Cant login to WinXP

[Guest]

Trying to fix a computer, Everytime i click on logon it throws me back to
logon page, its exactly the same in safe mode too, been searching the
knowledge base all night and cant seem to sort this out, any ideas?

 

[Galen]

In vr6Will had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Trying to fix a computer, Everytime i click on logon it throws me back to
logon page, its exactly the same in safe mode too, been searching the
knowledge base all night and cant seem to sort this out, any ideas?

CTRL + ALT + DEL (twice) at the login screen and see if you can get into the
Administrator account. If you can't then it may need a repair install. If
you can then it's likely a corrupt profile.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/ http://kgiii.info/

"Chance has put in our way a most singular and whimsical problem, and its
solution is its own
reward." - Sherlock Holmes

 

[Guest]

That is using the administrator account,

any other ideas?

 

[Gordon]

That is using the administrator account,

any other ideas?

He said "you may need to do a repair install". that IS "any other idea".

 

[Guest]

Thank you for your helpful reply...i did write IDEAS in my previous post
(that means more than one) i only want to repair the install as a last
resort....

 

[Galen]

In vr6Will had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Thank you for your helpful reply...i did write IDEAS in my previous post
(that means more than one) i only want to repair the install as a last
resort....

Then you probably would have been better off having not used the default
administrator account and, instead, having used an account you created -
that way, when things go bad, you have an account that you can often still
login on and do your repairs from.

Repair Installation of XP:
http://kgiii.info/windows/XP/general/xprepair.html

Repair installation is pretty painless - unless (of course) you used EFS and
didn't backup the keys. In which case, well, they're not so much fun.

How to perform a repair installation of Windows XP if Internet Explorer 7 is
installed:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917964/en-us

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/ http://kgiii.info/

"Chance has put in our way a most singular and whimsical problem, and its
solution is its own
reward." - Sherlock Holmes

 

[Guest]

Hi, sorry, i should have said, it does it with the user account setup as well
as the administrator account, exactly the same happens in safe mode too!

Thats the reason for reinstallation as last resort as i didn't backup the
keys, is there anyway i can find these out? The Windows XP cd i have is my
own copy and dont want to use the key on another pc.

many thanks.

 

[Galen]

In vr6Will had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Hi, sorry, i should have said, it does it with the user account setup as
well
as the administrator account, exactly the same happens in safe mode too!

Thats the reason for reinstallation as last resort as i didn't backup the
keys, is there anyway i can find these out? The Windows XP cd i have is my
own copy and dont want to use the key on another pc.

many thanks.

You used to be able to pull the key with 9x from outside of the OS via
mucklin' on to the registry but no can do in XP. At least not that I'm aware
of. However... That doesn't mean it can't be done, just not outside the OS I
don't believe?

If you want to take a trip into the wild blue yonder and have some fun, find
an make a BartPE disk

Bart's Preinstalled Environment (BartPE) bootable live windows CD/DVD:
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

And on it you'd include something like this:

Magical Jelly Bean Software - Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder v1.5:
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

Now I'm not claiming that will work. *grins* I've never tried it? It may, it
should, but I haven't a clue if it will or not.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/ http://kgiii.info/

"Chance has put in our way a most singular and whimsical problem, and its
solution is its own
reward." - Sherlock Holmes

 

[Guest]

Hi Galen,

thanks for the info, i managed to get the product key and have completed my
repair install, however, bad news im afraid, it still does exactly the same
thing,

looks like a fresh install you think?

 

[Galen]

In vr6Will had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Hi Galen,

thanks for the info, i managed to get the product key and have completed
my
repair install, however, bad news im afraid, it still does exactly the
same
thing,

looks like a fresh install you think?

Yeah probably... Hmm...

There are only those two accounts? If not I'd say CTRL + ALT + DEL twice at
the login to bring up the prompt, try a third user... Safe mode is exactly
the same?

I'm going to guess malware if the above is all true, if that deeply
embedded - a complete and total reformat is essential in most cases to
ensure completely cleaning the system.

Helpful information to prevent this in the future (the only true way known
to man):

Backup! Image/Clone:
http://kgiii.info/windows/all/advanced/image-clone.html

No computer's safe. Keep backups.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/ http://kgiii.info/

"Chance has put in our way a most singular and whimsical problem, and its
solution is its own
reward." - Sherlock Holmes

 

[Guest]

Yes, only two accounts and both exactly the same and in safe mode too!

 

[Galen]

In vr6Will had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Yes, only two accounts and both exactly the same and in safe mode too!

Sorry for the delay in answering - it has been a holiday weekend. And yeah,
it looks like you're going to want/need to go with the repair or maybe even
a clean install as discussed in the earlier posts.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/ http://kgiii.info/

"Chance has put in our way a most singular and whimsical problem, and its
solution is its own
reward." - Sherlock Holmes