Laptop won't shut down

I've got a Dell Latitude, and ever since I reinstalled Windows XP, it refuses to shut down properly. It gets stuck right at the "Windows is shutting down..." screen, and then I'm forced to either hold down the power button or just pull the plug. I've actually tried reinstalling Windows twice now since this started happening, but the result is always the same. I don't think I messed up the installation because I follow the exact same steps every single time. Does anyone have an idea what might be causing this? 😵

First thing I’d do is disable Windows updates.

I've already tried that, and it didn't do a thing.
That’s five full reinstalls in the last few days, and I keep running into the exact same issue. 😠

Could faulty drivers be the issue? I’d suggest heading straight to the manufacturer's site to download everything compatible with your version of Windows. It's likely you're missing the actual Chipset driver.
Maybe turning off the Wi-Fi/Ethernet would help.