XP2 frozen @ "to begin, click user name" screen

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Guest

In the last week and 1/2, I've been having trouble with XP2 freezing at the
screen that says "to begin, click user name", especially when I turn on the
computer. It won't respond when I click on a user account name, nor when I
click on "turn off computer", so I have to do a hard boot to restart it.
However, after 2 or more tries, it finally acts normally (ie lets me click to
get into my user account, and responds to a click to turn off computer).
Today when I turned on the computer, it took 4 tries before it finally acted
normally. (This is the greatest number of times it's taken so far.)

A few times it has frozen after logging out of a user account, and also
after doing a fast switch to a different user account.

Yesterday (9/24) I tried doing a system restore to a point 2 weeks ago, when
I don't remember the problem occurring. Maybe I didn't go back to a far
enough system restore point, but anyway it's still not working. This is the
extent of my troubleshooting ability, so I'm not sure what to try next.

I do MS updates regularly (automatically), regularly run a program called
Clean Up! which deletes temp files, old unused registry entries etc., and use
Avast! virus software. I also periodically perform basic system maintenance
like defrag. I've had no notifications of viruses, although I haven't run a
systemwide virus check yet.

Can someone help? Thanks!
 
JS, There's what I think is normal disk activity that continues a little bit
after the "click user name" screen appears, but then it stops as usual.
 
OK, here's where I am so far. Since it looked like the least invasive choice,
I went to the link you recommended for how to copy user data to a new profile
and began following the instructions. We have 4 user accounts on our
computer, so I went into my user account (I'm an administrator) and created 4
new accounts. (If my original user account name was myname, I called the new
one myname2, and did this for each account.)

I'm an XP home user, by the way.

Then I logged back into my original user account and began the steps to copy
files to the new accounts. When I tried to find the c:\Documents and
Settings\New_Username folder to copy the folders to the new user accounts, I
found that the new account I created for myself appeared there, but the other
3 new ones don't appear.

So then I logged out to the "to begin, click user name" screen, and checked
to see whether all the new accounts appeared, and they're all there! So
what's up about that?

My gut tells me I need to restart the computer, but I'm afraid if I do it'll
freeze and it might be for good!

Doing the repair install may be too much for me. The last time I tried to
play vigilante and take things into my own hands, I ended up with a complete
system crash. :P

Any ideas from here? If I need to do the repair install, I'll find a way.
Thanks again.
 
Try logging on to each new account, then check for the folders after you
have done so.

JS

chocoholic said:
OK, here's where I am so far. Since it looked like the least invasive
choice,
I went to the link you recommended for how to copy user data to a new
profile
and began following the instructions. We have 4 user accounts on our
computer, so I went into my user account (I'm an administrator) and
created 4
new accounts. (If my original user account name was myname, I called the
new
one myname2, and did this for each account.)

I'm an XP home user, by the way.

Then I logged back into my original user account and began the steps to
copy
files to the new accounts. When I tried to find the c:\Documents and
Settings\New_Username folder to copy the folders to the new user accounts,
I
found that the new account I created for myself appeared there, but the
other
3 new ones don't appear.

So then I logged out to the "to begin, click user name" screen, and
checked
to see whether all the new accounts appeared, and they're all there! So
what's up about that?

My gut tells me I need to restart the computer, but I'm afraid if I do
it'll
freeze and it might be for good!

Doing the repair install may be too much for me. The last time I tried to
play vigilante and take things into my own hands, I ended up with a
complete
system crash. :P

Any ideas from here? If I need to do the repair install, I'll find a way.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
 
First, I want to thank both of you who've replied for all your help so far! I
appreciate it greatly.

I finally got time to sit down and apply your suggestions. Here's where I am
now.

I've created new user accounts, moved the files over from old to new, and
deleted the old user accounts. The number of times XP would freeze up was
then reduced greatly, but still occurred. (Worked every time i tested it
[8-10 times] by shutting down properly and restarting, but after being off
overnight, when my spouse tried to start computer up next morning, it froze.
So that was once out of many times, but still happening.)

