Windows 8.1 Random Slow Startups, "Improper Shutdowns"

Question

Is this the right subforum? I almost chose frezes/hangs but that's not exactly what it is so...
Please note that this is a copy/paste from another forum where I sought help. Today is another day from the one referenced in the indented text below. In fact, my system had a clean and safe boot with no speed issues or stalling tonight. The issue is not consistent. Though I was seeking help at another forum, I grew uncomfortable with the steps asked of me (deleting caches and temp files that I'd rather keep and using a third-party defragger; getting standoffish when I requested explanation for why I was being asked to run three or more "cleaner" programs and if defragging was honestly necessary on a mostly-new machine that just got a clean bill of health from HP) and was brushed aside with something of an attitude. Here's the original info on the issue:
Alright, so, yesterday I noticed that it seemed to take a little longer than usual to start up my laptop (HP Pavilion 17-7042nr with Windows 8.1 64-bit; I've only had it a short amount of time and it was purchased refurbished). I didn't think too much of it, however, since I was starting it at the same time as my seven-year-old Vista machine so by comparison it was still way faster (20+ seconds vs. the old one's 2 minutes). After that, didn't think anything of it...
Today, however, I started it up on its own and it took far too long compared to how it used to behave. I've noticed this a few times in the past, but always figured Windows was adjusting itself after I'd installed stuff etc. But since there was no need for it to do that this time, I got suspicious and started looking in the event viewer. To my shock, it claimed that the last shutdown was improper and that's why it took forever; it was actually rebooting.
Trouble is, as far as I knew, no it most certainly did not shut down improperly. I turned it off using the power button, which is set from the power plan to perform a shut down. It did the normal thing: processed the shut down, turned off the screen, and shortly after turned off all system lights except of course the one to indicate that it was plugged in. All seemed well, and was not slower than usual or anything of that sort. So I have no clue why or how it's shutting down improperly.
But not only that, I tracked it back and several times, as far back as the 19th of February (as well as a couple of times while it was in HP's custody for unrelated maintenance; they apparently did not notice it, either, as it was given a clean bill of health before return) this has been occurring. I've transferred a ton of files, settings, programs, etc. since then so I really didn't want to do a Restore. I did, however, consider it... only to discover that my previous Restore Points before the system was returned by HP have been destroyed. So no chance of going back before the 19th, even if I wanted to (I don't, frankly).
I have no clue what's going on, but here's the events from the first ever time it happened:
the logoff/power down is listed as:
Information    2/19/2015 5:09:11 AM    Kernel-Power    109    (103)
           --  "The kernel power manager has initiated a shutdown transition."
Information    2/19/2015 5:09:37 AM    Winlogon    7002    (1102)
          -- "User Logoff Notification for Customer Experience Improvement Program"
after that the next relevant things which involve the boot up:
Information    2/19/2015 4:42:36 PM    Kernel-Boot    20    None
          -- "The last shutdown's sucess status was true. The last boot's success status was true."
Error    2/19/2015 4:42:36 PM    Kernel-Boot    29    None
         -- "Windows failed fast startup with error status 0xC00000D4"
Critical    2/19/2015 4:42:45 PM    Kernel-Power    41    (63)
           --"The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly."
Error    2/19/2015 4:43:14 PM    EventLog    6008    None
         -- "The previous system shutdown at 4:59:42 AM on 2/19/2015 was unexpected."
Information    2/19/2015 4:43:21 PM    Service Control Manager    7026    None
          --"The following boot-start or system-start driver(s) did not load: dam"
Those were from the 19 of February, the first time it seems to have happened. The most recent (today) incident is very similar, but not entirely identical.
The shutdown was:
Information    3/17/2015 5:12:16 AM    Kernel-Power    109    (103)
         -- "The kernel power manager has initiated a shutdown transition."
Upon boot the seemingly relevant bits are:
Information    3/17/2015 4:47:55 PM    Kernel-Boot    20    None
        --"THe last shutdown's success status was true. The last boot's success status was true."
Error    3/17/2015 4:47:55 PM    Kernel-Boot    29    None
          --"Windows failed fast startup with error status 0xC00000D4."
Information    3/17/2015 4:47:55 PM    Kernel-General    12    None
