Windows XP will not shut down

[Trotter]

I am working on an old IBM ThinkPad A31, 1.6 P4, 256MB, ATI Mobility 7500. It had not been updated since pre-SP2. I have finished installing all the updates and service packs, but now it doesn't want to shut down. It gets to the "Windows is shutting down..." screen and stays there. I even left it while my daughter took me to see Iron Man 2 and it was still hung there when I got back.

It was not showing any hard disk activity. It has done this several times so far. Each time I had to resort to holding down the power button to finally shut it down. It would shut down just fine before the updates so something has caused this problem.

Suggestions?

Addendum: I killed ctfmon.exe before shutting down and it worked. So how do I get it to work without having to manually kill it? I mean, the owner won't want to have to do that to shut down this monstrosity.

 

[MindoverMaster]

This should help, Trotter.

Frequently asked questions about Ctfmon.exe

 

[KSoD]

Trotter get yourself a copy of Process Monitor from Sysinternals. Check to make sure that this is only being hung by the Language Bar. If so, disable the bar completely. They may love it, but it is old and outdated and needs to go.

 

[Trotter]

I had already disabled the Language Bar before I shut it down last night, so I may have fixed it myself, albeit inadvertently. Serendipity can be an awesome thing, huh? Well that, or just dumb luck.

Thanks for the help, guys. Much appreciated.