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Q: I have a Gateway P-7805U running Windows Vista.  I normally closed the machine and left it in a sleep mode every day.  Recently I had a problem with corrupted files which caused my machine to run slow and sometimes lock up.  With the assistance of a friend we got the machine back in working order.  My friend said that leaving a machine in sleep mode could result in corrupted files particularly if there is a power outage.  My machine is back in working order but now displays some unusual behavior.  I cannot get the machine to shut down.  Using the shutdown command causes the machine to turn off but it self starts – sometimes in as little as 5-10 minutes.  I’ve been told that using the manual on/off switch may again result in corrupted files again.  How can I get the machine to stay off??  I’m afraid if I leave it in sleep mode I’ll develop more problems from file corruption. 

– Ben C.
Fort Walton Beach, Fla

A: The file system under Microsoft Windows is carefully designed to stop files from becoming corrupted.  Before I go any farther, let me be clear on what I mean by “corrupted”.  Computer files are demanding entities.  In most cases, every single number and letter in a computer file has to be exactly correct, or the entire file will not work.  When something is not correct, the file is considered “corrupted”.  Some corrupted files can’t even be properly read off the disk.  Others read just fine, but the data are somehow scrambled.  If those data are critical to the operation of your system, you get problems, or at a minimum, a slow system.  Unfortunately, certain things (like power suddenly disappearing) are outside of the operating system’s ability to control and compensate.  Under normal circumstances, Windows opens files, reads from them, and writes to them, all the while verifying that these input/output operations are succeeding.  When a power loss event occurs, two things happen.  First, without power, the system immediately halts right in the middle of what it was doing.  That can leave open files in an indeterminate state, as they may be partially written, and certainly not properly verified.  The second thing that causes problems is that when power is suddenly removed from a system, it can cause a tiny power surge throughout the system.  If the hard disk’s record head happens to be on top of a critical portion of a file when power disappears, and it receives a burst of electricity as the system’s power disperses, it can cause the electronic equivalent of a big ink smudge in the middle of a printed page.  Whatever is under this electronic smudge on the surface of the disk platter will no longer be readable.

So, now that you have the background, let’s address your questions.  If your machine is refusing to shut down, then you have not eliminated all the file corruption yet.  Believe it or not, even the process of shutting your system down is driven by software.  That software is stored in files that are prone to corruption like any other files.  So ask your friend to dig a little deeper in his repair efforts.  Better yet, back up all your data files, then wipe the hard drive and do a clean restore of the operating system.  You’ll instantly return your system to the optimal performance it had when it was new, and the problem you’re having will go away.  Once you’ve got that solved, rather than going on stand-by, either shut the system completely down when you’re done using it, or consider using the Hibernate function.  Hibernate saves the current state of the system, including every open window and running program, then safely powers the machine off.  When you’re ready to work again, just power it back on, and it’s right where you left it.  By all means, do NOT simply shut the machine off with the power button!  All that does is command the power supply to cease supplying electricity to the system, which is nothing more than a human-caused power failure.  You’ll get the same results as a “regular” power failure.