Version:            (using KDE KDE 3.3.1)
Installed from:    Compiled From Sources
Compiler:          gcc-3.3.3 
OS:                Linux

The (to be dramatic) "terrible death" of kde (3.3.1) during shutdown is similar to the description of bug 90258, with a difference: is reproducible.

The system hangs, completely frozen, with a black screen, but still showing the cursor! (BTW X Window System is Xorg-6.8.1).

Upon a hard reset, partition must be fsck'ed, with a whole plethora of fixes, including corrupted dir structure and unattached inodes.

I can isolate the problem by being undoubtfully introduced by the kdemultimedia package. Kde without it shutdowns without a fuss. (This result was systematically searched by introducing one package at a time, and kdemultimedia is the only one that triggers the crash in a reprodicble way.)

I wish to help: 1) to offer more information, but would like to be asked for it as I do not know what would be beneficial; 2) to track down the culprit, and to that entent, would like to be instructed on what steps to conduct for proper isolating the cause of the crash (if, with my limited knowledge and skills, at all possible from my end).

For now I state: host is Linux 2.4.26, glibc 2.3.3, gcc 3.3.3, kde 3.3.1, qt-3.3.3 and Xorg 6.8.1. Whole system completely compiled from scratch. Kde is compiled using konstruct, i.e, incorporates all patches there present for qt and kdelibs.

At your disposition for additional info as required.

The crash is very ugly and, seems that the my building environment is sound enough, meaning that the bug, although "kind of particular" in view of just few reports, is a true bug, probably triggered from a very specific building order or presence (or lack thereof) of certain key elements in my system.