Leigh writes:

<<My computer has gotten where it takes 10-15 minutes to shut down, or =
it freezes in mid-shutdown.  What could be causing this?  It boots up =
with no problem.>>

This could be due to any number of issues, and it is impossible to say
without full info about your computer.

I assume you've already tried the usual and obvious remedies such as
registry restoration, System Restore, complete antivirus checks, running
MsConfig and taking everything out of startup, run sfc /scannow (which will
check all system files) etc.

It could be a corrupt exit sound file. Open Control Panel/Sounds and select
"none" for exit Windows.

Run a Google search for "XP fails to shutdown/close" and see what turns up.
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base on the subject.

Generally, when troubleshooting a problem of this nature, start from the
minimum and work up. This will help identify or eliminate the possible
range of causes.

Start by rebooting into Safe Mode. Will it now close OK? If not, then it's
most likely a basic driver or hardware issue. I believe some sound cards or
NVidia graphics cards can cause this problem in some computers.

If you suspect a hardware problem, disable or remove each piece of hardware
in turn, repeating the same procedure until you find the culprit.

If the problem disappears, then reboot again and start with the Shift key
held down. This will prevent most of your startup progs from starting.
Again, does the problem disappear or remain? This will confirm/eliminate
your startup progs from being the cause.

If the problem remains, open Task Manager (Ctrl/Alt/Del) and close all
running programs manually. Make sure everything is truly closed. If this
solves the problem, then the cause is probably one of more of those running
programs not closing properly at shutdown. It should be reasonably easy
then to identify which one it is, by trial and error and a process of
elimination.  If any program takes a long time to close, that could be your
prime suspect.

By a careful and logical sequence of eliminations, you should be able to
pinpoint the area (software, hardware) which is causing the problem.

You don't say whether this behavior has occurred suddenly (what have you
recently installed?  any recent updates?) or whether it was once OK but is
gradually becoming worse over time. If the latter, it's unlikely to be a
hardware problem unless you have installed something new.

If all else fails, then maybe you need to think about reinstalling XP over
itself. If that fails to fix it, then reformat the partition containing XP
and reinstall afresh.

Check these for more info:
http://www.zdnet.com.au/insight/0,39023731,20268698,00.htm
http://aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.php

Don Penlington




 From the Beach at Surfers Paradise in sunny Queensland.
Computer tutorials and other things at my website:
http://users.tpg.com.au/deepend/index1.html