BleepingComputer.com: Logging off..

Whenever I log off, switch user, or lock my computer, it will never log off it always just goes directly to a black screen after it says its "Logging off, Please wait." or switching users. I always have to restart my computer to log onto another user name because I can't log off, etc. I have Windows Vista Home Premium, 1GB RAM, AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual processor 3800+ 2000 Mhz, 32-bit. I don't know what is going on but I would really like an answer fast because this is really getting annoying..
All help/answers will be appreciated.

Try updating your video drivers with the latest version available from the manufacturer of your video chipset (ATI, nVidia, Intel, etc).

That's the most common reason for this sort of problem, but there are other reasons - so if it doesn't work, post back and we'll have a go at further troubleshooting.

While this is for XP, Many of the recommendations still apply
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.htm

Thanks for the answers usasma and garmanma, I am updating my drivers now and possibly by any chance, would more ram help?
And unfortunatley, it gets stuck on a black screen and it has already saved my settings and stuff, the problem is going to the welcome screen after it does that, all I get is a black screen for hours unless I shut down the computer and restart it.

I just updated it, but I haven't attempted to log off. I noticed the release date was the 3rd of March and that was a couple days before this startd happening..

There's not a strict pattern with this in Vista as there was in XP - although there are resemblances.

In XP it was nearly a guarantee that it's either video drivers or hard drive issues (either software or hardware). With Vista it doesn't seem to be exactly the same, but the process should be the same to rule out video drivers, then to rule out hard drive issues.

It had nothing to do with video drivers, still does the same thing. But now I seem to have random lockups of the screen and I can only move the mouse but the screen is totally frozen and when I press Ctrl + alt + delete and press any of the buttons all the options go away and it stays at that background with the mouse.. any ideas?

Oh and ever since this started happening, my harddrive seems to be much noisier and can get to the point where it shakes the desk that it is on.

Immediately backup your data in case the hard drive is failing.
Then run a bootable hard drive diagnostic from the manufacturer of your hard drive. A list of the more common one's is in this topic: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic28744.html

Would this be fixed if I did a complete pc backup, then reinstalled windows vista?

Not if the hard drive is dying - that's why I suggested the hard drive diagnostic.

How do I run the hard drive diagnostic? Could I do it from the OS disk?

You go to the link that I posted in post #7 and find the link for your hard drive.
You read the instructions on the website about how to make the disk bootable.
Then you download the necessary items from that website.

If you let us know the make of your hard drive we can point you to the correct download and can provide assistance in making it bootable.

Here is the report from Belarc:
Operating System System Model
Windows Vista Home Premium (build 6000) Dell Inc Dimension E521
System Service Tag: CJBZ6C1 (support for this PC)
Chassis Serial Number: CJBZ6C1
Enclosure Type: Desktop
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
2.00 gigahertz AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
1024 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: Dell Inc 0UW457 A03
Serial Number: ..CN698617180753.
Bus Clock: 1000 megahertz
BIOS: Dell Inc 1.1.8 04/18/2007
Drives Memory Modules c,d
154.95 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
65.50 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

TSSTcorp DVD+-RW TS-H553A SCSI CdRom Device [CD-ROM drive]

ST316081 2AS SCSI Disk Device (160.00 GB) -- drive 0 1022 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'DIMM_4' is Empty
Slot 'DIMM_3' is Empty
Slot 'DIMM_2' has 512 MB (serial number F803A86E)
Slot 'DIMM_1' has 512 MB (serial number F803A7BD)
Local Drive Volumes


c: (NTFS on drive 0) 154.95 GB 65.50 GB free

Controllers Display
NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller (2x) NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE [Display adapter]
DELL 1707FP [Monitor] (17.1"vis, s/n CC2806AIBJAN, October 2006)
Bus Adapters
Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC

This is the link for the downloads: http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatools

If you can get into Windows, use the SeaTools for Windows links
If you can't get into Windows, use the SeaTools for DOS links. Read the instructions (the "Learn more" and "Tutorial" links) before proceeding.

So, which would I download? Onetouch 2,3,or 4, or FreeAgent Go?

Below those links is a link for SeaTools for Windows (in blue text) - click on that.