I was using the 2.4.18 kernel and had managed to compile it so that it switched of the machine when the shutdown process reached its end.
I re-insalled my Slackware 8 system and re-compiled the 2.4.18 Kernel, however I cannot seem to get the permutations back to the way they were during my previous use of the 2.4.18 kernel, and now I cannot get it to shut down my machine, despite some 32 attempts.
I made enquiries at yesterday's meeting at Elmswell, (thank you Rob), and it appears that this problem affects others as well. Mark did give me some information as to how I could overcome this problem, unfortunately I did not write it down, and my latest attempts have yet to produce a kernel which will shut down the Computer at the end of the shutdown process. Any help anyone can offer on this subject will be gratefully received.