Windows 8 Won’t Shut Down. How Do I Fix This Issue?

Windows 8 Won’t Shut Down. How Do I Fix This Issue?

Microsoft introduced a new feature named Hybrid Shutdown in Windows 8. This feature is by default enabled, and decreases the computer’s shutdown and booting time. The computer’s shut down time is decreased because when shutdown command is initiated, the kernel session is hibernated instead of closing completely. When a computer is powered on, the kernel session is resumed from the hibernation, hence speeding up the booting time as well.

Although Hybrid Shutdown is introduced in Windows 8 to increase its performance, sometimes it may cause errors and prevents Windows from shutting down normally. Many computers hang or freeze when shutdown process is initiated, and the reason for this freezing nature is that Hybrid Shutdown is enabled by default.
In order to resolve this issue, administrators must turn off Hybrid Shutdown option. By doing so, the kernel session would not get hibernated, and will be closed completely every time the computer shutdown process is initiated. Although this may increase the shut down or start-up time of the computer, freezing issue of the computer would be resolved.

How to Disable Hybrid Shutdown in Windows 8?

To disable Hybrid Shutdown in Windows 8 to resolve the shutdown issue, steps below must be followed using an administrator account:

■Log on to Windows 8 computer with the administrator account on which Hybrid shutdown is to be disabled.
■Click Desktop tile from the Start screen to go to the desktop screen.
■Once on the desktop screen, hover mouse to the bottom right corner of the window.
■From the displayed options, click Settings.
■On the Settings pane, click Control Panel.
■On the opened Control Panel window, click System and Security.
■On the System and Security window, click Power Options from the right pane.
■On the Power Options window, click Choose what the power buttons do option from the left pane.
■On the System Settings window, click Change settings that are currently unavailable link to enable the advanced options.
■From the enabled options under Shutdown settings section, uncheck Turn on fast startup (recommended) checkbox to disable Hybrid Shutdown.





■Click Save changes button to save the modified settings.
■Close Power Options window when done.

Note: In order to re-enable the Hybrid Shutdown in Windows 8 computer follow steps 1 to 9. On the step 10, check the Turn on fast startup (recommended) checkbox and save the changes.


For a detailed video walkthrough, check out the Tom's Hardware Tutorial Video below: