Event ID 3003 — Windows Shutdown

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

Windows shutdown is the process whereby the operating system, in response to a user action or scripted command, terminates applications, processes, and services in the proper order to switch off the computer.

Event Details

Diagnose

This error might be caused by one of the following conditions:

• A service failed to start.
• Windows was unable to shut down properly.

A service failed to start

To determine if a service failed to start:

1. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Event Viewer.
2. In the Event Viewer (Local) pane, double-click Windows Logs.
3. Select the System log. A white exclamation point in a red circle indicates that a service or driver is stopped or has failed to start. A black exclamation point in a yellow triangle indicates warnings, such as low disk space. For more information about an entry, click the entry, and read the General tab.
4. If a service failed to start, see the "Restart the service" section.

Windows was unable to shut down properly

To determine if Windows was unable to shut down properly:

1. Right-click the taskbar, and then click Task Manager.
2. On the Application tab, locate processes whose status is Not responding. Click the process and then click End process to end these processes manually.
3. Continue the shutdown process and completely shut down the computer before restarting.
4. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Event Viewer.
5. In the Event Viewer (Local) pane, double-click Windows Logs.
6. Select the System log and verify that a shutdown event was recorded.
7. Attempt the shutdown again. If Windows is unable to shut down, see the "Shut down the system by turning the power off" section.

Resolve

Restart the service

During Windows shutdown, Windows stops the services that are running on the computer. If a service failed to start or stop properly, it might have stopped responding and locked system resources, which might prevent automatic shutdown of the system.

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in the local Administrators group, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To restart the service:

1. Use the error code to determine the service that failed to start.
2. Click Start, type services.msc, and then press ENTER.
3. In the Services pane, locate the service that failed to start.
4. Right-click the service, and then click Start.

Shut down the system by turning the power off

Errors with services and process that are encountered during shutdown can prevent user interaction with the system. If the system has become completely unresponsive to user input, then the system will have to be shut down by interrupting the power supply to the computer for sufficient time to allow the system to completely shut down.

To shut down the computer by turning the power off:

1. Right-click the taskbar, and then click Task Manager.
2. Locate processes that are not responding and terminate those processes manually.
3. Press and hold the power button on the computer for 15-30 seconds. If that does not shut down the computer, disconnect the computer from the power supply by either unplugging it from the power outlet or disconnecting the battery or uninterruptable power supply.

Verify

The Windows shutdown process is used to shut down both local computers and remote computers. There may be situations where shutdown is working correctly for local computers but not for remote computers.

To verify that the Windows shutdown process completes successfully:

• Observe that the computer switches off automatically when Shut Down is selected from the Start menu.
• Use the Windows Scheduler to schedule the shutdown process.
• Access the shutdown process from Task Manager and manually shut down the Windows initialization process (winit.exe).

Related Management Information

Windows Shutdown

Core Security