Computers and Peripherals - Computer won't shut all the way down and running slowly

I have an older (5 to 6 years old) HP Pavillion 4535. The amber light beside the green power light is not supposed to come on except for when you put the computer on standby. About a few months ago I noticed the amber light on when the computer was running. I checked the power management and it was not on standby. I shut the computer down and the amber light stayed on and the fan also would not cut off. The only way to get fan and amber light to cut off is to unplug to tower. I tried reloading to the whole computer no luck and a friend thought it may be the bios or dios (not sure the correct name) but it was not that either. Also when the computer is being used or sitting turned on for an hour or less it gets real slow and I have to shut down and restart to get it running fast again. I upgraded the harddrive and put max ram in it over a year ago well before problem started. I have been told it may possibly be the power supply, does this seem like a possible power supply problem? If so can I get a universal power supply or do I need to get a HP?
Also I checked the WIndows topics for this problem and tried a few things but nothing helped. Thanks for any help on this.

I guess you're running windozzzs 98? I hated that version, too many problems. If you're running XP you'll be much happier. I doubt it's your power supply. If you wish to change it, you don't need to purchase an HP PS. You can check your bios settings usually from the screen. Mine was hitting "delete" during boot up. Check your setting from the control panel as well. Let us know what else you've done so far. :blah:

Do the regular shutdown screens still work? does it say it's shutting down windows and hang, or go to blank screen?

If pressing your power switch doesn't immediately shut down the PC, that's normal for ATX systems. The action of the power switch is programmable and is controlled through CMOS Setup. The default operation for most power switches requires you to hold the switch in for three to five seconds before the system will power down. This allows use of the power switch to wake the PC from some power saving "sleep" or "stand-by" modes, depending on CMOS Setup power management settings. If the problem is that the operating system can't turn off the PC when you shut down, it's likely a bad setting in power management or a corrupted file in the operating system.

The BIOS is code that the PC uses at start up and is responsible for many things. One of those things is power management, which can get in the way of the shutdown process. Find and install a BIOS upgrade, if available, from the HP Support Web Site. For more information, refer to the HP support document HP and Compaq PCs - Updating the BIOS .http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?dlc=en&lc=en&product=60447&lang=en&cc=us&docname=c00007682

There's been a couple of patches available for 98 SE for years now that you may want to install...

http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/downloads/contents/WURecommended/S_WUFeatured/Win98SE/Default.asp

and

http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/downloads/contents/WUCritical/q273017/Default.asp



Download all the updates for it while you're at it.

I doubt that this would be your problem but you never can tell... Have you updated the bios at all lately?

Yes it does hang up while shutting down sometimes. A friend checked my bios before I am not sure how to get to it. I know if I hit F11 during startup it will put me to the safe mode and some other options. If someone can tell me how to get to bios and what to check when I get there. Thanks to all of you for all of your help.

here's a few pages to check out. With windows 98, there are several reasons for a shutdown problem that are software related.

http://www.techadvice.com/w98/S/Shutdown.htm

http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/98seshutdown.html

http://aumha.org/win4/kbshtdwn.php

If it is a software problem or a problem with the bios if I buy Windows XP and load it on the computer would it take care of problem? Thanks

You say your pc is 5 or 6 years old, it won't handle windows xp. It would be cheaper and much better in the long run to get yourself a new pc.

A pc like yours would probably not fetch more than $50, do you really want to dump money into it?

I am looking at a new computer but I would like to fix this one to run properly so I could give it to my younger son to use. If I could buy Windows XP and it would make computer run ok and not slow down, I would say yes it is worth the money.

Do not even think of putting Windows XP on this PC. Windows 98SE is fine for it.

Most importantly, Windows XP won't run on this PC, as it is too old.

Second, Windows XP will cost you over $100.00 for this machine.

How do I get to the Bios screen on this HP 4535 with windows 98se? Thanks