Hi Rev,
Yes I did, that was one of the first things I tried. I've searched and found a few reg tweaks and a couple of other ideas like the one you mentioned, but nothing seems to do it. In event viewer under applications I find this--

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Userenv
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1517
Date: 3/19/2003
Time: 1:14:17 PM
User: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
Computer: BUD1200
Description:
Windows saved user BUD1200\Dan registry while an application or service was still using the registry during log off. The memory used by the user's registry has not been freed. The registry will be unloaded when it is no longer in use.

This is often caused by services running as a user account, try configuring the services to run in either the LocalService or NetworkService account.

OK Rev, This may be a problem although microsofts knowledge base articles say that this error should be ignored. Do you know how to go about finding the service that is responsible ? I understand what they mean here but how do I find the service that needs to be changed, ??
You know it only hangs for 45 seconds and then the system reboots and it's fine. It's just that I know it's not supposed to happen. I had the reboot time down to about 50seconds total. Then this sh&t..... starts happening..