So then I did the repair install w/ the XPSP2 operating system reinstall CD,
as per the link in Mark Ferguson's instructions. As it went through the setup
process in step 6 (under XP REPAIR INSTALL heading on the site), it would
stop and tell me that it was unable to find a vast amount of certain files,
all of which were located in folder i386 on the reinstall CD, and most of
which it said could cause windows not to run properly if not installed. These
were .dl_, .ex_, .oc_, .cn_, .du_, .ic_, .ve_, and .is_ files. I can provide
the whole list if it would help, but the first few of the 36 missing files
were:

clbcatq.dl_
comuid.dl_
comsvcs.dl_
catsrv.dl_

Each time I got the "can't install" response, I canceled out and allowed it
to go on to the next file, even tho it said windows wouldn't work properly.

After setup finished, I ensured that the XP firewall was enabled as
instructed.

Then I attempted step 7, which is to reapply updates/service packs. Windows
Update searched for critical updates, and found 80 of them. I then tried to
download them. When the attempted download finished (a year later!), it said
the download or installation had failed for all 80 files.

Is this because of the missing files under i386? I explored the
reinstallation CD, and the i386 folder is there, and at least the 1st four
files I listed above are there in that folder (didn't check for all of them.)
So, my questions now are:

1. Why was setup unable to find and install those files from the reinstall CD?

2. Did that failure cause Win update to fail?

3. What can I do about this? How do I acquire and install those files if I
can't from the CD?

Good news is, I haven't yet experienced the freeze-up problem since the
repair install.

Sorry so long, just want to give complete information.

Thanks again, so much.





I explored the reinstall

JS said:
Try logging on to each new account, then check for the folders after you
have done so.

JS
Click to expand...
 
My first suspicion for the failure of a reair setup is a bad CD drive or
driver. The chance that the setup CD is damaged is a posibility, but small.

I would copy the /i386 folder off the CD onto the hard drive, and run setup
from there (winnt32.exe starts setup)
--
helpful? click "Yes" button. Voting helps the web interface.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...g=microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support
Mark L. Ferguson



chocoholic said:
First, I want to thank both of you who've replied for all your help so far! I
appreciate it greatly.

I finally got time to sit down and apply your suggestions. Here's where I am
now.

I've created new user accounts, moved the files over from old to new, and
deleted the old user accounts. The number of times XP would freeze up was
then reduced greatly, but still occurred. (Worked every time i tested it
[8-10 times] by shutting down properly and restarting, but after being off
overnight, when my spouse tried to start computer up next morning, it froze.
So that was once out of many times, but still happening.)

So then I did the repair install w/ the XPSP2 operating system reinstall CD,
as per the link in Mark Ferguson's instructions. As it went through the setup
process in step 6 (under XP REPAIR INSTALL heading on the site), it would
stop and tell me that it was unable to find a vast amount of certain files,
all of which were located in folder i386 on the reinstall CD, and most of
which it said could cause windows not to run properly if not installed. These
were .dl_, .ex_, .oc_, .cn_, .du_, .ic_, .ve_, and .is_ files. I can provide
the whole list if it would help, but the first few of the 36 missing files
were:

clbcatq.dl_
comuid.dl_
comsvcs.dl_
catsrv.dl_

Each time I got the "can't install" response, I canceled out and allowed it
to go on to the next file, even tho it said windows wouldn't work properly.

After setup finished, I ensured that the XP firewall was enabled as
instructed.

Then I attempted step 7, which is to reapply updates/service packs. Windows
Update searched for critical updates, and found 80 of them. I then tried to
download them. When the attempted download finished (a year later!), it said
the download or installation had failed for all 80 files.

Is this because of the missing files under i386? I explored the
reinstallation CD, and the i386 folder is there, and at least the 1st four
files I listed above are there in that folder (didn't check for all of them.)
So, my questions now are:

1. Why was setup unable to find and install those files from the reinstall CD?

2. Did that failure cause Win update to fail?

3. What can I do about this? How do I acquire and install those files if I
can't from the CD?

Good news is, I haven't yet experienced the freeze-up problem since the
repair install.

Sorry so long, just want to give complete information.

Thanks again, so much.





I explored the reinstall

JS said:
Try logging on to each new account, then check for the folders after you
have done so.

JS
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Pardon ignorance, but:

1. where do I copy /i386 folder to on hard drive? Into the Windows folder?
That's where I copied it to, but not sure if I'm right. Not sure where it
needs to be for winnt32.exe to find/install it during setup.

