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When I shutdown my Windows 10 PC via menu, this is the sequence of events that occur typically:

  1. Windows pops up a message that the system will be shut down. Disk (I still have a RAID with spinning platters) is busy.
  2. The screen goes into power-save mode while the disks are still busy (I have a "disk LED" that shows controller activity).
  3. Eventually I hear the sound of disks spinning down ("disk LED" goes off, too), and the power LED goes off.
  4. After about 5 seconds more I see the USB power to "collapse", i.e. the lights on any USB devices go off.
  5. Then I power off the PC by mains switch.

However after booting I see it rather frequently that Windows takes a long time to boot, also saying that the last shutdown was unexpected (see https://superuser.com/a/1293346/964771). I don't understand why: The disks were turned off, the PC-power was off, how can Windows record anything after disks an CPU were powered down? Or is it that the shutdown sequence actually failed before powering down?

I also have the impression that waiting maybe another 5 to 10 seconds after step 4 before doing step 5 does not produce that message.

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  • Do you have Fast Startup enabled? // I suggest not turning off the power at all, even if just to test this behavior.
    – Daniel B
    Dec 2, 2021 at 9:25
  • I did disable "Fast Startup" as I also have installed Linux on that PC; otherwise Linux is unable to mount the NTFS filesystems.
    – U. Windl
    Dec 2, 2021 at 9:34

1 Answer 1

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You are terminating power when windows is still shutting down. Even though the screen is no longer turned on, you can clearly see the fact that led lights and fans still work and slowly come to rest.

As the last led goes off, you power off the switch, but windows is apparently still doing something. You have even noticed that waiting a few more seconds sometimes is enough to not trigger that message.

So the conclusion is that there is a device connected that keeps windows from shutting down quickly and as a result, it just needs more time before its entirely off. In the old Windows XP days, you would get a long delay before getting the message: "Its now safe to turn off your computer". This is essentially what happens to you, except you don't get that message, because Microsoft does not expect anyone to kill the switch on the mains switch.

So the answer is going to be, wait a little bit longer before killing the mains switch or troubleshoot which usb devices are causing the delay and see if you can fix that such that shutting down is quicker.

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  • On "You are terminating power when windows is still shutting down.": What makes you think so? Did you read what I wrote? What could Windows be doing when the board power is down, the disks have stopped, and the USB is without power? My only suspect is "some magic" with that management engine or UEFI BIOS.
    – U. Windl
    Dec 2, 2021 at 11:39
  • @U.Windl: Have you tried to wait longer than 5 seconds?
    – harrymc
    Dec 2, 2021 at 12:17
  • Just because the computerscreen powers down doesn't mean windows has been shut down. Why I think so, because you write yourself, if I wait after step 4, it doesn't happen. I quote: I also have the impression that waiting maybe another 5 to 10 seconds after step 4 before doing step 5 does not produce that message and I know for a fact that windows shuts down like this. Its actively powering down and controlling usb devices so that they shut down normally. I wouldn't be surprised if windows does other stuff too. Hook up a power meter, and you can measure when windows is truly off.
    – LPChip
    Dec 2, 2021 at 13:49
  • It seems that Window is starting faster if I wait maybe additional 5 seconds after the USB power shut down. Note: Windows powers down most USB devices during shutdown; the USB power off I'm talking about is taking place around 5 seconds after the board's main power has been turned off. And I don't understand what may be happening on the board after that.
    – U. Windl
    Dec 6, 2021 at 6:48
  • It appears that even though the board may seem to have been powered off, it apparently isn't.
    – LPChip
    Dec 6, 2021 at 7:36

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