Laptop shutdown

[JohnM29]

When I "Shut down" my laptop it takes almost an hour before the disk activity light go out!  WHY? What on earth is it doing that it takes SO long to shut down?

Please note I always put my laptop "offline" before shutting down, so there cannot be any external interference.

[Jerry_57]

Hi @JohnM29,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.

Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to help you.

A slow shutdown process on your HP laptop can be frustrating and may be caused by several factors. Here are some common reasons and solutions you can try:
 

Common Causes and Solutions for Slow Shutdown

Background Processes:
 

• Ensure no applications or processes are running in the background that are delaying the shutdown. You can check this by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager and reviewing running processes before initiating a shutdown.

Pending Updates:
 

• Check if your system is waiting to install updates. Oftentimes, updates are applied during shutdown, which can take additional time. Ensure your system is fully updated by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.

Corrupted System Files:
 

• Corrupted system files can cause various issues, including slow shutdowns. Running the System File Checker (SFC) can help repair these files. Open Command Prompt as an administrator and type sfc /scannow.

Fast Startup Feature:
 

• Windows 10 includes a feature called Fast Startup, which can sometimes cause shutdown issues. You can try disabling this feature by going to Control Panel > Power Options > Choose what the power button does > Change settings that are currently unavailable and unchecking Turn on fast startup.

Driver Issues:
 

• Outdated or faulty drivers can lead to shutdown delays. Visit the Official HP® Support to update your laptop's drivers, especially the chipset and storage drivers.
   

I hope this will help.
 

Take care and have a good day.

Jerry_57
HP Support

[JohnM29]

Hi Jerry_57

Thank you for a comprehensive reply.

Background Processes: - the only process of significance that is running is the "Antimalware Service Executable" which I cannot stop.

Pending Updates: - there are no pending updates.

Corrupted System Files: - I have already run the SFC and it found nothing wrong.

Fast Startup Feature: - Already on.

Driver Issues: - I will investigate, but have always applied all HP driver updates as soon as they are offered through Windows Update.

[Jerry_57]

Hi @JohnM29,

Thank you for your response.

A couple of other angles worth considering:
 

BIOS/UEFI firmware: If it hasn’t been updated in a while, an outdated BIOS can cause odd shutdown or sleep issues. HP usually provides updates on their Official HP® Support.

Hybrid sleep vs. hibernate: Even if fast startup is enabled, toggling hybrid sleep or disabling hibernate entirely can sometimes stabilize shutdown behavior.

Event Viewer logs: Checking under System for critical errors around the time of shutdown can reveal whether it’s a driver, power, or hardware fault.

Clean boot test: Temporarily disabling all non‑Microsoft services and startup items can confirm whether third‑party software is interfering.

Regards
Jerry_57
HP Support

[JohnM29]

Hi Jerry_57

I checked the BIOS/UEFI and updated it as it was out of date.

Disabling Sleep and Hibernate did not make any difference and neither did  a Clean Boot.

I have been experiencing with problems with Apps freezing and "Not responding" for a week or so - a variety of apps such as Edge, Google Chrome, Task Manager, to mention just a few, and I had a huge problem on 15 April installing the Microsoft update "2026 - 04 Cumulative update for Windows 10 version 22H2" - I tried repeatedly for 3 days and finally succeeded on 18 April!!! I suspect an app (Ccleaner) that I have used for years but a new version was launched some months ago and I had problems with it from the outset! I have now uninstalled it and everything seems to be running much better - although on shutting down it still takes about 15 minutes for disk activity to stop.

I will monitor for a few days.

Regards 

JohnM29

[JohnM29]

Hi Jerry_57

I have received your private message, thank you.

Don't know if you have seen my previous reply (22/04/2026 at 07:45) but my PC still seems to be back to normal and although I am not sure what resolved the problem, I am happy for you to archive the thread.

Thanks for your help.

Regards

JohnM29

[Jerry_57]

Hi @JohnM29,

Thank you for confirming. I’m glad to hear your PC is back to normal, and I’ll go ahead and archive the thread as requested.

Regards
Jerry_57
HP Support

[JohnM29]

Hi Jerry_57

I am sorry to say the problem has recurred!!

I sought help from Microsoft and here is a list of the results of the tests/checks they suggested:

I have checked the Registry Editor and it is set to 0, so that is not the cause of the problem.

I disabled ALL third-party services in System Configuration and then shut down the computer. The screen went blank almost immediately, but it took 23 minutes for the disk activity to stop – so a third-party service is not the cause as all were disabled.

I restarted my PC, selected Safe Mode in System Configuration and Restarted the machine. I shut down from Safe Mode and the Screen and Disk took 3 minutes to finish shutting down TOGETHER – not screen first then disk. So shutting down from safe mode was significantly faster and the behaviour was different.

Can you offer any other advice?