2. Where is winnt32.exe located? Do I click start, then run, and type in
winnt32.exe in the "open" text box? or do I need to type whole path in "open"
box?

In c:\windows folder I see a text file called winnt32, but no .exe file.

Thx again.

Mark L. Ferguson said:
My first suspicion for the failure of a reair setup is a bad CD drive or
driver. The chance that the setup CD is damaged is a posibility, but small.

I would copy the /i386 folder off the CD onto the hard drive, and run setup
from there (winnt32.exe starts setup)
--
helpful? click "Yes" button. Voting helps the web interface.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...g=microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support
Mark L. Ferguson



chocoholic said:
First, I want to thank both of you who've replied for all your help so far! I
appreciate it greatly.

I finally got time to sit down and apply your suggestions. Here's where I am
now.

I've created new user accounts, moved the files over from old to new, and
deleted the old user accounts. The number of times XP would freeze up was
then reduced greatly, but still occurred. (Worked every time i tested it
[8-10 times] by shutting down properly and restarting, but after being off
overnight, when my spouse tried to start computer up next morning, it froze.
So that was once out of many times, but still happening.)

So then I did the repair install w/ the XPSP2 operating system reinstall CD,
as per the link in Mark Ferguson's instructions. As it went through the setup
process in step 6 (under XP REPAIR INSTALL heading on the site), it would
stop and tell me that it was unable to find a vast amount of certain files,
all of which were located in folder i386 on the reinstall CD, and most of
which it said could cause windows not to run properly if not installed. These
were .dl_, .ex_, .oc_, .cn_, .du_, .ic_, .ve_, and .is_ files. I can provide
the whole list if it would help, but the first few of the 36 missing files
were:

clbcatq.dl_
comuid.dl_
comsvcs.dl_
catsrv.dl_

Each time I got the "can't install" response, I canceled out and allowed it
to go on to the next file, even tho it said windows wouldn't work properly.

After setup finished, I ensured that the XP firewall was enabled as
instructed.

Then I attempted step 7, which is to reapply updates/service packs. Windows
Update searched for critical updates, and found 80 of them. I then tried to
download them. When the attempted download finished (a year later!), it said
the download or installation had failed for all 80 files.

Is this because of the missing files under i386? I explored the
reinstallation CD, and the i386 folder is there, and at least the 1st four
files I listed above are there in that folder (didn't check for all of them.)
So, my questions now are:

1. Why was setup unable to find and install those files from the reinstall CD?

2. Did that failure cause Win update to fail?

3. What can I do about this? How do I acquire and install those files if I
can't from the CD?

Good news is, I haven't yet experienced the freeze-up problem since the
repair install.

Sorry so long, just want to give complete information.

Thanks again, so much.





I explored the reinstall

JS said:
Try logging on to each new account, then check for the folders after you
have done so.

JS

OK, here's where I am so far. Since it looked like the least invasive
choice,
I went to the link you recommended for how to copy user data to a new
profile
and began following the instructions. We have 4 user accounts on our
computer, so I went into my user account (I'm an administrator) and
created 4
new accounts. (If my original user account name was myname, I called the
new
one myname2, and did this for each account.)

I'm an XP home user, by the way.

Then I logged back into my original user account and began the steps to
copy
files to the new accounts. When I tried to find the c:\Documents and
Settings\New_Username folder to copy the folders to the new user accounts,
I
found that the new account I created for myself appeared there, but the
other
3 new ones don't appear.

So then I logged out to the "to begin, click user name" screen, and
checked
to see whether all the new accounts appeared, and they're all there! So
what's up about that?

My gut tells me I need to restart the computer, but I'm afraid if I do
it'll
freeze and it might be for good!

Doing the repair install may be too much for me. The last time I tried to
play vigilante and take things into my own hands, I ended up with a
complete
system crash. :P

Any ideas from here? If I need to do the repair install, I'll find a way.
Thanks again.



:

Either you have corrupt system files, or those user accounts are corrupt.
A
Repair setup and/or creating some new accounts and copying the data over
from
the old ones would fix that.

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

811151 - How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811151
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
You can copy it anywhere on the drive. The windows folder is fine. If there,
you can start the setup from start/run, with:
%windir%/i386/winnt32
--
helpful? click "Yes" button. Voting helps the web interface.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...g=microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support
Mark L. Ferguson



chocoholic said:
Pardon ignorance, but:

1. where do I copy /i386 folder to on hard drive? Into the Windows folder?
That's where I copied it to, but not sure if I'm right. Not sure where it
needs to be for winnt32.exe to find/install it during setup.

