When you try to shut down a Windows Vista-based or Windows Server 2008-based computer, the shutdown process may become very slow.

This issue may occur if other computers have dialed into the computer that you try to shut down.

Consider the following scenario. On a Windows Vista-based computer, you install a series of hotfixes without restarting the computer. Then, you try to restart the computer to complete the hotfix installation. However, the system may stop responding (hang) while the computer is shutting down. The shutdown process stops responding at the following message:

Windows is configuring the updates

This behavior continues until you manually turn off the computer.

• Vista - Shutdown Timer
  A freeware program that gives you ultimate control over shutting down or restarting your Vista computer.
  (tags: Shutdown Software )
• Windows Vista Team Blog : Releasing Windows Vista SP1 for more languages
  Vista SP1 is not available to all languages through Windows Update, or direct download.
  (tags: Language SP1 )

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A freeware program that gives you ultimate control over shutting down or restarting your Vista computer. Keep reading →

When you wake a computer that is running Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) from hibernation, you may receive the following error message:

System was shutdown unexpectedly

The tenth tip video by PCWizKid. Change the behavior of your Windows Vista power button on the menu from sleep to Shutdown for example with these easy steps.

Consider the following scenario:

• To prepare a computer for imaging and deployment to multiple computers, you use the Sysprep tool (Sysprep.exe) from one of the following language versions of Windows Vista:
  • Norwegian
  • Italian
  • French
• When you run Sysprep, you leave the default Shutdown option selected in the Shutdown Options list. Then, you click OK to prepare the image.

In this scenario, the computer does not shut down as expected after Sysprep.exe finishes preparing the Windows Vista image. Instead, the computer restarts unexpectedly in audit mode.

You experience this problem even though the Enter System Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE) option is selected in the System Cleanup Action list.

Note: You do not experience this problem if you use the English version of Sysprep.

Having used Windows XP for some time, I’ve grown used to pressing the power button to turn off my laptop. In Windows Vista, pressing the power button doesn’t shutdown, instead it ’sleeps’. I don’t know about you, but I never had any luck with ’sleep’ or ‘hibernate’ in XP, something always breaks and I end up restarting anyway, and it’ll take some time for me to give it a try in Vista. So, how can you get back the ’shutdown’ behavior you’ve grown accustomed to? Here’s a pictoral step-by-step on how to make the Vista power button shutdown instead of sleep. Keep reading →