Attempt to power off failed

[Oren]

I always have to turn off the computer twice (from Start->Turn Off Computer->ShutDown), as first time nothing happens. The Event Viewer shows this message (Warning, Source: USER32 Event: 1073 User: SYSTEM):

"The attempt to power off COMPUTER-1 failed"

Very annoying. Any help would be appreciated!

[redduc900]

Download and install the User Profile Hive Cleanup Service tool from the following MS site...

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1B286E6D-8912-4E18-B570-42470E2F3582&displaylang=en

[Oren]

Thanks but that didn't help.

I think the problem started when I changed teh startup options in msconfig. Since then I returned them to the original but I suspect the problem might be connected somehow?

Also, every time Windows starts it opens the My Documents folder in the middle of the screen. I'm not sure how to get rid of that.

[redduc900]

Also, every time Windows starts it opens the My Documents folder in the middle of the screen. I'm not sure how to get rid of that.
Download and run the registry edit from here...

My Documents Folder Opens Upon Boot (for C:\) ...(Line 255 RH side)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

You may also want to take a pic of the System Configuration Utility / "Startup" tab, and post it in this thread... possibly even a pic of all the running processes (Task Manager | "Processes" tab). Also check out Jim Eshelman's site for shutdown/restart problems with XP...

Windows XP Shutdown & Restart Troubleshooting
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.htm

Another good troubleshooting site for shutdown problems is the ElderGeek's site here...

Troubleshooting Windows XP Shutdown Issues
http://www.theeldergeek.com/shutdown_issues_in_xp.htm

[Oren]

Thanks for the registry link. It solved that problem.

Regarding the problem with the shut down - I noticed the when I uncheck all the Startup programs in msconfig then I can shut down the computer properly. Then using elimination I found the culprit - it was CLIStart.exe which is part of ATI's Catalyst Control Panel. I had the drivers from September installed. I'm trying now to install the latest package. If I still have problems I'll just uninstall the Catalyst Control Panel as it's not really needed.

Thanks a lot of the help and the interesting links.

[Neuromancer]

Drivercleaner pro is a free utility that removes those last couple of remnants that ATI's uninstall utility misses. Always a good thing to do when updating drivers.

Also I seem to recall having a problem with ATI hotkey poller, I suggest disabling that in windows services.

[Oren]

Well I have the same problem with the latest Catalyst Control Panel. I'll try to uninstall and clean with the suggested program and then re-install. If the problem still exists then, I'll just get rid of the Catalyst Control Panel which anyhow looks like a resource hog to me.

I'll update tomorrow as I'm off to bed :)