Cannot Log in to XP Home

[Michael Wolfstone]

HP Laptop with XP Home did not require any form of log-
in. Boot process now brings up screen saying Click on
User Name to Log in, but no user names or icons
presented. CTL-Alt-Del goes to XP Login screen for user
OWNER (not a known setting). Tried changing user and
password to find a log-in. Did not work. Trying to boot
into safe mode or DOS mode still requires log-in
process. Nothing works. Any Suggestions?

 

[Taurarian]

Just a thought/idea?

This can occur if you manage to delete all local user accounts (User
Accounts won't let you do this, but other account- management tools aren't
as protective) or, in some cases, if you upgrade your computer from an
earlier version of Windows.

If you're using Windows XP Professional, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete two times to
display the Log On To Windows dialog box.
Type Administrator in the User Name box, and enter the password you created
for the Administrator account during setup.
Logged on as Administrator, you can run User Accounts and create one or more
new accounts, which will thereafter show up on the Welcome screen.

Windows XP Home Edition users can't log on using the Administrator account,
which is prevented by account restrictions from logging on.
Instead, you must start Windows XP in Safe Mode by pressing F8 at the
beginning of the startup process. After you're up and running in Safe Mode,
you can run User Accounts to create one or more new accounts.


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q308421&
HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP

NOTE: You must be logged on to the computer using an account that has
administrative privileges. If you are running Windows XP Home Edition, in
order to have access to the Security tab, you must first start in Safe Mode
and log on with an account that has Administrative rights.

 

[Eric Freeman [MSFT]]

Since you're using XP Home, and as Taurarian said in that post
it sounds like all the user accounts have been deleted. On XP
Home, you'll have to login as Owner and use the password that
was originally set (should have been by you) when you first
booted up Windows XP.

--
Eric Freeman [MSFT]
Windows Application Experience & Compatibility

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