Powering up/down issue

Question

This only happens every so often (about once every two weeks or so) but when I power up the iPad (I power up in the morning and power down overnight), instead of the Apple logo, I get the spinning cogwheel usually displayed when shutting down and then the iPad does, indeed, power down. I have to push the power button again to get the Apple logo and begin the normal power-up sequence.
In observing this behavior, I've noted that when I've powered off the iPad and the cogwheel spins for longer than normal (it usually only turns once or twice before the iPad shuts off), this usually indicates that I will get the "powering down" error on startup. It's almost as if the iPad didn't finish shutting down.
Again, this only happens once every couple of weeks or so - it's by no means chronic - but I was wondering if anyone else has seen this behavior? I'd bring it to the Genius Bar but it happens so infrequently that the odds of it exhibiting this quirk while I'm there is slim to none.
I'm starting to wonder if it could be a misbehaving app...

Answer 1

I haven't had this happen yet, but I can fully understand your annoyance, both at the glitch and the unhelpful responses you've gotten.
Here's what I'd do to troubleshoot:
1. Reset it, then power down after the reset. See if it happens at that point.
2. If it does, do a backup and sync on iTunes, check to make sure you have a good backup (go into the Advanced/Devices tab and hover your mouse pointer over most recent backup). Then disconnect, reset, power down and see whether it happens.
3. If it's not happening in either of the above cases, methodically go through starting up from power off, starting up and then exiting an app you use, then shut down after exiting. If you do this one app at a time, you may eventually find an app that is causing the problem. If you do, report it to Apple.
4. If none of the above is eliminating the problem, knowing you have a good backup, go through resetting your various settings. Making sure first you have all password and SSID and security protocol written down, start with resetting your network settings. Re-find your wireless connection, re-enter all the relevant info, join your network, and then shut down. See if there's any direct cause and effect there. If not, go further and reset all settings.
5. If none of that isolates the problem, making sure you have a good backup in iTunes, that you've reliably sync'd all Notes and Contacts and Bookmarks somewhere outside your iPad, and that you've used a camera download utility, be it Aperture, or whatever you use to download photos from your iPad, or that you have a specific photo sync setup in iTunes you can trust, then try Restoring your iPad as new, and test it out without any of your content or changed settings. If it's still doing it at this point, bring it in for Apple to look at. If it seems fine, restore everything from backup, and either you'll be good to go at that point, or will have restored whatever was causing the problem with your backup. At that point at least, you'll know it's not a hardware problem.
If that all seems like too much trouble, you can always just live with it, and maybe some future OS update will fix the problem, or it'll get resolved inadvertently over time by an app update, or you'll just get used to it.
Hope that helps!