XP Home Edition Logon Issue

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ram
  • Start date Start date
R

Ram

Hi,

I have a new laptop with XP Home Edition on it. I have set
up 5 different users on it WITHOUT any passwords for any
of the accounts.

Today, I configured MS Outlook on it and set up my Hotmail
account. I set it up using the HTTP option and entered the
Hotmail account info, along with the password info. I also
checked the "Logon Using Secure Password Authentication"
option.

After this change, if I boot up my laptop now, I get a
list of the users defined on the computer and a prompt for
the user's password. Even though I did not define any
initial passwords, this is now confusing and frustrating
because I just cannot login to the computer at all. It
comes back with an error message:

"The local policy of this system does not permit you to
logon interactively."

Even the Hotmail password does not work. There was no
password set up for the Administrator account either and
even that is promtping me for a password now.

How can I fix this so that I can access the computer
properly?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
Go to Start, type "control userpasswords2" without the quotes in the run
box.
Uncheck the box User must enter a username and password.
 
Michael,

Thanks for your suggestion.

But I am at the stage where I cannot even login to the
laptop, using any of the accounts (even the
Administrator). Is there anything I can do from a command
prompt (can I get to a prompt using Safe Mode boot option)?

Thanks very much
 
Try leaving the password blank and press enter. In other words, select the
user, leave the password blank and press enter.

Even though Hotmail doesn't require Secure Password Authentication, that is
only an e-mail protocol and should not effect your ability to logon to your
computer.

Next thing to try would be Safe Mode as you have suggested. Boot the
system, start tapping F8, at the menu that eventually appears, select Safe
Mode. Once at Safe Mode, you should be offered the option to go immediately
to System Restore. Use it to take you back to a time before this began. If
it doesn't offer the option but you enter Safe Mode, go to Start\All
Programs\Accessories\System Tools\System Restore.

If that doesn't resolve it, while I don't believe a repair install will
resolve it either, it's worth a shot. Try a repair install as follows:
Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive and you have an
actual XP CD as opposed to a recovery CD, boot with the XP
CD in the drive and perform a repair install as outlined below. If the
system isn't set to boot from the CD or you are not sure, you need to enter
the system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the first screen usually has
instructions that if you wish to enter set press a specific key, when you
see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to the boot sequence, if
the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in the boot sequence. Save
your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive. The system will reboot.

NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data files intact, if
something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be forced to start
over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your data backed up,
you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.

Boot from the CD. If your system is set to be able to boot from the CD, it
should detect the disk and give a brief message, during the boot up, if you
wish to boot from the CD press any key.

Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.

Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console.

The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.

If you only have a recovery CD, your options are quite limited. You can
either purchase a retail version of XP will allow you to perform the above
among other tools and options it has or you can run your system recovery
routine with the Recovery CD which will likely wipe your drive, deleting all
files but will restore your setup to factory fresh condition.
 
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