Computer does not shutdown

Im running Windows XP 32bit. Abit ax78 mobo, 4gb ram, 160gb seagate SATA HDD, 512MB EAH3650 Silent magic graphics card. 2.40 gigahertz AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core.

Problem is, When I click start - Shutdown - It comes up with the computer is shutting down screen, but then freezes up. I have to hold the power on button for 5 seconds to turn it off.

Any ideas?
TIA

 

Mine did that recently but after visiting "Microsoft Update" and this relatively new free online service from Microsoft Windows Live OneCare safety scanner the problem went away. I can only assume that there is a connection but I can't really know for sure. I never diagnosed the problem.

 

Occasionally a driver or service gets 'stuck' and prevents the PC from down completely. This happens most often with USB drviers/devices and sound drivers. If you have any USB devices connected when powering down, either remove them or turn 'em off. Memory management/optimizer programs can also cause PCs to not shut down. I have had this happen occasionally with FreeRAMXP and a couple of others. Entering the task manager and terminating the appropriate process solves the problem....
I hope this helps!

[dlb]

 

I have also noticed this problem after adding a program to the PC that requires a reboot, then afterwords the system will not shutdown properly. Usually it can be solved by entering the safe mode screen (F8 at startup) and selecting "last known good configuration".

I also noticed you have 4gig memory installed and thats the limit for XP. Unfortunately that limit is extended to all memory, so your total memory cannot exceed 4 gig. So 4 gig of ram and a 512mb graphics card puts you over the top at 4.5gig.