Can't shut down, windows installer not working

Hi there,


So the computer I'm trying to fix here, I've had for about 5-6 years. Two years ago when I more actively used it, it wouldn't shut down and it's been sitting in a corner of my room collecting dust ever since. The past couple days I decided to see if I could get it working again.

I originally posted this in the malware forum and went through all the steps there and it appears to have no malware, so I don't know what the issue could be.

Here are the problems I've been having:

The computer won't shut down or restart--it gets to the "shutting down/saving your files" blue screen and then freezes. it also asks me to end a bunch of things before it gets to that point. Finally I have to just unplug the computer and plug it back in to get it to turn off.

I'm also having a problem with Windows Installer and Add/remove programs. Add/Remove programs won't load and every time something tries to install or uninstall something that requires Windows Installer, it starts and then just freezes and won't install/uninstall. I had to use Your Uninstaller to remove old versions of Java, but I can't install the newest version of it. I also haven't been able to install the latest Windows updates.

The computer will shut down and restart while in safe mode, just not in the normal mode.

I also tried to burn the files to CD, but that didn't work either. I tried 5 different CDs (2 different brands) but I kept getting a message to insert a CD--apparently it wouldn't read that there was one in there.

Since this is an older computer, I've been thinking of just tossing it or having it wiped clean, but I figured I'd try to fix it first.

Hope someone can help. Thanks!

 

It may be time to do a repair install. Just insert the Windows CD & boot it up. When asked, choose repair.