My computer in the last week or so has been freezing when i try and shut it down through the start menu.  I can ctrl+alt+delete and shut it down that way, but when i do it goes to the blue "windows is shutting down" screen and remains there for what seems like 5-10mins.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.Operating system?
Is it fully updated?Windows Xp, and yea it should be fully updated.  Should i try re-installing the newest update?  I'm not sure this would be the cause, but around the time of this problem occuring my computer was automatically updating windows and a picture fell and unplugged the power.  Is it POSSIBLE the PROCESS was interupted and is the cause of the problem?I'd go back to the windows update site & let it check for you. INSTALL the critical updates then carefully read the recommended ones to see if you need them.
Don't install updated drivers from there, go to the manufacturer's website for that.Are there any programs that are still running when you attempt to shutdown the computer? If yes, what are these?I De-fraged my C-drive and RAN some diagnostics which helped.  I got the latest update as WELL and upon shutdown was pleasantly delighted to see it didnt freeze.  It was still slightly slower to shutoff but I think its because it said it was installing during shutdown.  Thanks for your quick repsonses guys  .