Is this a real Windows statement?

Anecdotally I believe the following is the result of malware since after running ADWcleaner the problem is gone. But I want to be sure.

The problem appears when rebooting. Before the blue screen that says shutting down there's a black screen with the words "Operations are in progress please wait the machine will be turned off automatically after the operations are complete" that never seems to end and I end up physically turning off the computer

?

Do you use Acronis True Image?

Yes

If you have it set to perform validation or backups on a schedule, you may get that notification when you shut down.

Do you know if Acronis will pick up where it left off (or start a new validation) once the machine boots up?

markg2 said:

Do you know if Acronis will pick up where it left off (or start a new validation) once the machine boots up?

I'm sorry, I do not know. You might ask in the Acronis forum.

https://forum.acronis.com/