Hi Phil, caveats: I don't use Mandriva and you have not described the hardware much.
I think that you have arrived at a kernel that works with the ACPI functions of your motherboard and can handle turning stuff on and off properly. I do not know if Mandriva comes with tools to modify this. I suggest a Google on something like "Mandriva ACPI shutdown control" What happens if you switch off the electricity (i.e. at the wall) or press the reset button during the reboot? I think that you should try to fix MS Windows rather than crippling Linux. You may need to get drivers for your motherboard and/or update the MS o.s. If you are feeling particularly brave, you could always suggest to your wife that it is her system that does not work properly and she should either fix it herself or move up to the big people's playground; and anyway the internet is not a safe place to go to with MS - a bit like taking a push-bike on the M8. -- ray _______________________________________________ Scottish mailing list Scottish@mailman.lug.org.uk http://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/scottish