I've been having this issue for the past three days where my PC refuses to shut down properly if it goes into sleep mode. Here's what happens: I leave my computer for about 5 to 10 minutes, and then it goes into sleep mode. When I come back and try to shut it down, it just gets stuck on a black screen with 'Shutting Down' and a loading circle, and it never actually powers off. However, if the PC doesn't go to sleep mode, it shuts down normally within 30 to 60 seconds. I haven't installed anything new or added hardware; this just started happening out of the blue. I even tried forcing a shutdown by holding the power button, but it's super frustrating! Also, I'm using Windows 11.
3 Answers
I personally don’t use sleep mode on my desktop because I notice it makes my CPU run slower after waking up. You might want to consider skipping sleep mode altogether—it can cause some issues.
I’m a bit confused about what you meant by saying it shuts down like a regular PC when you don’t let it sleep. Can you clarify that?
There was a recent update issue related to Windows 11 where some PCs were having trouble shutting down. You might want to check out this article for more details: [HowToGeek on Windows 11 update issues](https://www.howtogeek.com/the-latest-windows-11-update-is-causing-pcs-to-refuse-to-shut-down/). Hopefully, your system has already received a patch for that!
But it’s February, so they should have patched it by now, right?
Sure! It shuts down like normal within 30 to 60 seconds, but if it goes into sleep mode, then when I try to turn it off, it just gets stuck on that 'Shutting Down' screen indefinitely. I even waited for two hours once!