system freezes on shutdown/reboot

Okay. Ran the Live CD. Had to unplug/reconnect my mouse to get it engaged. This is cute: never could get my keyboard to engage (it's also usb). However, when told to shut down the computer, it did. So, where does that leave me?

[Moderator]

You have hardware issues. You need to start by trying another mouse. Borrow one for a few minutes if nothing else. Some neighbor has one, honest.  

What else does not work correctly?

The shutdown process. That's what's really bugging me. It freezes on the Windows is shutting down screen and must manually be shut down. Then scan disk runs on next boot. It won't shut down or reboot, even if software initiated (such as Microsoft Update).

[Moderator]

Were you using a real Windows CD?

What about this question?  Was the hard drive new or was it from a previous install of WIndows on another system?

Well, this is a new hard drive, and YES, a REAL Windows cd, bought and paid for by me. I had initially tried to use my old hard drive, but discovered it had some issues itself (not surprising, it's several years old). So, I purchased a brand new (not refurbished) SATA drive.

If you simply start the computer with the mouse disconnected, will the computer shutdown properly by using only the keyboard?  

Thought maybe you'd found a clue! No such luck. It still won't shut down. When it boots up and starts opening the explorer, something happens because the "chord" sound plays, but it's gone by the time my screen opens up. I checked the event logs and there's nothing there. Can't figure that one, either.

Another idea: start Windows in Safe Mode and see whether it will shutdown without freezing.

Tried safemode. Mouse still didn't work and shutdown froze just like always. I did change my mouse out like gx1_man suggested and I'm not having that problem anymore (so far). Still can't figure the shutdown hangup tho.

So, problem solved, right?  Clearly, it was either hardware or driver issue with the mouse; most likely, hardware issue, as GX1_MAN said.

I had a problem with my Logitech wireless mouse/keyboard combo last year after replacing my hard drive and freahly installing Windows.  I had downloaded the latest version of Logitech's SetPoint software, but was experiencing some erratic freezing of the mouse.  I uninstalled that version of SetPoint, went back to the version that came on CD with the mouse/keyboard, and the problem went away.

Okay, mouse problem solved. I still need to get the system to shutdown properly. Please, does anyone have any ideas??? One thing I have discovered is that it stops responding even before the "exit Windows" sound plays. It seems that it isn't actually stopping any processes properly. It just instantly goes to the "Windows is shutting down" screen and then nothing.