Hi

Do you use this laptop on a network and require a network user login. If thats the case then I think the problem exists in the user profile. I faced the same problem on my company network when I coul dno longer shutdown the pc by using the shut down option from start menu or the CTRl+alt+del option. I was also using the Win 2000. I had to get my profile amended to have these options. Still after that there are times when that option dies out and becomes active again after sometime.

If you have the administrative access to the system then have a look at the user profile which might need tweaking.

Hope this helps.

Regards
Raj

Thanks Raj, but that's not it. The laptop isn't on a network. I've also tried resetting the My computer>Properties>Network indentification>Network Id> Network identification Wizard> to "This computer is for home use and is not part of a business network", to no avail (it resets the next time you look at that page). I've also tried running UPHClean to no avail.
Mike

Have you tried checking for any trojans or spyware on your laptop Mike. Sometimes they are responsible for this sort of behaviour. I have had a lot of trouble in the past with viruses etc and sometimes the same case would happen that although i try to shut off the pc from start or ctrl/alt/del but it wont.
Give it a check using some of the popular free spywares and see if that might do you any good. Anti virus programs like Mcaffee/ Norton may not be that helpful to you in this case mate. There are a lot of free ones you can give a try from the Trajans, Viruses, Spyware forum.

It might not be the case but i d do it to be on the safe side and to be sure. do let us know about ur progress.

Raj.

What's running (Task Manager/Processes) when you try to shut down? Not the whole list but the top 5 in CPU usage order?

Is there any externally attached hardware (in case there's an interrupt held)?

Is it on a Latitude docking station?

It puzzles me that you can't just switch off by holding the power switch down for a couple of seconds. Doing the battery thing is dodgy in that if the hard disk is just kicked in by Windows and you remove the battery you're f*cked.

Dammit why didnt i ask him this question. I was thinkin about it earlier that he should be able to switch it off that way than what he has been doin. guees i got lost with other suggestions there.

Raj

Thanks Suspishio and Coolraj.
Top 5 in CPU usage order: System idle 99% with bursts roughly every second of Services.exe at 7% and DWLGTI.exe at 4% (the last one is my 'D-link' router, I believe). Everything below that zero.
No attached hardware; no docking station.
Thanks for the advice on popping the battery!!
I confirm that I get ONE normal logoff or shutdown following a reboot. After that, on any user account (there are 7), regardless of privilege, it is impossible to shutdown, restart or logoff.
It looked hopeful that the problem lay in the laptop believing it was part of a network: there was some NetWare software lurking. However, I successfully uninstalled that (Start>Settings>Network connections>local area connections>properties and >incoming connections) and now there's no evidence of NetWare yet the problem remains.
In fact I CAN hold down the power switch and get the result described in Microsoft Article ID : 810903 Last Review : May 7, 2007 Revision : 3.3, namely a hang at an inset blue screen with the message "It is now safe to turn off your computer". I then have to pop the battery at that point to move forward.
My own thoughts: run Registry Mechanic 7 (I haven't bought it yet) or upgrade to windows XP? I've spent the whole day on it and I can't afford not to be able to move easily between user accounts.
Would be grateful for your further advice. Many thanks.

I will try looking for a trojan, but the laptop lies behind a physical firewall, and I religiously keep up the AV, so I feel that's unlikely.

have you tried restoring the the power management to default and give it a try. also check on the policy setting if this is turned off.

bobbyraw's suggestion makes good sense.

Additionally, your virus/malware confidence may be misplaced. This forum is littered with the corpses of cases who were firewalled to their throats, AV'd to their eyes and anti-spywared over their heads and still the stuff got through by way of careless download. So a good run through with SPYBOT and AVG's anti-spyware software (both trusted on this forum) is highly recommended and in any case to assist those of us many thousands of miles away from your system in discounting the trojan possibility.

You've presumably read this article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315409

You're considering cleaning out the registry - it never hurts. I use Advanced Windows Care for this.

Finally, I remember something that happened to me about three years ago on a PC (not laptop) which was running W2000 Pro SP4 with Norton AV. When I stopped NAV, the problem went away. What's happening is that a socket or a process is being held "open" and this inhibits shutdown which, after all needs to leave your system in a state of grace. Perversely, such manipulating applications that theselves are not in a state of grace can cause these problems - and that includes Windows itself which is why you need to be at the latest service pack.

Thanks to Suspishio and all others who offered help.
I have proved that it was the Sunbelt (aka Kerio) Personal Firewall that was causing the problem. Uninstall it & the problem disappears. Re-install it & the problem returns.

A few thoughts perhaps useful to have recorded here for anyone else with similar problems:
1. I'm certain I read somewhere (can't now find it) that Kerio was problematic in this area.
2. The idea that a process was being 'held open' led me to the firewall.
3. Along the road of reaching a solution I found out how to get rid of Novell NetWare, which caused unnecessary and confusing dialogs when creating new users, so that was useful anyway.
4. One part of the advice in the KB315409 was to shut down running processes one by one, and each time see if the problem stopped (not a quick option!). However, doing that I noticed that each time I stopped kpf4.gui it simply re-appeared further down the list of processes.
5. Simply diasabling the firewall wasn't sufficient either - only an uninstall did the trick.

Other thoughts in conclusion:

In trying to solve this, Suspishio's suggestion to use Spybot and Advanced Windows Care was good. (Although AWC has anti-spyware itself, so I'm not sure if the money spent on Spybot was really necessary in the end? Suspishio -do you think Spybot has the edge on anti-spyware?) However, it satisfied me that no trojans were lurking, and the AWC has improved other aspects of computer running.

Both Kb 315409 (How to troubleshoot shutdown problems in Windows 2000) and Kb 810903 ("It is Now Safe to Turn Off Your Computer" error message when you try to shut down your computer) broadly say 'try checking everything'.
It also doesn't inspire confidence when their Step 1 involves clicking the APM tab, which I don't have. (I also don't have a 'default' power management setting, nor could I find a power management policy iaw Bobbyraw's suggestion).
Oh yes: 'Try talking to 3rd party vendors'. Come on Microsoft, this is plainly unhelpful.

Sadly, in trying hard to resolve this I have caused other problems with user profiles and also have a problem driving a separate monitor. Further posts (when I get time to post them!) are on the cards. But thanks again to all for offering time and advice.
Mike