HP Laptop doesn't shut down properly

Question

I have a Pavilion which, sometimes, doesn't shut down properly. It is a fresh install of Windows 10. What happens is that if I turn on the laptop and then shut it down, it shuts down properly. However, if I start using the computer for a while (surfing the internet and so on), when I try to shut down it appears to be shutting down, and it does: the HDD light goes off, wi-fi card shuts down, monitor goes black but the computer stays on, and the fan keeps going. I have turned off fast startup and sleep mode from power options, but it doesn't change anything. I have 3 options in my mind:

• Windows 10 related problem
• Motherboard problem
• Normal behaviour of the machine

Is it possible that the laptop stays on in order to cool the hardware before shutting down completely? That's something I've been thinking about. Thank you!

Solution 1

Check that fast start isn't enabled if it is:

1. Type Control Panel in the search box.
2. Click Control Panel.
3. Click Power Options.
4. Click Choose what the power buttons do.
5. Click Change settings that are currently unavailable.
6. Scroll down to Shutdown settings and uncheck Turn on fast startup.
7. Click Save changes.

Clean installs of W10 have this enabled from the start.

Solution 2

I suggest that you run Intel® Driver Update Utility and update your Intel drivers to the latest version and see what happens.

The problem might be within Intel's Management Engine driver, as some discussions on the web mention:

This seems to be a common problem with Windows 10. The culprit is Intel's Management Engine (IME) v11.* Ever since v10.* this has been a problem. What you need to do is to install a V9 or V10 IME and the system will operate as it should as it relates to power off, sleep, and hibernate. I had the same problem and regressed driver to v10 and everything has been fine since. 2 weeks and no troubles.

Check this as well.

Fans can remain on a short while after power off to protect components from overheating, but then they should turn off by themselves after a moment. I have this feature on a desktop PSU but never seen this on a laptop.