Shutdown Screen Hanging

What is best way to deal with a hung or stuck Shutdown screen. I am not having a problem at the moment but in past handled this problem by pressing the physical restart button on PC case or holding the PC on/off button for about 5 seconds to do a forced shutdown. End result back then was a system drive that would not boot after a restart was required for Windows Updates. Luckily I clone regularly using Acronis True Image so the clone saved the day.

Is there a better way to deal with a hung/stuck shutdown screen?
Seems that once the shutdown screen is visible there is no way that I know of how to get out of it back to Windows? Any smart advice appreciated...Gary

Mitchell65 I have Microsoft Updates set to: 'Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them'. I avoid automatic updates as things will be installed that may be problematic or simply not needed. Like for example the rather 'under the radar' and forceful approach by Microsoft lately to force people to update to Windows 10. Thx...Gary

Shutdown issues are generally caused by a program or process that is refusing to exit gracefully. The program or process can be from malware or can be legitimate (such as an invasive antivirus like Norton or McAfee). If you are using a Norton or McAfee product, uninstall it and replace with a better program such as NOD32, Kasperksy, or Avast (free).

Thanks Ron Wesley. Am using Avast Pro Antivirus so not as invasive as Norton/McAfee. Am aware that a program may be running that has not exited so can inhibit the Shut Down process. Was wanting to know how to get out of the Shut Down process being hung without hitting restart button or doing a forced shutdown as these can also cause problems. Thanks for your insight though...Gary

Thanks everybody with replies. Am aware that a program may continue running at Shut Down so causing the shutdown to be in a sort of loop.

In past I have done a forced shutdown by holding down the power button. Tried restarting PC by pressing the restart button on PC front panel. I look at these as being somewhat risky as can create a situation where Windows will not boot up as it did not shut down properly.

What I am really wanting (maybe I should have explained better) is what to do when a Shut Down loop occurs so as not to cause a problem where Windows7 will not boot up. What is the smart or safest way to handle this?

Gary

Thanks Mitchell65. You are absolutely correct...better to treat the problem rather than it's symptoms.
I actually do not have a current problem with Shut Down loop but did in recent past before doing a clean fresh install of W7. Everything running great now but is surprisingly little on web about what to do if actually in a Shut Down loop. Thanks again... Gary