I've been trying to solve my problem for a while, but couldn't find the solution so I'm writing on this forum
First of all, XP, Pentium IV, 1GB memory, 120GB HD, 2.4 GHz, CD & DVD+R burner

Whenever I log off of windows, my system usually just hangs when it says "saving your settings" and then I have to restart the computer for it to work again, or it does log off and then everything on the welcome screen is froze up but the mouse pointer, so I eventually have to close things down by holding the power button in. And even a lot of times (like 70% of the time) when I power back up I get the same result where I get to the welcome screen and again the screen gets froze up, except for the mouse pointer, and I can't click on anything. Usually when I start the computer up, I press F8, and start up with "Last known good configuration", but it's getting annoying having to do this everytime just to log on my computer. Can anyone help? It started about 2 1/2 months ago after I was gone for a week on vacation. I did unplug the computer while I was gone. Would that have something to do with it? LET me know if someone can help remedy the situation. Thanks!
JIM
Have read jim ok>http://aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.htmIf your anti-virus is up to date and you have run a full scan and taken proper anti-Trojan problems it could just be that it needs a good clean-up.

Try this clean-up PROGRAM and see if that improves things.

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Two possible causes:

1. The message "Saving your settings" likely indicates that the battery that supplies power to your motherboard is going DEAD or has died.  The battery is used to keep the settings in the BIOS memory when the power is off.  The BIOS may be detecting your hardware as new devices every time you start your comupter because these settings are lost when it is turned off.  I'd suggest replacing the battery (they're usually under $5.00 and easy to replace as long as they are not soldered to the board).

2. Less likely as a cause is a bug in Windows XP.  There was a problem with Windows XP having slow shutdowns and startups that was fixed in the latest Service Pack (SP2) from Microsoft.  Do you have Service Pack 2 installed?

I'd start there, and with Mac's and M2's suggestions if i were you.

Let us know how it goes,
DocA flat battery or no battery for that matter will only cause the computer to boot with the bios defaults.

"saving your settings" refers to windows settings.

Start in safe mode then shut down (it will be slow) and if this proves successful then it is a program that is loading that's causing the problem.
Try it & let us know.What I did was take the windows XP log on welcome screen away, so just the old way of logging on, and it has seemed to be working so far, so good. If it ends up not working, I will take your suggestions and try them. Thanks a bunch everyone!
JIM Thanks for the feedback jim  and we are help .....Something else to try might be a non-destructive system recovery (this is an option you have when you boot from your XP DISK). Some people, and I am one of them, will tell you that XP and most other operating systems deteriorate over time. This recovery feature allows you to restore your OS's original settings and drivers without altering any other data on your system.To make your shutdown work cleanly install the... User Profile Hive Cleanup Service