Resolving Computer Does Not Shut Down or Turns Itself Back on

• In specific scenarios, you cannot turn off the computer by performing the normal Operating System shutdown process.

• You may experience a situation where your computer turns on by itself.

• The computer may not shut down under these scenarios:

  • The computer stops responding, and the mouse and keyboard do not work.
  • The computer does not shut down when using the Shut Down command or the Turn Off Computer command on the Start menu in Windows.
• The computer can be woken up by an external device, settings, malicious software, software updates, or even hardware issues.

Perform the steps outlined in the corresponding section to help resolve your issue.

Computer Does Not Turn Off

1. Press and hold the power button until the computer powers off, which may take 15-30 seconds.
2. Wait at least 30 seconds and press the power button to turn on the computer.

Computer Turns Itself Back on

1. Run the SupportAssist tool.

   Using the SupportAssist application provides automatic computer updates and detects issues such as Malware and hardware issues.

   To run the SupportAssist tool, perform the following steps.

   1. Press and hold the Windows key, and then press the Q key.
   2. In the search box, type SupportAssist.
   3. Select SupportAssist (App) in the list of results.
      NOTE: When SupportAssist does not show up in the search results, go to the SupportAssist for PCs and tablets page for information about downloading and installing SupportAssist.
   4. Touch or click Start Now to run the tests.
   5. SupportAssist runs the tests one by one and provides the results.

There are several options to try to prevent your computer from turning itself on. Dell Technologies recommends starting at the top of the list of the different options since the last option is the most restrictive of all and may prevent your computer from working correctly.

• Prevent individual devices from waking up your computer

  Certain devices, such as network adapters, keyboards, and mouses, can wake up your computer. To find out which devices can wake up your computer and prevent it from doing so, perform the following steps.

  1. Press and hold the Windows () key, and then press the q key.
  2. In the search box, type cmd.
  3. Right-click Command Prompt (App) from the search results and select Run as administrator. Confirm the selection if asked.
  4. In the Command Prompt box, type powercfg -devicequery wake_armed and then press enter.
  5. Make note of the devices listed.
  6. Press and hold the Windows () key, and then press the q key.
  7. In the search box, type device manager.
  8. Select Device Manager (Control panel) in the list of results.
  9. Select the arrow next to the category of the device that you want to prevent from waking up your computer (Keyboard, mouse, and other pointing devices, so forth).
  10. Right-click the device listing, and select Properties.
  11. Select the Power Management tab.
  12. Ensure the box next to Allow this device to wake up computer is cleared.
  13. You can either change the power settings for all the devices listed or do one at a time to determine which device caused the issue.

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• Turn Off Fast Startup

  Fast startup allows your personal computer to start up more quickly but has been known to cause computers to turn on by themselves. Try disabling this feature to see if it fixes the issue by performing the following steps.

  1. Press and hold the Windows () key, and then press the q key.
  2. In the search box type, control panel.
  3. Select Control Panel (App) from the search results.
  4. Select Hardware and Sound.
  5. Select Choose what the power buttons do in the Power Options section.
  6. Ensure the box next to Turn on fast startup (recommended) is cleared.
  7. Select Save changes.

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• Disable Automatic Maintenance

  Windows 11 and 10 have a feature called Automatic Maintenance that allows your computer to turn itself on when it must perform maintenance tasks.

  To disable the Automatic Maintenance feature, perform the following steps.

  1. Press and hold the Windows () key, and then press the q key.
  2. In the search box type, control panel.
  3. Select Control Panel (App) from the search results.
  4. Select System and Security.
  5. Select Security and Maintenance.
  6. Select the Maintenance drop-down menu.
  7. Select Change maintenance settings.
  8. Ensure the box next to Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer is cleared.
     NOTE: The option may be disabled due to other settings that disable this feature.

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• Disable Wake Timers

  When you want to prevent any scheduled task or device from waking up your computer, you can disable all wake timers globally.

  To disable all the wake timers, perform the following steps.

  1. Press and hold the Windows () key, and then press the q key.
  2. In the search box type, control panel.
  3. Select Control Panel (App) from the search results.
  4. Select Hardware and Sound.
  5. Select Edit power plan in the Power Options section.
  6. Select Change advanced power settings.
  7. Select the plus (+) next to Sleep.
  8. Select the plus (+) next to Allow wake timers.
  9. Ensure Disabled is selected in the On Battery and Plugged In options.
  10. Select Apply and then OK.

Recommended Articles

Here are some recommended articles related to this topic that might be of interest to you.

• Troubleshooting Incomplete Shutdowns in Windows 10
• How to Troubleshoot Overheating, Shutdown, or Thermal Issue on a Dell Computer