Sometimes Windows (XP sp3) won't listen when I tell it to Restart/Shutdown/Logoff. Right away, a few things disappear from the system tray, and nothing is running in the Programs pane of Task Manager; then nothing happens. Even if I wait an hour (it's not just slow - it stops). I can launch new programs, fiddle with anything - the system's not sluggish - it just won't shut down.
How can I figure out which process is not listening to the shutdown command?
I'd really rather not just cut power / push the reset button. Is there a more forceful shutdown command? I've tried all of the command-line parameters for basic "shutdown" in the command shell.
EDIT: It appears this is affected by network connection availability - router needed to be reset, and when I did so the machine shut down quickly. Unplug the Ethernet cable, and the shutdown hangs. I think some process is looking for a network resource. For now, I'm not going to put more time into finding the culprit - just shows how some programmers assume the network will always be responsive. Thanks for the answers!