How to Restart/Shut Down Dell XPS 15 9520 Safely When Programs Frozen?
How to Restart/Shut Down Dell XPS 15 9520 Safely When Programs Frozen?
I was using my dell xps 15 9520 with windows 11 pro earlier without any issue. Then suddenly I noticed I couldn't play any youtube video to load. There was no issue earlier though when doing that. Also there is suddenly no sound. When I click on desktop icons... either the program doesn't open up or it opens up and it is frozen the entire time. Is this the regular glitch that many people get a lot with windows? Thing is last time I had this issue where I then went to start menu and shut down... it didn't shut down for a very long time. I think it stayed on that black screen for a long time. Then I hold the power button to force shut down and it didn't even shut down. It took a long time for it to suddenly shut down. Then when power on laptop, there was no issue. My concern now is do I click start and shut down laptop? Or restart? All my peripherals are connected to it such as in the usb-c port, a dell 2 in 1 adapter with a hdmi to hdmi cable to a monitor and sabrent port hub, the usb-c to displayport to another monitor in the thunderbolt 4 port. And the last thunderbolt4 port has a laptop charger connected. Can someone tell me how do I safely shut down or restart my laptop here if I am positive it will not shut down properly? Also if it matters, I always ignored the dell update message on bottom right corner where it says there are dell updates to do. I only do the windows updates though. But could that be the reason or not? Don't think that is good idea to do that now since my computer is at this state? When I click on windows updates, it shows everything is up to date. So ignore dell update right since well that program isn't even necessary? How do i safely restart my laptop or shut it down? Main concern is it won't turn off which I am positive will happen. Then do I just wait till it turns off? Do i hold the power button to power it off? Make sure I don't unplug the power button? The thing is I am positive it won't shut down or restart like normal because this similar thing happened last time. I remember I tried holding the power button to force shut down after it didn't shut down or restart and even closed the lid and all that... but after a while it shut down but it too a long time. Then I powered it on and it worked. Can someone tell me what I should do here?
After you power off or restart your device, wait for the system to fully reboot before checking for any issues. If it doesn’t shut down properly, observe the message and consider using the command prompt to attempt a manual restart. Avoid overnight shutdowns due to uncertainty—take steps to ensure stability.
It seems like Windows could be running low on memory. If this repeats, check Task Manager to identify any program consuming all RAM. This suggests a bug, so consider uninstalling or updating the affected software—newer versions might resolve the problem. If the system doesn’t shut down properly, a forced shutdown is usually the only option. You can usually do this by holding the power button for over 20 seconds. If it still works but takes a long time, try that approach.
I have 32GB of RAM. The highest usage I've ever seen was 18GB, but today it dropped to 15GB. It might have been due to background YouTube videos. If you're watching a YouTube video and then opening others, pausing some, and suddenly the video stops with no sound, you can't open programs from the desktop. Clicking the start menu won't shut it down right away—it may take several minutes. Wait for a while before taking action. If you decide to restart or shut down, don’t hold the power button for 20 seconds; that’s not recommended. Just let it finish what it's doing and check the screen for any indication of how long it needs.
I chose to check task manager, open Task Explorer, right-click and restart. Was it better not to have done this? Now my screen and two monitors display a white background. The Task Manager bar is open, but I can't even close the Start menu or restart. Is there a method to safely shut down or restart after doing this with Windows Explorer?
When problems arise, things tend to worsen. You won’t be able to restart or shut down the laptop normally. There’s no other option but to press the power button to force a shutdown.
Consider your current situation carefully. Since you're seeing a white screen, it's best to avoid opening Task Manager unless necessary. Holding the power button for a few seconds is a common method to force shutdown, but be cautious—prolonged use can damage hardware. If you're unsure, try the suggested workaround: run a new task in Task Manager and select "SHUTDOWN /S" before clicking OK. This should help restart your system safely.
Windows appears to be in a strange condition, unable to start or stop properly. Opening Explorer and seeing a white screen are just signs of this issue. It seems Windows has exhausted its resources. Trying to force it might work, but it’s essentially the same as shutting it down. Since restarting Explorer isn’t possible, I wouldn’t expect much improvement. A force shutdown by pressing the power button is the best approach right now.
When I pressed the power button briefly, the main monitor showed a shutdown option similar to a dropdown menu. Someone else has experienced this before. I selected shut down and it closed quickly. After closing the laptop lid, I unplugged the charger and noticed the hub lights stayed on. Usually they turn off right away after unplugging the charger. I had seen that when I detached the keyboard from the hub, there was silence and no recognition. I removed the adapter with the hub and unplugged the external monitor cables. When I opened the lid, the laptop didn’t start. After a while, it powered on again. Is this a common issue? Could it happen again? At the moment, the laptop seems okay but it might recur. What could be causing it to fail to power on? I waited before opening the lid and it didn’t work. Then I waited longer and it did start up once the lid was opened.