Pc always restarts after shutdown – solutions

Your PC always restarts automatically after shutdown and can’t be switched off anymore? Then you find out in this contribution what it can be because of and what one can do against it.

I decided to write this article, because I myself was affected by it and my PC could not be switched off. Whenever I wanted to shut down the PC in the evening, it was off for a few seconds and then turned on again after about 2-3 seconds on its own.

If one looks in the Internet for solutions for this problem, then one finds numerous forums in those the most different solution beginnings are called. But after you have gone through numerous suggestions, the problem still exists for many people. It is like bewitched and a very nerve-wracking affair, since one must constantly restart the PC.

In my case I tried one solution after the other and after some changes I could shutdown the PC without any problems. The problem seemed to be identified and eliminated. But then suddenly it was back and could only be fixed temporarily. Again and again one goes through then everything from the beginning and looks for itself the numerous solution suggestions again together. Also, some forum posts have been closed for years and no further experiences, suggestions or questions can be asked.

This contribution here should save you this annoying search and give you in the long run the possibility to post own solution suggestions. Also, I have compiled all known causes for the problem with the shutdown.

The problem after shutdown

As soon as the PC is shut down, nothing happens for a few seconds. Then suddenly this restarts as if you had previously initiated a restart. The whole thing happens after every attempt to shut down the PC.

PC restarts after shutdown

First of all, you need to clarify if and what changes have been made. This is the only way to narrow down the troubleshooting and find a solution for the problem faster. Some users write that they have not made any changes and that the problem has occurred without any action. What you can do in this case is hard to say…

The following causes lead in most cases to the fact that the PC restarts after shutdown by itself:

  • New PC
  • hardware replacement (new mainboard)
  • Upgrade (memory expanded, new case…)
  • New operating system (windows 7, windows 8…)
  • BIOS reset

Even if you didn’t make any of the above mentioned changes, the following solutions are feasible and might be helpful.

PC can no longer be shut down

It is not so easy to find the cause of this problem, although it is clear why the PC restarts again. Because the power supply gets the order from somewhere to supply power again. This can be due to the software settings or hardware – for example, because a wrong contact occurs somewhere.

If the PC keeps restarting after you tried to shutdown it, you should try the following solutions to fix the problem.

The easiest solution according to many users is to simply use a power plug with a switch and cut all power after each shutdown. The whole thing works, but the problem is not solved and from my point of view no real solution.

General solutions

First of all, here are some solutions that you can easily do in windows. Of course it is unlikely that changes have to be made here, if for example a hardware replacement was done and nothing was changed in windows. In these cases start below..

Prevent reboot

Basically it is possible to prevent windows from restarting and to do it only manually. But the whole thing only works if this is the cause of the automatic reboots.

start – settings – control panel – mouse – (tab) hardware – properties – change settings – (tab) power management

And there then the hook at "device can activate the computer from sleep mode" remove.

Check registry

It is possible that the reboot is caused by a wrong value in the registry. Please check the following in the registry:

Now after the entry "powerdownaftershutdownlook for "powerdownaftershutdown" and check if the value is 1 or 0. This should be set to 1. To search for the entry you can use the search in the registration editor or just go through the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\microsoft\windows NT\currentversion\winlogon

Remove components

You may not believe it, but also connected things like headphones or USB devices can be the reason for the reboots. Therefore all not needed sticks, headsets etc. must be removed. Remove and test again.

Often a USB stick seems to be the cause for the phenomenon.

Setting of the network card

In the properties of the network card you have the possibility to make settings. Please check the following:

start – control panel – device manager – "select network card" – properties – (tab) power management

And there then the hook at "device can activate the computer from sleep mode"remove.

Get from standby

If you put your PC in standy mode from time to time, it can happen that it does not wake up properly for unexplained reasons. So just put the PC into standby mode and get it out again. Maybe it was still hanging in there.

Solutions after buying a new pc

If the problem occurs with a newly purchased PC that was not assembled by yourself, then I can only recommend that you do not make any changes and send the computer unchanged back to the dealer. In the end you don’t get it under control and also lose the warranty. So, contact dealer and ask for replacement.

Solutions after hardware replacement

For example, if you bought a new mainboard and assembled the whole thing yourself, you should go through the following steps and check if everything was really connected correctly. Because incorrectly connected components can certainly lead to the PC having quirks and in the worst case being defective.

Connect Power SW to mainboard correctly

An important solution are the power connectors on the mainboard. Here you should check if they are really connected correctly. And namely the writing of the connections must be checked for all (power SW, reset SW, etc).) always point upwards. Then check whether the respective plug is also at the correct PINS.

Power-SW-mainboard-close-reset-pins

Solutions after BIOS reset

Note: so, if you are not familiar with the bios, it is better to leave it alone and ask someone who is. Quickly you have changed settings which can then lead to problems. Therefore I do not explain how to get into the bios 😉

If you have done a bios reset on your PC for any reason, of course all settings in the bios have been reset again. This may well cause the PC to restart on its own after shutdown. In this case you should check the following settings:

  • State after power failure (auto/former state) on OFF set (disable/disable)
  • Or restore on AC power loss on on OFF (disable/disable)
  • Wakeonlan disable/disable

Whether your bios has these settings depends on the age of the mainboard and the installed bios version. Inquire with the manufacturer of the board whether the appropriate settings are supported.

If applicable. Is also a bios update useful.

install driver updates

Again and again problems can be caused by outdated drivers. This point I have but deliberately put at the end, because this is already a little more elaborate and only in rare cases the error fixed. Basically you should check every now and then, if updates of the components are available.

Solutions unsuccessful?

Have the solution approaches brought nothing and the error still exists? Then you have the possibility to leave us further solution suggestions as a comment.

If you don’t know any and the problem is not solved it could also be a hardware defect. Possible in this case would be a defective power supply or a defective mainboard. Ideally would be here another power supply to have available, to be able to exclude this as a fault.

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