Problems logging in

[iron_rich]

Hi all, could really do with some help.

One of my computers is running windows 2000, yesterday when I went to
log in to the administrator account, the password was accepted,but
instead of starting windows the log in box said it was saving my
profile and then dumped me back to the password box. Strangely the
Guest account has now disappeared.

Has anyone else had this problem before? If so how did you solve it?
I`m going to try and repair the installation, if that doesn`t work then
I think I may end up re-installing Windows unless anyone has a better
idea!

Thanks for your time

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Hi all, could really do with some help.

One of my computers is running windows 2000, yesterday when I went to
log in to the administrator account, the password was accepted,but
instead of starting windows the log in box said it was saving my
profile and then dumped me back to the password box. Strangely the
Guest account has now disappeared.

Has anyone else had this problem before? If so how did you solve it?
I`m going to try and repair the installation, if that doesn`t work then
I think I may end up re-installing Windows unless anyone has a better
idea!

Thanks for your time

This is a well-know phenomenon. It is usually caused by a
the file userinit.exe not being in the correct location. This can
happen after disk imaging or as a result of some spy/malware
action.

The cure is easy for networked PCs and much less so for
stand-alone machines. Which applies to your PC?

Here is some introductory reading on the subject:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];249321

 

[iron_rich]

Hi all, could really do with some help.

One of my computers is running windows 2000, yesterday when I went to
log in to the administrator account, the password was accepted,but
instead of starting windows the log in box said it was saving my
profile and then dumped me back to the password box. Strangely the
Guest account has now disappeared.

Has anyone else had this problem before? If so how did you solve it?
I`m going to try and repair the installation, if that doesn`t work then
I think I may end up re-installing Windows unless anyone has a better
idea!

Thanks for your time

This is a well-know phenomenon. It is usually caused by a
the file userinit.exe not being in the correct location. This can
happen after disk imaging or as a result of some spy/malware
action.

The cure is easy for networked PCs and much less so for
stand-alone machines. Which applies to your PC?

Here is some introductory reading on the subject:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];249321

Hi Pegasus, thanks for the reply.

Its a stand alone home PC.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Hi all, could really do with some help.

One of my computers is running windows 2000, yesterday when I went to
log in to the administrator account, the password was accepted,but
instead of starting windows the log in box said it was saving my
profile and then dumped me back to the password box. Strangely the
Guest account has now disappeared.

Has anyone else had this problem before? If so how did you solve it?
I`m going to try and repair the installation, if that doesn`t work then
I think I may end up re-installing Windows unless anyone has a better
idea!

Thanks for your time

This is a well-know phenomenon. It is usually caused by a
the file userinit.exe not being in the correct location. This can
happen after disk imaging or as a result of some spy/malware
action.

The cure is easy for networked PCs and much less so for
stand-alone machines. Which applies to your PC?

Here is some introductory reading on the subject:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];249321

Hi Pegasus, thanks for the reply.

Its a stand alone home PC.

Is it feasible to remove its disk and install it temporarily in some
other PC?

 

[iron_rich]

Hi all, could really do with some help.

One of my computers is running windows 2000, yesterday when I went to
log in to the administrator account, the password was accepted,but
instead of starting windows the log in box said it was saving my
profile and then dumped me back to the password box. Strangely the
Guest account has now disappeared.

Has anyone else had this problem before? If so how did you solve it?
I`m going to try and repair the installation, if that doesn`t work then
I think I may end up re-installing Windows unless anyone has a better
idea!

Thanks for your time


This is a well-know phenomenon. It is usually caused by a
the file userinit.exe not being in the correct location. This can
happen after disk imaging or as a result of some spy/malware
action.

The cure is easy for networked PCs and much less so for
stand-alone machines. Which applies to your PC?

Here is some introductory reading on the subject:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];249321

Hi Pegasus, thanks for the reply.

Its a stand alone home PC.

Is it feasible to remove its disk and install it temporarily in some
other PC?

Afraid not, the other pc I have is a laptop. I think I`m going to
re-install windows, can`t think of any other way round this problem.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Pegasus (MVP) wrote:
Hi all, could really do with some help.

One of my computers is running windows 2000, yesterday when I went to
log in to the administrator account, the password was accepted,but
instead of starting windows the log in box said it was saving my
profile and then dumped me back to the password box. Strangely the
Guest account has now disappeared.

Has anyone else had this problem before? If so how did you solve it?
I`m going to try and repair the installation, if that doesn`t work then
I think I may end up re-installing Windows unless anyone has a better
idea!

Thanks for your time


This is a well-know phenomenon. It is usually caused by a
the file userinit.exe not being in the correct location. This can
happen after disk imaging or as a result of some spy/malware
action.

The cure is easy for networked PCs and much less so for
stand-alone machines. Which applies to your PC?

Here is some introductory reading on the subject:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];249321

Hi Pegasus, thanks for the reply.

Its a stand alone home PC.

Is it feasible to remove its disk and install it temporarily in some
other PC?

Afraid not, the other pc I have is a laptop. I think I`m going to
re-install windows, can`t think of any other way round this problem.

Fixing this problem without a networked PC and without another
desktop PC is difficult and requires a good deal of patience and
perseverance. Reloading Windows may be an easier option.
When Windows is up and running again, you should network the
two machines. Depending on their ages, you may need only a
network cable to link them. Having them networked gives several
advantages:
- You can back up files from one machine to the other.
- You can get them to share a single Internet connection.
- You can fix one by sending commands to the other.

