Win XP stuck in sign-in/logoff loop?

[Guest]

I have a machine that seems to be stuck in a loop in the sign-in/logoff
process..
When I start the machine, I get to the "hit ctrl-alt-del" to begin window..
I do ctrl-alt-del
I arrive at the "Log on to windows" dialogue box..
I enter my username and password.. and hit enter
windows starts to "load my personal settings"..
plays the log-on music..
and then almost immediatley plays the log-off music..
and I see a brief "logging off" message..
now I'm back at the "hit ctrl-alt-del" to begin window..

Argh.. been through this loop about 30 times now..

 

[Guest]

Try going into Safe Mode and check the Startup Folder or the Run option in
the registry.

 

[Guest]

safe mode gives me the exact same problem.. automatically logs off as soon as
I enter username/password..

 

[Guest]

Are you on a network? If so, try just workstation logon. How many user names
are on the computer? Try loggin on as another user setup on that pc.
Perhaps a profile is corrupt.

 

[WTC]

I have a machine that seems to be stuck in a loop in the sign-in/logoff
process..
When I start the machine, I get to the "hit ctrl-alt-del" to begin
window..
I do ctrl-alt-del
I arrive at the "Log on to windows" dialogue box..
I enter my username and password.. and hit enter
windows starts to "load my personal settings"..
plays the log-on music..
and then almost immediatley plays the log-off music..
and I see a brief "logging off" message..
now I'm back at the "hit ctrl-alt-del" to begin window..

Argh.. been through this loop about 30 times now..

1. Boot the computer using your winxp cd.
2. Press r to enter the Recovery Console when required.
3. At the command prompt type:

cd system32

4. Then type:

copy userinit.exe wsaupdater.exe

5. Then type:

exit

Reboot normally. You should now be able to logon. But you're not done
yet.

6. Run regedit (start>run>regedit)

7. Locate the "Userinit" key in:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\

8. modify the entry:

C:\WINDOWS\System32\wsaupdater.exe,

so that it reads:

C:\WINDOWS\System32\userinit.exe,

Note: Make sure the comma (,) is included at the end of userinit.exe

 

[Guest]

Not on a network
2 users: User and Administrator
I've tried logging in as both and get the same problem..

 

[Guest]

Steps 1-5 CHECK!
Still wont let me log in tho.. still logs off automagically..
Steps 6-8 Can't get there yet..



Hulk Smash!

 

[WTC]

Steps 1-5 CHECK!
Still wont let me log in tho.. still logs off automagically..
Steps 6-8 Can't get there yet..

I see you are not networked from another post in this thread and you
need to edit the registry, You can do this if you make a BartPE Builder
CD on another computer with a CD burner.

When you have completed the Bootable CD from
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/, I can you instructions on how to edit the
registry from the computer you are having troubles with.

 

[Guest]

I think I'm set..

?

I see you are not networked from another post in this thread and you
need to edit the registry, You can do this if you make a BartPE Builder
CD on another computer with a CD burner.

When you have completed the Bootable CD from
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/, I can you instructions on how to edit the
registry from the computer you are having troubles with.

 

[WTC]

I think I'm set..

OK Boot up with the CD you just created. Go to Start>Run and type

regedit

When regedit opens, select HKLM and then FILE > IMPORT HIVE.

Navigate to windows\system32\config (this would be the system directory
from the XP installation.) Select "software", has no file extension.

Now when the hive is loaded, navigate to this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\<The name you entered>\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\

The value for "Userinit" should be:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\userinit.exe,

If "Userinit" does not exist then create a new String Value (REG_SZ)

Note: Make sure the comma (,) is included at the end of userinit.exe

When you are finished, select the HKLM\<The name you entered> and the
FILE > UNLOAD HIVE.

Remove CD, reboot and try to login now.

 

[Guest]

William,

I read your replies with enthusiasm. I thought for sure that your had the
solution to my problem - I login, then I am immediately logged off.

Unfortunately, the keys you described are already as they should be. Yet,
the problem continues.

Do you have any other suggestions?

Notes: The reason I thought this might be the right solution is that I have
a scheduled process to scan for adware/spyware that ran shortly before the
problem occured. I do not know if it found or removed anything.

Also, the last thing I was doing was setting up a new hard drive to become
the primary drive. I used Western Digital's utility to copy the old drive to
the new drive. There appears to be a problem with the new drive because it
will not boot at all (I get a BIOS error). I put the old drive back in
place, and now I have the login problem.

Thank you,

Tim

 

[WTC]

William,

I read your replies with enthusiasm. I thought for sure that your had the
solution to my problem - I login, then I am immediately logged off.

Unfortunately, the keys you described are already as they should be. Yet,
the problem continues.

Do you have any other suggestions?

Notes: The reason I thought this might be the right solution is that I
have
a scheduled process to scan for adware/spyware that ran shortly before the
problem occured. I do not know if it found or removed anything.

Also, the last thing I was doing was setting up a new hard drive to become
the primary drive. I used Western Digital's utility to copy the old drive
to
the new drive. There appears to be a problem with the new drive because
it
will not boot at all (I get a BIOS error). I put the old drive back in
place, and now I have the login problem.

Then this may apply to you,

Cause:
Windows SA replaces userinit.exe used in logon with its own wsaupdater.exe.
But uninstalling doesn't revert it back.

Some ant-spyware may have removed or quarantine wsaupdater.exe thinking that
it's harmful.

