

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@hamecj wrote:

I wrote this update a few days ago but it failed to post for some reason? So try again 🙂

I can report the following:

Uninstalled all AVG products, one at a time, and then reinstalled one at a time. Did not solve the problem.

Disconnecting the network connection, Ethernet and WiFi, confirmed that the shutdown sequence completed successfully(?).

Using the shutdown command <shutdown /s> does initiate correct shutdown sequence. I have thus scripted this into a desktop shortcut which does work successfully. So I can use this for now.

We seem to have run out of ideas, so if anyone has any further suggestions they would be very welcome.

Is it possible to view the script within the Windows Menu  Power/Shut Down control just to check it for errors? Seems unlikely but might be worth a try?

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If I understand you correctly, you wrote a script that disconnected the network and shutdown the system.  I assume you used the devcon64 app or some powershell command.

You can check for problems using the device manager and examining "events" for each network or Wi-Fi device.  Note that bluetooth is a network.  For example the Wi-Fi device

If you click on "view all events" then recent as well as historical problems can show up.   Typical problem might be a timeout or a veto of the shutdown..  You might find it easier to locate problems in the event viewer if you clear all events before trying a regular shutdown.

[hamecj]

A long overdue update.

Firstly my 'scripted' workaround is very simply putting <C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /c shutdown /s> into a desktop shortcut. This works every time.

I spent some time with the event log but the only things of note was a DCOM error 10010. I read that these errors are not usually significant and it does occur with both a successful and unsuccessful shutdown.

I have tried as many suggested fixes as I have been able to find via Google, nothing solved the problem. However a clean boot did change things slightly in that the shutdown sequence gets stuck with 'shutting down' timer; previously the sequence completed but left the fan running.

I also found that for other users the shut down works from the windows start menu as it should do??  In addition I am unable to sign-off of my local windows account leaving the system stuck with signing out timer, requiring a hard power off via switch. I assume a sign-off would be included in the shut down sequence, so maybe this is holding completion of that sequence?

These latter points suggest to me a profile problem? I have tried a few fixes found on-line but no success so far.

I am tempted to just live with my workaround unless anyone can suggest something I have not tried yet. Any help would be most welcome of course. Much better to fix the source problem, but that's just the Engineer in me(!).

[DGroves]

reinstalling windows will resolve your problem, i would do this and then create a restore point and then load all ms updates and recheck shutdown and again create a restore point then load apps on or two at a time checking shutdown every two app installs

[BeemerBiker]

As suggested by @DGroves you could reinstall windows.  You do have cloud recovery

go here and use a 32gb flash.  Also, verify your product ID is as above as I guessed at it.

I recommend that if you do a cloud restore that you do NOT connect ethernet or Wi-Fi and avoid downloading all  the updates from possibly 2017.   Instead, using another computer, download the latest win10 or win11 and run the "setup.exe" that is in the Microsoft update USB.

For win11 use this method which will work on systems not blessed by Microsoft.

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/Issues-upgrading-to-windows-11...

scroll down and look for Paul's attached app "rufus"

[hamecj]

Hello and many thanks for the further advice and recommendations.

My immediate reaction was not to proceed with a reinstall. This was on the basis that I have already completed a reinstall without improvement and I have a simple successful workaround.

However I may decide to try this at some future time and so I would like to fully understand the instructions given. I have confirmed I do have support for HP Cloud Recovery. I neither have another computer, nor immediate access to one. Thus it is not possible to download as suggested. Is it possible to download Win10 (in my case) (my PC cannot run Win11) via my PC to a flash drive and then disconnect the network connections?

Many thanks.

[BeemerBiker]

The cloud recovery contains the original version of windows along with all the required HP drivers for the install to work correctly and in addition a lot of free stuff such as 30 trials days of office.  The free stuff will cause you to need a 32gb flash drive instead of the normal 8gb flash to install windows 10.  This version of windows may be a few years old.

There is no need to do a cloud recovery as you can put your HP system on a power strip and use the on/off switch to power it down.  I am providing the following information for a clean install of original windows that MIGHT help with the fan problem. Note that all your documents will be erased..  Typically a cloud recovery is done when a disk drive has failed and a new drive is put in.

Since you do not have access to another computer this is what I recommend for windows 10 clean install.

Use 32gb flash to get a copy of the cloud recovery.  This is useful just for recovery purposes but has an old version of windows 10.  Use another flash drive to create a USB install ISO of of the latest windows 10,  Version 22h2 is the latest and 23h2 is only for windows 11.

If you wish to do a clean install of windows 10 then

1 - Backup all your important data, documents, license keys, etc.  Alternately clone your C drive to another flash USB that is big enough to hold all the C drive data.

2 - Boot the USB cloud recovery flash drive and follow instructions but do not connect to the internet yet.  After the install go to the windows update and delay all updates as explained here.  Connect to the internet and then run the HP support assistant and do any HP updates as required.  Reboot if necessary and see if the problem with the fan goes away.  The latest HP support assistant is here.

3 - Attach the USB with windows 10.  Using the windows file manager, browse to the USB drive and find and run the "setup.exe" program.  That application will ask if you want an upgrade or an install.  Be sure to just do the upgrade so it does not delete any of the HP drivers.  After rebooting run the HP support assistant again and also release the Windows update delay.  Log into your microsoft account and install any software you bought or subscribed to.

4 - Restore any documents from the backup.  If using outlook then import your old mail from the document/outlook folder.

====you can also put windows 11 in if you want to even if your system is not qualified====

[hamecj]

Just to say thank you very much for the additional information which is very helpful. For now I will keep this 'on file' as I am happy to continue with my simple workaround.

Thus I consider this thread closed. Hopefully it will be of use to others as well as me.

Regards,

hamecj

[hamecj]

Update:  After having some further instability problems with Windows I decided to restore my C Drive from an older backup version (from before my problem started). It took a while to install all the Windows updates and a number of Apps but having completed all this the problem was indeed fixed with shutdown and restart working correctly and reliably. Windows in general is now stable.

A good reminder to keep the backups regular (I use Macrium Reflect even though I now have to pay for it). Like most of us I am well versed in the importance of backups, but sometimes the practice falls short(!) 😉.