 

[iron_rich]

Pegasus (MVP) wrote:
Hi all, could really do with some help.

One of my computers is running windows 2000, yesterday when I went to
log in to the administrator account, the password was accepted,but
instead of starting windows the log in box said it was saving my
profile and then dumped me back to the password box. Strangely the
Guest account has now disappeared.

Has anyone else had this problem before? If so how did you solve it?
I`m going to try and repair the installation, if that doesn`t work
then
I think I may end up re-installing Windows unless anyone has a better
idea!

Thanks for your time


This is a well-know phenomenon. It is usually caused by a
the file userinit.exe not being in the correct location. This can
happen after disk imaging or as a result of some spy/malware
action.

The cure is easy for networked PCs and much less so for
stand-alone machines. Which applies to your PC?

Here is some introductory reading on the subject:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];249321

Hi Pegasus, thanks for the reply.

Its a stand alone home PC.


Is it feasible to remove its disk and install it temporarily in some
other PC?

Afraid not, the other pc I have is a laptop. I think I`m going to
re-install windows, can`t think of any other way round this problem.

Fixing this problem without a networked PC and without another
desktop PC is difficult and requires a good deal of patience and
perseverance. Reloading Windows may be an easier option.
When Windows is up and running again, you should network the
two machines. Depending on their ages, you may need only a
network cable to link them. Having them networked gives several
advantages:
- You can back up files from one machine to the other.
- You can get them to share a single Internet connection.
- You can fix one by sending commands to the other.

Thanks your time Pegasus. I thought I probably would end up having to
re-install windows.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Pegasus (MVP) wrote:

Pegasus (MVP) wrote:
Hi all, could really do with some help.

One of my computers is running windows 2000, yesterday when I

went
to

log in to the administrator account, the password was accepted,but
instead of starting windows the log in box said it was saving my
profile and then dumped me back to the password box. Strangely the
Guest account has now disappeared.

Has anyone else had this problem before? If so how did you

solve
it?

I`m going to try and repair the installation, if that doesn`t work
then
I think I may end up re-installing Windows unless anyone has a better
idea!

Thanks for your time


This is a well-know phenomenon. It is usually caused by a
the file userinit.exe not being in the correct location. This can
happen after disk imaging or as a result of some spy/malware
action.

The cure is easy for networked PCs and much less so for
stand-alone machines. Which applies to your PC?

Here is some introductory reading on the subject:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];249321

Hi Pegasus, thanks for the reply.

Its a stand alone home PC.


Is it feasible to remove its disk and install it temporarily in some
other PC?

Afraid not, the other pc I have is a laptop. I think I`m going to
re-install windows, can`t think of any other way round this problem.

Fixing this problem without a networked PC and without another
desktop PC is difficult and requires a good deal of patience and
perseverance. Reloading Windows may be an easier option.
When Windows is up and running again, you should network the
two machines. Depending on their ages, you may need only a
network cable to link them. Having them networked gives several
advantages:
- You can back up files from one machine to the other.
- You can get them to share a single Internet connection.
- You can fix one by sending commands to the other.

Thanks your time Pegasus. I thought I probably would end up having to
re-install windows.

There is a remote chance that the following method will fix
the problem:
1. Boot the machine with a Win98 boot disk from www.bootdisk.com.
2. Type this command: fdisk /mbr
3. Reboot the machine normally.

 

[iron_rich]

Pegasus (MVP) wrote:

Pegasus (MVP) wrote:
Hi all, could really do with some help.

One of my computers is running windows 2000, yesterday when I went
to
log in to the administrator account, the password was accepted,but
instead of starting windows the log in box said it was saving my
profile and then dumped me back to the password box. Strangely the
Guest account has now disappeared.

Has anyone else had this problem before? If so how did you solve
it?
I`m going to try and repair the installation, if that doesn`t work
then
I think I may end up re-installing Windows unless anyone has a
better
idea!

Thanks for your time


This is a well-know phenomenon. It is usually caused by a
the file userinit.exe not being in the correct location. This can
happen after disk imaging or as a result of some spy/malware
action.

The cure is easy for networked PCs and much less so for
stand-alone machines. Which applies to your PC?

Here is some introductory reading on the subject:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];249321

Hi Pegasus, thanks for the reply.

Its a stand alone home PC.


Is it feasible to remove its disk and install it temporarily in some
other PC?

Afraid not, the other pc I have is a laptop. I think I`m going to
re-install windows, can`t think of any other way round this problem.


Fixing this problem without a networked PC and without another
desktop PC is difficult and requires a good deal of patience and
perseverance. Reloading Windows may be an easier option.
When Windows is up and running again, you should network the
two machines. Depending on their ages, you may need only a
network cable to link them. Having them networked gives several
advantages:
- You can back up files from one machine to the other.
- You can get them to share a single Internet connection.
- You can fix one by sending commands to the other.

Thanks your time Pegasus. I thought I probably would end up having to
re-install windows.

There is a remote chance that the following method will fix
the problem:
1. Boot the machine with a Win98 boot disk from www.bootdisk.com.
2. Type this command: fdisk /mbr
3. Reboot the machine normally.

Hi Pegasus, thanks for the ideas. It was simple at the end of the day.

You got me thinking when you said spyware / malware earlier. The only
change that I had made recently was updating my firewall (ZoneAlarm). I
started the pc using the last known good configuration. Checked the
System Log and noticed that some drivers/services had failed to load.
Un-installed ZA, re-booted and everything was back to normal. I must
have denied things access by mistake.

Again thanks for the ideas