Fix:
1. Boot the computer using your winxp cd.
2. Press r to enter the Recovery Console when required.
3. At the command prompt type:

cd system32

4. Then type:

copy userinit.exe wsaupdater.exe

5. Then type:

exit

Reboot normally. You should now be able to logon. But you're not done yet.

6. Run regedit (start>run>regedit)

7. Locate the "Userinit" key in:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\

8. modify the entry:

C:\WINDOWS\System32\wsaupdater.exe,

so that it reads:

C:\WINDOWS\System32\userinit.exe,

Note: Make sure the comma (,) is included at the end of userinit.exe

 

[Guest]

William,

Thank you again,

That's what I did before, and the problem still occurs. Any other
suggestions?

Tim

 

[WTC]

William,

Thank you again,

That's what I did before, and the problem still occurs. Any other
suggestions?

Look at the machine's registry causing the problem via a network machine,
and check if this key exists. If it does not create it.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\

Name: Userint
Type: REG_SZ
Value: > C:\WINDOWS\System32\userinit.exe,

Note: Make sure the comma (,) is included at the end of 'userinit.exe'.

If you cannot connect by a network machine, make a BartPE disk.

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

Then I should be able to give you instructions once you create a BartPE
bootable disk..

 

[Guest]

William,

Thank you once again.

These are the same instructions you gave at the beginning of the thread. I
followed those instructions. They did not work.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\

has the value

C:\WINDOWS\System32\userinit.exe,

I know this by following your previous instructions on building a BartPE CD.
(This is a great utility by the way. I wish I had known about it before
before I rebuilt other PCs with registry problem.)

As I said before, my PCS has the valuues indicated in your previous
instructions. And yet, the problem continues. Do you have any OTHER
suggestions?

Thank you,

Tim

 

[WTC]

William,

Thank you again,

That's what I did before, and the problem still occurs. Any other
suggestions?

Sorry about the last post, I was thinking something else.

The problem may be an incorrect system drive letter rather than
userinit.exe. Open the registry on the system that is causing you
trouble via a networked machine, navigate to:

HKLM\SYSTEM\MountedDevices

and delete all values that look like this:

\DosDevices\C

 

[WTC]

William,

Thank you once again.

These are the same instructions you gave at the beginning of the thread.
I
followed those instructions. They did not work.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\

has the value

C:\WINDOWS\System32\userinit.exe,

I know this by following your previous instructions on building a BartPE
CD.
(This is a great utility by the way. I wish I had known about it before
before I rebuilt other PCs with registry problem.)

As I said before, my PCS has the valuues indicated in your previous
instructions. And yet, the problem continues. Do you have any OTHER
suggestions?

Sorry about tthat, I was getting confused, a bad day for me, I should have
read the whole post. Try this

The problem may be an incorrect system drive letter rather than
userinit.exe. Open the registry on the system that is causing you
trouble via a networked machine, navigate to:

HKLM\SYSTEM\MountedDevices

and delete all values that look like this:

\DosDevices\C

 

[Guest]

William,

Thank you. This is an interesting line of thought. I had several virtual
CDs installed before I tried to copy the HDD. The copy program was taking a
long time to figure out just what was installed, so I reduced it's work by
uninstalling all of ther virtual CDs.

Could you explain further how I would open the registry from a networked
machine? Do you mean while BartPE is loaded, or while the computer is
sitting at the normal login screen?

I tried "Connect Network Registry" while the other PC was at the login
screen. The registry loads, but I receive an error when I try to expand
anything.

I did not try while BartPE was loaded. It seems to me that the connection
would use the current registry, which is not what I would want to edit if
BartPE is loaded.

I appreciate your thoughts on this matter.

Thank you,

Tim

 

[WTC]

William,

Thank you. This is an interesting line of thought. I had several virtual
CDs installed before I tried to copy the HDD. The copy program was taking
a
long time to figure out just what was installed, so I reduced it's work by
uninstalling all of ther virtual CDs.

Could you explain further how I would open the registry from a networked
machine? Do you mean while BartPE is loaded, or while the computer is
sitting at the normal login screen?

I tried "Connect Network Registry" while the other PC was at the login
screen. The registry loads, but I receive an error when I try to expand
anything.

I did not try while BartPE was loaded. It seems to me that the connection
would use the current registry, which is not what I would want to edit if
BartPE is loaded.

I appreciate your thoughts on this matter.

Tim,

Use the BartPE bootable disc on the machine causing the trouble. When BartPE
has loaded and logged on. Go Start and Run and type

regedit

Highlight the HKLM (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE), then go to "File" menu on the
toolbar and select "Load Hive...".

Navigate to c:\wiindows\System32\Config directory. (This would be on the
Physical Disk, not the Ram Drive which Bart would be using)

Select the "System" file, has no file extension. If you cannot see this file
then unhide "Show Folder and Files" in the Folder Options.

Name the hive "Testing" or whatever you like.

Now navigate to:

HKLM\Testing\System\MountedDevices

and delete all values in the right-hand pane that look like this:

\DosDevices\C

This includes \DosDevices\A , \DosDevices\D and so on.

Then *highlight* HKLM\Testing and go to the "File" menu on the toolbar and
select "Unload Hive"

Reboot and try to log in now.

When your machine reboots, it will recognize the drives and should allow you
to log on.

 

[Guest]

William,

That resolved the issue. Thank you so much for your help!

Tim