Windows XP hangs up at "windows is shutting down"

Tried to use the Hive repair from MS, no good.
Tried looking at startup programs, unchecked all of them, no good.

Not sure what to do from here.

 

I had that same problem a little while ago. It turned out to be my integrated graphics card. Try an additional card, or if you are already using one, see if you can borrow another one to try.
Just one suggestion.

 

What hive repair?

Does it eventually shutdown, or does it just hang forever?
Does this problem occur when you try to shutdown from safe mode?

 

Presumably this one.

 

Refer to this as a starting point to resolve this issue:

Microsoft Technet: HungAppTimeout

also look at the listed related entries

Before making any changes to the Registry, I urge you to make a useable Backup of the system registry.
Although System Restore can do this, I have found that the most reliable method is to use
ERUNT: Emergency Recovery Utility NT

Please read the included README.TXT for installation and usage information.

If none of the above resolves the shutdown issue, there are other things to be checked for possible remedies.