System shutdown not functioning properly

One thing you might check:

Right-click on My Computer, click Properties, click the Advanced tab. Under “Startup & Recovery,” click Settings. Under “System Failure,” check the box in front of “Automatically restart.” if it is not checked.

possible fix for this problem was running msconfig and disabling all programs that start up upon start. 

Programs I attempted to install before were installed properly, but this seems like a wierd fix.  

I don't konw if this is an ideal fix considering I hadn't installed that many programs on the computer (almost brand new).  There is no way that the memory could be at max and therefore tying up the processor.  I'll toy with it a little more and see if I can find a better solution to this problem.

sporras,

This XP shutdown troubleshooter is regarded as the best one there is. However, I'm troubled by the fact that you said memory (or was it actually processor use?) was very high. That may indicate the presence of malware. Here are some steps you might want to take:

First, make sure your antivirus software definitions are current, and scan your system for viruses. If that doesn't resolve the problem, download, install, update and run Ad-Aware and Spybot as described in this article.

If the problem still isn't resolved, download HijackThis, a malware analysis and removal tool, and submit the log it produces for analysis to one of the sites listed below.

Here's an illustrated guide to installing and running HijackThis that you may find helpful.

With the Windows Explorer, go to C:\, right click and create a folder named HJT. Unzip the downloaded file HijackThis.zip into the newly created directory, C:\HJT.

After installing HijackThis.exe in the directory C:\HJT, run Hijackthis from that directory. Click on the 'scan' button and then 'save log' button. Save the file in the directory C:\HJT. Use a name like HijackThis.txt.

Here are some sites where you can receive help analyzing your HijackThis log from trained experts. Note that the sites require registration before you will be able to post.

MalwareRemoval.com
Gladiator Security Forum
Subratam.org
BleepingComputer.com
ZerosRealm.com

There's been a renewal of successful malware cleanups in the Dell Forums Virus/Spyware Information and Removal board. You may want to post your HijackThis log in that board.

Copy and paste the contents of the log you saved in a new message in one of the forums listed above. Be sure to describe the problem you're experiencing.

Jim

Thanks Jim.

I figured as much. I have already tried scanning for viruses(with the most up to date virus definitions using Norton's).  I am in the process of scanning with spybot and adaware and will try hijack this after being done with those.

I have noticed when running both apps (spybot and adaware), sometimes what one app picks up as spyware is actually a fix that the other one provided.  I feel like it's a gamble as far as knowing what files to delete and which ones to keep.  Any suggestions on on what to do to differentiate the good from the bad?

Thanks again for your help.

-Sam

Any suggestions on on what to do to differentiate the good from the bad?

Sam,

Before making changes, search Google for the name of the file, including its extension. Most commonly used ".exe"'s and ".dll"'s are referenced somewhere on the Web or in a newsgroup. Evaluate the articles found, and see if you can reach a decision about what the files are.

One of the key reasons people are warned about using HijackThis is that many of the things it lists are entirely legitimate. It generally takes a trained analyst to interpret the results.

Jim