Solved Vista Wont Shut-down

My PC fails to shut down.
i click shut-down in the start menu, but when it get to the part where the screen says 'shutting down', it just stays like that, no matter how long I leave it.

its not he registry as i fix it often with Norton. any help would be appreciated

Welcome
First do not fix the registry, those fixes are not needed and can do more harm than good.
The reason that you cant shut down is probably because some program does not shut down.
See if you can shut down by holding down the shut down button.
If that does not work, try these and get a clue as to the true cause:
Try logging out, wait a few minutes then try to shut down.
Try A clean boot for a test. If shut down works follow procedure to find cause.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135
Try in another user account, create one if necessary.
Run a full anti virus scan, download and make a full scan with malwarebytes.
Just had a few other thoughts, you can download defragler and see if that helps.
Defraggler - File and Disk Defragmentation - Free Download
Yet something else to try is
Go to search type event viewer, in left panel put cursor on administrative, then look for errors in right panel
Finally, type device manager in search, then look for any small yellow warning markers.
If all else fails, you may have to update the BIOS.

TY for the rep, Im glad that your problem has been resolved.