New? Did you buy it from a retail store? Most likely they have software bogging the computer down. I would check out CCleaner:
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner
as it will clean junk files & you can disable certain programs running at start up. Google or post here what they are so we can determine if you need it running. Also closing programs before shutting down usually helps. Also you should get a list of any running programs when it prompts you to ask for a shut down. If you recognize any of them, cuz you most likely have it open as i said before closing them before shutting down usually will help it from prompting that. Otherwise let it do it's thing as force shut downs may not save some information with the software. If you are having issues, or it doesn't shut down then you might have a program or process not functioning correctly and/or you might not need it.