Getting NT to power off after shutdown

Assuming you have an ATX power supply and a motherboard that supports power management...

1. Get the hal.dll.softex file from service pack 6 by running the sp6i386.exe with a /x switch
2. Rename it to halpwr.dll and put it in the /system32 folder
3. notepad boot.ini and dup the top line in the "[operating systems]" section.
4. Add a description to your new line e.g. "="Windows NT [HALPWR]"
5. append /HAL=HALPWR.DLL
6. Set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\PowerdownAfterShutdown to 1

Reboot. If your system will not start, power cycle and select the second line down in the list of OSs when the boot loader starts.

Now, any good shutdown and power off program will actually work.

  .