Windows won't shut down or reboot

[MinkelR]

Well, I've run into a head scratcher. For a few weeks now I haven't
been able to shut down or reboot my system the correct way (through
the start menu then shutdown). When I click on the "Turn Off Computer"
in the start menu the computer just sits there with the little
hourglass and the prompt to reboot, turn off, or log off never
appears. I'm able to log off of my profile through ctrl+alt+del but I
can't shut it off that way either. Is there anyway I can fix this
without reinstalling Windows or reformatting my HDD?

I'm running Windows XP Pro SP2
2.8 GHz Pentium 4
1.5 GB RAM
Asus P4S800D motherboard

Thanks

 

[Andrew E.]

You probably have a service running in the background that causes the delay,
chk event viewer for OS errors/warnings..However,to get the pc on track,go to
run,type:regedit In regedit,expand:HKEY_USERS/default/controlpanel/open
desk-
top,L.click autoendtasks,go to edit,set to 1 from 0,close out
regedit...Once thru,
install xp cd,exit the menu,restart pc,boot to xp cd,recovery,select 1 for
C: press
enter for password,type:Fixboot Agree,type:CHKDSK C: /p After,type:EXIT
Let
xp start,remove cd.

 

[MinkelR]

Worked flawlessly, thanks a million!