Hi Ed
Try the following and see if it helps:
Not sure that it will solve your problem, but, it may be worth a try.
FIRST! Back up your Registry:
Close IE
Go to Start>Run and type in regedit, hit enter
Find and delete
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browse
r Helper Objects
also........
Download, install and run HiJackThis in "Safe Mode:"
HiJackThis:
Unzip the Download file in a NEW FOLDER that you can create before you start
the download.
DO NOT install in your Desktop folder.
DO NOT use any of the TEMP folders that are presently in your computer.
Double-click "HijackThis.exe" and Press "Scan".
Go to:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3155.html
and download HiJackThis to the new folder. Unzip to a folder other than your
Desktop or the Temp folder, doubleclick HiJackThis.exe, and hit "Scan".
When the scan is finished, the "Scan" button will change into a "Save Log"
button. Press that, save the log some place you remember where it is.
Most of what it lists will be harmless or even required, so DO NOT fix
anything yet.
Open the copy of your log in NotePad and make a copy. Then you can go to one
of the following to post your log so that the experts there can fully
analyze your log and make corrective recommendations,if necessary :
<<PLEASE DO NOT POST YOUR LOG FILE TO THIS NEWSGROUP>>
Spyware and Hijackware Removal Support, here:
http://216.180.233.162/~swicom/forums/
or Net-Integration here:
http://www.net-integration.net/cgi-...86d536d57b5f65b6e40c55365e;act=ST;f=27;t=6949
or Tom Coyote here:
http://forums.tomcoyote.org/index.php?act=idx
You will need to register to open a new thread to post you log. It is free,
and no one will Spam you, it is one of many that provides this service. Once
registered, go to the HiJackThis section on the forum list and click to
open. Then start a new post and post your log. The experts there will
analyze the log and report back the results. Please allow at least a few
hours or a days time for a response, depending on when you post the log
Remember, you must return to the HJT site to get your answer. It is a good
idea to click the "Notify" box so that you will get an electronic
notification by e-mail to let you know when a response has been posted.
But, you must still return to the site of your answer
HJT Tutorial
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/index.php?showtutorial=42
Also....download and install these 2 little utility programs;
Belarc: Free
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
(tells you about your system, what updates are acutally in effect, what you
still need, etc.)
Process Explorer: Free
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/processexplorer.html
(tells you all that is running on your system at any time)
With the Process Explorer, you can see if there are any rogue programs
running in the background that you are not aware of. Something of this sort
may be what is causing the task manger to keep hanging open at the end. If
you see any strange there you can find it and delete/uninstall/disable it.
In the latest version of SpyBot there is a section clled Tools>System
Startup. Here you will see all the various programs that are running when
you start up your machine. See if there are any that you don't need, or
want running when you first start up.
You may want to check out the following information as well:
You cannot log off, restart, or shut down your Windows XP-based computer
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;831431
WINDOWS XP SHUTDOWN & RESTART TROUBLESHOOTING
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.htm
also........
If you want to shut down Windows with one click, create a shortcut to the
Shut Down command by following these simple steps. First, click on an empty
area of your Desktop and choose "New," then "Shortcut." In the Command Line,
enter the following exactly: C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE USER.EXE,EXITWINDOWS and
click the Next button. Give the shortcut a name (mine is ShutDownWin) and
click Finish. After a moment, a new icon will appear on the Desktop sporting
the Windows logo. Click it to shut down Windows whenever you like.
Windows stops responding during Windows XP shut down
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q307274
If these steps do not resolve your problem, please post back to this thread
with the details and any error messages.
Hope this helps
Jan
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