9100 wont shutdown

Do a fresh install of XP with SP2. Sounds like a software issue. Like your OS is not sending the shutdown command to the PC. Fresh install should make it work. If not maybe a bad motherboard but that is unlikely.

Just and idea anyway.

I have the same problem but if I just tap the power button it continues with the normal shutdown process.

Sounds like a program refuses to shuut down and windows cannot complete the shut down process. Go to the task manager (alt+ctrl+del)and see what applications and processes are running. if there are any applications running when you have nothing running, this is the problem. if not start ending processes one by one and shutting down your computer after you had ended each one to find the buggy one. But the best one, I belive is fresh install of windows. You could also try system optimiser. It removes drivers and registries that may cause problems.

Good luck I had the same problem and after installing a fresh copy of windows it still would not go away.The only thing I noticed was it always happened after using the built in 56 modem.
I finally got tired of disabling services and reinstalling windows and sent it back to dell over that issue.
The replacement they sent me worked great for 30 minutes then started giving me the blue screen of death(irq less not equal or something like that) and then would not read the memory properly.It would show 1 gig then reboot and show 256 megs the next then showed 16 megs the last time.I tried resetting the memory and then swapped them around ,tried one stick and so on but nothing worked it was dead after An hour or so.
It would only boot to a black screen period.
It would not even load the bios screen.
I called Dell and basically got the run around .
Untill they get the old one back they cant do anything .It should have been delivered on the 11th and they still have not recieved it.
I tried to get them to just send the memory first by overnighting it last thursday but it was denied.
Oh well so much for the premuim ''complete care'' warranty.
Its now Monday and my computer has been dead for almost a week and i cant do anything yet.
I am really considering just getting a RMA and telling them to stick it where the sun dont shine.
I have been building desktops for years and never had any problems but I do get to pick and choose my parts carefully.

end of rant.

GEt ur money back if they dont fix ur lappy RIGHT AWAY