unable to shutdown

[cphite]

I have an old Dell laptop running Mint 18.3 and after a recent update (few weeks ago) the machine will not shut down properly.

When I try to shutdown it will get as far as the Mint logo screen (the logo with four dots under it) and after a moment or two the fan and HDD will stop, but the screen stays on and at that logo. I've waited upwards of 30 minutes and it just stays there; everything else is dark except for the light showing that charger is attached. I have to hold down the power button to get it to fully shut down.

Anything specific I can look at to resolve this issue?

[JoeFootball]

I have to hold down the power button to get it to fully shut down.

I don't have a solution to your core problem, but I wanted to let you know that you'll eventually corrupt your file system powering it off that way.

As an alternate option, hold down Alt + SysRq, and type r e i s u o, waiting a second or two between keystrokes. This will (usually) shutdown your computer cleanly, and preserve your file system.

More info here and here.

Joe

[cphite]

Joe -

Thanks - I will try that in the meantime... and if I can't find a solution I'll just reinstall the OS... been meaning to upgrade anyway, and the machine is only used for surfing and music, so nothing will be lost...

Thanks for the info

[cphite]

Heh... so the issue persists even after wiping the machine and installing Mint 19...

[JoeFootball]

Heh... so the issue persists even after wiping the machine and installing Mint 19...

I've seen similar posts to yours recently. Have a read through them to see if you can glean any tips. e.g., when it doesn't shutdown, hitting esc to see if you can view anything of significance.

Joe

[cphite]

Hitting ESC during the shutdown, the last steps are:

[OK] Reached Target Shutdown.
Starting Shuts down the "live" preinstalled system cleanly...
[OK] Starting Shuts down the "live" preinstalled system cleanly.
[OK] Reached target Final Step.
Starting Power-Off...

It hangs at "starting power-off" indefinitely.

[Terryphi]

As an alternate option, hold down Alt + SysRq, and type r e i s u o, waiting a second or two between keystrokes. This will (usually) shutdown your computer cleanly, and preserve your file system.

More info here and here.

Joe

My keyboard has a left Alt key and on the right is an AltGr key. Alt and SysRq are too far apart to hold together with one hand. Is it possible to use AltGr + SysRq?

[catweazel]

My keyboard has a left Alt key and on the right is an AltGr key. Alt and SysRq are too far apart to hold together with one hand. Is it possible to use AltGr + SysRq?

Please read the forum rules about creating a new thread for a new question.

Cheers.

[Terryphi]

@catweazel Sorry. I thought it was related to the topic and specifically JoeFootball's reply. I was seeking clarification for those of us with AltGr rather than Alt on the right side of the keyboard.

[JoeFootball]

@catweazel Sorry. I thought it was related to the topic and specifically JoeFootball's reply. I was seeking clarification for those of us with AltGr rather than Alt on the right side of the keyboard.

Let's take this one over here.

Joe