Hi, I installed Redhat 7.3 on my laptop, a Dell Inspiron 2650 system. Whenever I choose log off or power down from the menu, the laptop screen will turn off in ten seconds, but the machine is still on. I have to mannually turn it off by pushing the power button. Of course, due to this improper power down,the system will give some warning next time power up and perform some disk check after 20 times.

Can someone please let me know what is the cause of this problem and how to solve it?

Thanks,

This is probably in part to you using an older Linux distribution without proper ACPI/APM support. Try upgrading to something more recent, like (if you like Redhat) Fedora.

Thanks for your advice. Currently I have some application which requires RH73 and may not be able to migrate to newer distribution. Do you know how to resolve this power off problem in current RH 7.3 system?

You should be able to update your BIOS. Even using RH7.3 you can upgrade the kernel to get better APM or ACPI function. APM is setup in BIOS and ACPI is kernel controlled. This is just a suggestion gleaned from RH install note on your lappy model on linux-on-laptops. Try looking through those install notes for tips. Will RH9 allow you to use that important program?
Fsck will always run after 27 or x number of reboots. That is independent of APM. Some older APMs don't shutdown. They halt and wait for power button shutdown. That is the case on my older pc.
But improper shutdown may call for fsck. Good luck with proper shutdown in RH7.3.