            --"The operating system started at system time 2015-03-17T21:47:45.491075600Z." (( What even is up with that time??? ))
Critical    3/17/2015 4:48:01 PM    Kernel-Power    41    (63)
           --"The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly."
Error    3/17/2015 4:48:24 PM    EventLog    6008    None
          --"THe previous system shutdown at 5:12:03 AM on 3/17/2015 was unexpected."
I tried googling, to no avail, other than a suggestion that it might be caused by some sort of system file issue. So I ran "sfc /scannow" in an admin-level command prompt and when it was finished it said: "Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them. Details are included in the CBS.Log windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For example C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. Note that logging is currently not supported in offline servicing scenarios."
I tracked down the log file and it's rather huge but toward the end I found that "Amd64\CNBJ2530.DPB" was corrupted. Naturally, I investigated... But according to the thread I found it's some kind of printer-related thing, and I've never even connected a printer to this system, much less a Canon brand one as the info I found suggested. In fact, the thread I linked claims that it shouldn't cause any huge issues, so... Probably not the cause of my shutdown issues, which are more pressing. Thus, I can't find anything to indicate what's causing this problem.
The only thing I can think of that I had done around the 19th was I was trying to get rid of Beats Audio crap on my laptop. (Don't even get me started on that hot mess!) So I'd been swapping between the Windows default audio drivers and versions of the Realtek High Definition Audio from both HP and Realtek. But I never had a corrupt install and I don't recall installing one over the other without uninstalling first, so I don't know if that's an issue. Somehow, I doubt it, especially since this issue isn't consistent. Then again, I don't consistently use the audio on my computer so who knows. (UPDATE: Used audio extensively, but it managed a clean shutdown after.)
After all lights are off and the system is shut down, unless I've been using it on battery and it needs a charge, I unplug it to conserve energy. I only ever do this if the battery has a full charge, so I don't think that should be an issue even though hybrid shutdown/fast boot is some kind of hibernation-shutdown combination. I'd prefer to keep fast start/hybrid boot enabled because, well, it's convenient... and I'm extremely hesitant to tamper with the UEFI settings etc. But, of course, if that's the only fix then I'd prefer it to possible hard drive damage caused by the supposed/apparent improper shut down.
Also of note: nothing is overclocked or running outside specifications, as far as I know. My system stats are:
Windows 8.1 64-bit
AMD A10-5745M APU
AMD Radeon HD 8610G
UEFI BIOS Mode
Secure Boot Enabled
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Now, for extra details. Things that were done during the process included looking for unnecessary startup items (not the real issue to be honest; when it doesn't forcibly reboot due to "improper shutdown" the startup is extremely speedy) and looking at some logs. In particular, here's the speccy log created for my system: http://speccy.piriform.com/results/vIEkYCelmSRyJjuJyye2jgD
I also had to run several "cleaner" tools, which included installing CCleaner, though I chose some files I wished to keep / thought may be important to not just delete willy-nilly. I don't like to randomly delete things that could come back and bite me in the rear, after all. And I'm honestly confused how any of that would related to Windows having inconsistent and seemingly random "improper shutdown" issues which cause it to reboot instead of using fast boot. (I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm saying that I don't logically see how it'd make a difference and when I attempted to ask I was brushed aside.)
Like I said, by all appearances it seems to shut down properly. It has also never crashed on me. Nor has it ever blue screened or randomly rebooted.  This is very much a silent, behind-the-scenes issue.

Answer 1

Hi @Alley_Kitten , 
Thank you for visiting the HP Support Forums and Welcome. I have looked into your issue about your HP Pavilion 17 f042nr Notebook and issues with performance issues or improper shutdowns. 
I checked the specs of your system and with what you have posted here you have the incorrect Amd driver installed.  Your's as per your product page is a AMD Radeon HD 8610G . I would go to the device manager and remove all graphic driver, check the box for the driver as well.
Here is a document on recovery options that are available. I do use the refresh your pc method with Windows 8. Please read all the documentation before starting the operation.
Hope this helps you out.
Thanks.
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom to say “Thanks” for helping!