laptop pc keeps restarting when I tell it to power off

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whitelighter

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Dec 4, 2017
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Hello -
My HP 2540p laptop (which runs Windows 7) keeps restarting when I try to power it down. I mean, it does turn off, but after a few seconds starts up again. A few months ago it did this when I accidentally spilled something on it but I seemed to get the problem fixed that time; I doubt the problem would still be related to damages from that but who knows. I've tried going to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon but the PowerDownAfterShutDown is already set to 1. I've also gone to Advanced systems settings and made sure that "Automatically restart" was unchecked. The only thing I can figure is I may have accidentally gotten some adware or spyware installed, plus I was watching some streaming media which caused the pc to heat up; I hope that did not do any serious damage, but my pc seems to have an automatic shut-off feature if it starts running too hot which is why I maybe wasn't as careful as I should've been. Anyone have any suggestions?
 
some units detect USB and/or network activity and wake up.
so make sure no external devices are connected and disable the ethernet or wifi card (whichever you use) before shutting down just to test that theory.

but my money is on the spill - those things keep getting worse as the liquid causes further oxidisation or corrosion or if it was a sugary drink, that dries out and gums things up.
 
I tried disabling wifi and it didn't solve the problem. So if is the spill (which occurred around February) could a professional repair this? The drink did not contain sugar - it was sparkling water with ginger & stevia.
 
the sparkling water could have had a high mineral content (maybe bicarbonates and sulphates), then there is the ginger with its own naturally occurring sugars, then the Stevia glycoside, all to combine and effect electronics in strange and wonderful ways. :)

as to repair, I cannot say, I would guess sadly, No.
the spill really is a hurdle to me going forward with any expenditure.
since it's still running Win7, I'm guessing it's around 8 years old. I think you could say it has had its day in the sun.
if this is its only 'problem', I'd probably see if it's tolerable and if not, treat myself to a new one.

when it restart automatically, if you hold the power button in for 5 seconds does it turn off and stay off?
 
Keeping the power key depressed didn't solve the problem, plus some of the keys are hard to depress & the media players are starting to act up.. Yeah, it's frustrating that now I'll have to spend several hundred on a new laptop due to my own stupidity, but maybe it wouldn't have lasted too much longer anyway... I guess these laptops have a finite lifespan. Anyhow thanks for the suggestions. I hope at any rate I'll be able to get all the stuff on this hard drive transferred to a new pc.
 
"some of the keys are hard to press" as well is the nail in the coffin for me.
the data right now is fully recoverable so that shouldn't change any time soon - but 'make hay while the sun shines' they say.
put it off at your peril.

that drive can always be placed into an external drive enclosure for 1) immediate file retrieval and 2) for then use as a backup drive.
 
Bruce said:
"some of the keys are hard to press" as well is the nail in the coffin for me.
the data right now is fully recoverable so that shouldn't change any time soon - but 'make hay while the sun shines' they say.
put it off at your peril.

that drive can always be placed into an external drive enclosure for 1) immediate file retrieval and 2) for then use as a backup drive.
Click to expand...
Twilight zone - I was gonna go look into getting a new laptop today, but tried shutting this one down one last time, and now it's shutting off as it should. And it's really just the spacebar key that's malfunctioning - I have to strike it right in the center for it to work.

It's a gamble I guess - if I understand you correctly, if there's damage from the spill seeping its way inward, putting off replacing the laptop could cause data on my hard drive to be lost. But gettinng a new laptop is just so danged expensive.

- Would they be able to tell by taking the laptop apart and examining it if there is, in fact, damage from the spill?
- If so, would that be expensive?
- Would placing it into an an external drive be expensive, or a more cost-effective alternative to buying a new laptop?
 
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If you spilled something a few months ago - there may be damage to the motherboard. Taking it apart now serves no good purpose; dismantling should have been done at the time of the spill.
Would they be able to tell by taking the laptop apart and examining it if there is, in fact, damage from the spill?
Click to expand...
A good tech could tell. BUT good techs are few and far between. Mostly you find people who know just enough to be dangerous.

Pointless to put the hard drive into an external enclosure. 1) the laptop is no longer portable - the whole point of a laptop versus a desktop computer 2) booting from something external rather than internal will be slower

If the space bar is acting up, attach an external keyboard or use the onscreen keyboard if you need to use the space bar a lot.
 
@whitelighter
the idea to put the laptop drive into an external enclosure was not then for the enclosure to be connected to the same laptop (or a new one) and used as the main repository of data. the aim was to still be able to use that drive, in its enclosure, to connect to a new PC for data retrieval and later for backups.
that way you still get same value out of the cost of the old laptop which sounded like it was on its last legs.
 
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