2. Where is winnt32.exe located? Do I click start, then run, and type in
winnt32.exe in the "open" text box? or do I need to type whole path in "open"
box?

In c:\windows folder I see a text file called winnt32, but no .exe file.

Thx again.

Mark L. Ferguson said:
My first suspicion for the failure of a reair setup is a bad CD drive or
driver. The chance that the setup CD is damaged is a posibility, but small.

I would copy the /i386 folder off the CD onto the hard drive, and run setup
from there (winnt32.exe starts setup)
--
helpful? click "Yes" button. Voting helps the web interface.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...g=microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support
Mark L. Ferguson



chocoholic said:
First, I want to thank both of you who've replied for all your help so far! I
appreciate it greatly.

I finally got time to sit down and apply your suggestions. Here's where I am
now.

I've created new user accounts, moved the files over from old to new, and
deleted the old user accounts. The number of times XP would freeze up was
then reduced greatly, but still occurred. (Worked every time i tested it
[8-10 times] by shutting down properly and restarting, but after being off
overnight, when my spouse tried to start computer up next morning, it froze.
So that was once out of many times, but still happening.)

So then I did the repair install w/ the XPSP2 operating system reinstall CD,
as per the link in Mark Ferguson's instructions. As it went through the setup
process in step 6 (under XP REPAIR INSTALL heading on the site), it would
stop and tell me that it was unable to find a vast amount of certain files,
all of which were located in folder i386 on the reinstall CD, and most of
which it said could cause windows not to run properly if not installed. These
were .dl_, .ex_, .oc_, .cn_, .du_, .ic_, .ve_, and .is_ files. I can provide
the whole list if it would help, but the first few of the 36 missing files
were:

clbcatq.dl_
comuid.dl_
comsvcs.dl_
catsrv.dl_

Each time I got the "can't install" response, I canceled out and allowed it
to go on to the next file, even tho it said windows wouldn't work properly.

After setup finished, I ensured that the XP firewall was enabled as
instructed.

Then I attempted step 7, which is to reapply updates/service packs. Windows
Update searched for critical updates, and found 80 of them. I then tried to
download them. When the attempted download finished (a year later!), it said
the download or installation had failed for all 80 files.

Is this because of the missing files under i386? I explored the
reinstallation CD, and the i386 folder is there, and at least the 1st four
files I listed above are there in that folder (didn't check for all of them.)
So, my questions now are:

1. Why was setup unable to find and install those files from the reinstall CD?

2. Did that failure cause Win update to fail?

3. What can I do about this? How do I acquire and install those files if I
can't from the CD?

Good news is, I haven't yet experienced the freeze-up problem since the
repair install.

Sorry so long, just want to give complete information.

Thanks again, so much.





I explored the reinstall

:

Try logging on to each new account, then check for the folders after you
have done so.

JS

OK, here's where I am so far. Since it looked like the least invasive
choice,
I went to the link you recommended for how to copy user data to a new
profile
and began following the instructions. We have 4 user accounts on our
computer, so I went into my user account (I'm an administrator) and
created 4
new accounts. (If my original user account name was myname, I called the
new
one myname2, and did this for each account.)

I'm an XP home user, by the way.

Then I logged back into my original user account and began the steps to
copy
files to the new accounts. When I tried to find the c:\Documents and
Settings\New_Username folder to copy the folders to the new user accounts,
I
found that the new account I created for myself appeared there, but the
other
3 new ones don't appear.

So then I logged out to the "to begin, click user name" screen, and
checked
to see whether all the new accounts appeared, and they're all there! So
what's up about that?

My gut tells me I need to restart the computer, but I'm afraid if I do
it'll
freeze and it might be for good!

Doing the repair install may be too much for me. The last time I tried to
play vigilante and take things into my own hands, I ended up with a
complete
system crash. :P

Any ideas from here? If I need to do the repair install, I'll find a way.
Thanks again.



:

Either you have corrupt system files, or those user accounts are corrupt.
A
Repair setup and/or creating some new accounts and copying the data over
from
the old ones would fix that.

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

811151 - How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811151
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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