Problems with Explorer on boot

My daughter is running XP Pro SP3 on her computer. When she boots up her computer, Explorer does not seem to be loading properly. None of the on screen icons come on, but if I go into task manager, stop Explorer and then restart it, that will usually solve the problem. Also, the computer will often not shut down, remaining on the "shutting down" screen. There are also some problems with accessing the internet & freezing, but I don't know if they are connected.
Any suggestions???
Thanks!!

Hit the F8 key early and often beginning imediately at system start. You will see after a time the Advanced Boot Options Menu. Choose Safe Mode. Logon as Administrator. Create a brand new user, Administrator priviliged, with a username not previously used on the computer.

Logoff. Logon as this new user. Is everything OK now? I understand your desktop will be a little empty, but is it completely blank as before, and do you still get an Explorer error?