Windows XP - Log-In Not Working

  • Thread starter Thread starter pcoc
  • Start date Start date
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pcoc

One afternoon everything was working fine, now when I log
in to any user at the welcome screen, it goes for 2-3
seconds then says 'saving settings' and automatically logs
off. Unsure how to proceed.
 
Hi,

Run a spyware cleaner lately? The userinit value may have been corrupted by
the removal of blazefind. It adds wsaupdater.exe to the logon value in the
system registry, sometimes appending it, sometimes replacing it. Running
Adaware or other cleaners detects and removes wsaupdater.exe, but doesn't
correct the registry damage. If this is the case, then you may need to load
the registry hive from another installation and change it. This is the key:

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

Userinit string value should be:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\userinit.exe,

On the damaged installations it's one of these:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\wsaupdater.exe,
C:\WINDOWS\system32\userinit.exe,C:\WINDOWS\system32\wsaupdater.exe,

Another "quickie" method of resolution is to load the Recovery Console (see
below), copy userinit.exe as wsaupdater.exe from the command prompt, then
restart normally. Once in, go and change the registry value back to what
it's supposed to be and delete the copied file. To do this, use these
commands:

C:\Windows>
C:\Windows>copy C:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe
C:\Windows\system32\wsaupdater.exe

Then you can exit once completed.

HOW TO: Install and Use the Recovery Console in Windows XP [Q307654]
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307654

This can also be done by using the 6 disk boot floppy set mentioned in the
above article, as it loads enough of the Recovery Console so that you can
copy the file. This is particularly useful if you have an OEM installation
that includes only a Restore CD, or no disk at all.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
Hi,

I have exactly the same problem that happened to me
today!!!!And of course right when i needed it too, just
before a presentation i had to give...Were you able to
find out the solution to it or what caused this to happen??

Thanks,
Brendan
 
Hi Rick,

Thanks for That! I followed your instructions and the log-
in problem is now fixed...

Thanks again!!

Brendan
 
Dear Rick,

I have the same problem, but when I checked the system32
directory, I don't have the wsaupdater.exe file. Any other
fixes?

I ran the norton antivirus 2004 to check for adwares, but
it could not delete a LOT of the adwares it found. There
were some I manually deleted, could that have caused the
problem?

Also, I cannot check the registry as I can only access my
hard disk using the installer CD, then going to the dos
prompt.
 
My previous post said
Click to expand...
I have the same problem, but when I checked the system32
directory, I don't have the wsaupdater.exe file. Any other
fixes?

I finally did a repair install, after reading a ton of
support bbs. So there is no actual wsaupdater.exe file and
it only shows up in the registry?

Saw it finally after I finished the repair install and
could access the registry.
 
I wish I had read your response before addressing this issue on my own. I
had this same problem happen to me about 3 weeks ago. In my initial search I
read an article that said to "Repair your windows installation using the
Repair Console". I took this approach and half way through the repair a
message box popped up that said it could not find a file. I put the Windows
XP CD into another computer, found the file (since the popup did not have a
browse feature) and then typed in the path. Unfortunately it said it still
could not find the file. I tried every drive letter to no avail. So I HAD
to exit the "repair". Then each time I booted it would enter the
"installation" step and prompt me for the location of the file that it was
looking for.

Anyway, I gave up and installed XP on another HD and started from scratch.
Not a bad thing to do anyway. The major problem now is when I try to view
the HD that failed, Explorer shows no files unless I enable hidden/system
files. Then the whole HD is an array of TEMP folders and files with no
discernable names.

Would you possibly know how to recover the data off the HD? There are
configuration files, children pictures, emails, documents, etc. that I would
like to recover from the HD. Any information other than "you're hosed" would
be helpful.
 
Hi Marlene,

The problem is that the file is not there, but the logon routine is looking
for it. Copying the userinit.exe file as wsaupdater.exe creates a "fake"
file that allows the logon to finish. Then you can get in and fix the
damage.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
Hi,

Doesn't sound unrecoverable, but you may need to take it to someone who
knows what they are doing. If you see nothing but a bunch of .chk files, it
will take quite some time to recover data.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
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