Can't shut down via apple menu

For the past few days my computer will not shut down using the apple menu. Nothing happens when I select "shut down" or "restart." Also, during the same time period, the black "you must restart your computer" box has appeared a few times after my computer has frozen. This first happened a couple of minutes after rebooting after doing a software update. I left the computer overnight after starting the update, so I awoke to find the regular post-update pop-up instructing me to restart, which I did without a problem. Only after this did the freezing and shutdown problem begin. I have trouble believing that leaving an update overnight would cause this problem, but it seemed worth mentioning to be on the safe side.
Any advice would be appreciated.
thanks,
kate

You are correct, my response was curt and I apologize. And of course she should run diagnostics, and use her start up disk to both verify and repair the disk and repair permissions. She could also create a new user and see if the problem persists with a new user account. However the exact nature of the problem she described is consistent with her unfortunately having a corrupted update or install. Although unusual for OS X, as compared to Windows machines, anything can happen (and usually does).
Should none of her diagnostics routine help, reinstalling Mac OS X is not a difficult, nor time consuming job, provided all her personal information is backed up elsewhere. Not only that ,but reinstalling the OS will give her some set up opportunities that she did not have when she started the ibook up with the oem install. If you are still under warranty or have Applecare, you can always oblige yourself of those resources if you are uncomfortable pursuing anythign further.
Good luck,
ibook G4 1.33ghz 12, 1.42ghz 14 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

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Can't shut down via apple menu

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