Often I read the following instructions to eliminate the now famous hang when shutting down Windows: I found out that this is the "Speech and Handwriting Recognition" part of Office XP. To de-install it, go to "Control Panel" "Add/Remove Programs" "Microsoft Office," click on the "Change" button browse to "Office Shared Features," "Alternative User Input," and select for Speech and Handwriting Recognition (both) "Not available" from the drop-down box. Perform the change and the CiceroUIWndFrame messages disappear. Took just a second, and you don't even have to restart your system or insert the XP Office CD. Well, despite the fact that the hang continues and sometimes, not often, displays briefly about Cicero (always "not available" following above steps). What else could cause the Cicero display and most of all, prior to shutdown, I let the system idle for five minutes and then shutdown to find out that it is hanging still. How to avoid the need to wait five minutes before actually clicking on shutdown? ZoneAlarm, BitDefender, Spyware Doctor, AVG Free edition