Please help my pc logs in then logs straight out

Lil306

This problem is caused by a corrupted or missing system file or windows not being activated

I actually encountered the problem whilst on someones laptop when I worked at the University. You would click on a user account then it would logon and immediately logoff

You need to boot from a bootable CD and replace a dll file or registry entry IIRC or activate windows in safe mode

Heres a site with more info :http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/Windows-XP-Logs-Then-Immediately-Logs-Off-t15771.html

[Deleted User]

Looks like good advice at the link, but first I'm assuming that it is a good idea to remove the virus before trying to repair Windows.

It isn't an activation problem because it happens in safe mode too (and it would put up a message about activation if that were the case).

Lil306

tentonine wrote: »

Looks like good advice at the link, but first I'm assuming that it is a good idea to remove the virus before trying to repair Windows.

It isn't an activation problem because it happens in safe mode too (and it would put up a message about activation if that were the case).

If that's the case it's most likely a virus or corrupted file. I've skimmed over post so not aware of full details but virus checks are easy to do and bootable CD's can be downloaded

[Deleted User]

For some reason I wasn't thinking of a disk with a virus scanner built in directly earlier - here is an example of one:
http://www.f-secure.com/en_EMEA/security/security-lab/tools-and-services/rescue-cd/

The advantage of this over the full Linux CD that I mentioned earlier is that the download size is much smaller. However, the disadvantage is that it is easier to recover your work to a USB stick from the full Linux CD (if you need access to it immediately before we have sorted out this login problem).

Lil306

I believe that rescue software is included in BartPE and Hirens' Boot CD, but a bootable virus scanner would be useful. Even better from USB

livelyred

tentonine wrote: »

There are two things to try (one of which only requires a disk that you should already have). First, if you have the restore DVD that came with the laptop, you can put that in and the computer should start up from it instead of loading Windows from the hard drive. It will take a minute to start and will hopefully eventually ask if you want to install Windows or repair an existing installation (although, depending on the manufacturer of the computer, it is possible that it might not give you these options).

If you click on repair, you should be able to find an option for a command prompt (I think you have to first click on manual repair instead of automatic repair). Rather than using the commands I gave you above, it would probably be easiest at this point to type notepad and press enter. Hopefully notepad will come up. Then go to file, open. Near the button, there is a drop-down list with "Text Documents (*.txt)" currently selected - click on this and change it to "All files". Now you should be able to navigate around your computer as normal. You can double-click on folders to open them, but do not double-click on a program to run it, as this will simply attempt to open it in notepad. Instead, when you have found your virus scanner icon, right-click it and choose open.

I hope that will work. At the very least, it should let you copy your work to a USB stick. If it doesn't work, then you will need to use a Linux CD - download this:
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

Do not just copy the file to a CD - you must open it in your CD writing program and write it as an image (there should be an option for this).

Note that the Linux CD is a few hundred MB in size, so please don't download this if you have a significant limit on how you can download in a month (e.g. 2GB/month on some cheap internet packages).

I will explain how to use the Linux CD when you get to that point (if it is necessary and the laptop's disk doesn't work).

Hi thanks for coming back to me. Right i have looked for the laptop cd and i cant find it no where we have had this laptop for 2 years and my 12 yr old must off put it some where. Can i borrow my sisters laptop cd she must off got one with hers its only 2 mths old. What will this cd do anyway will it cure the problem ?

livelyred

livelyred wrote: »

Hi thanks for coming back to me. Right i have looked for the laptop cd and i cant find it no where we have had this laptop for 2 years and my 12 yr old must off put it some where. Can i borrow my sisters laptop cd she must off got one with hers its only 2 mths old. What will this cd do anyway will it cure the problem ?

Shall i just get a blank cd and dowload linux ? What will this do to my pc once i put the disk in my pc ?

[Deleted User]

A newer disk is fine, as long as it is from a computer with Windows Vista or Windows 7. If you put the disk in when the computer is on and then restart, the computer should start off the disk instead of loading Windows normally.
I will now describe what will probably happen (but I can't be certain because some manufacturers do not give out full restore disks).

It will take a couple of minutes to get anywhere and then uou will need to select a language (be sure to choose UK English keyboard and not US English, as there are some differences). Then choose to repair your computer (not reinstall Windows). Then click on manually repair and finally choose command prompt. Then you should be able to follow the instructions that I gave above for using notepad - this will give you access to your hard drive.

As well as using notepad to find the virus scanner, you can also follow these instructions from the information in the link that Lil306 provided:
type regedit at the command prompt and press enter

Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\

In the right pane, you should see:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\wsaupdater.exe,

Change it so that it reads:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\userinit.exe

If the computer does not start up off the CD, then look out for some text on the screen when the computer first starts - it should tell you which key to press to get a boot menu (often F11 or F12). If this still doesn't help, then let me know and I will suggest something else.

The Linux CD will also let you run a virus scan, but using a laptop restore disk is probably easier if possible.

As suggested by Lil306, the other option is to use the disk that came with your Windows XP computer and then follow these instructions:

Press the key to enter recovery console when prompted.

at the command prompt, type
cd C:\windows\system32 (and press enter)

next type:
del wsaupdater.exe (and press enter)

Press y if it asks you to confirm

Then type:
copy userinit.exe wsaupdater.exe (and press enter)

Now type exit. The computer should restart and you can remove the CD. This will hopefully allow you to login again, but I am not confident that it will totally remove the virus, so be sure to run a full virus scan straight away.

chunter

Had this on an XP pc a couple of weeks ago.
If the above doesn't work, try this...

There has been some morphing of the BlazeFind malware. Here is a second approach to making the computer bootable:
(from the LavaSoft forum)

First things first get to recovery console.

At recovery console, we need to replace the software hive with a previous good backup. It should look something like this:
C:\windows>cd system32\config
C:\windows\system32\config>ren software software.old
This renames the current software hive to software.old
C:\windows\system32\config>copy C:\windows\repair\software
It should say "1 file(s) copied"
NOTE: After the next step you will want to remove the cd, then boot into safe mode. If you do not boot into safe mode in Windows XP it may prompt you to reactivate and you may not be able to get into Windows.

C:\windows\system32\config>exit

Now hit the F8 key and boot into safe mode. Logon to the administrator account when you reach the welcome screen. Hopefully you will be able to logon.

Now we need to edit your old registry to change the path to the userinit.exe file:
open regedit.exe
Highlight HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (note: this is important, if you do not highlight this the next step will not work)
goto file - load hive...
Now select your old registry file which should be in C:\windows\system32\config\software.old
It will ask you what to name it, if you don't understand, just type "test".
Now navigate to the following:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\<what your named this in the previous step>\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\winlogon.
Look at what the userinit value is. On my customer's machine it was %system32%\userinit.exe which is invalid.

NOTE: If you can, post what your value is when you look at this.

Next change the value to read C:\windows\system32\userinit.exe

Now close the registry editor, and we need to go back to recovery console to put your original registry back which should look like this:
C:\windows>cd system32\config
C:\windows\system32\config>del software
C:\windows\system32\config>ren software.old software
C:\windows\system32\config>exit

This (in theory) should get you back into Windows.

This worked for me.
Courtesy of http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=924408

livelyred

tentonine wrote: »

A newer disk is fine, as long as it is from a computer with Windows Vista or Windows 7. If you put the disk in when the computer is on and then restart, the computer should start off the disk instead of loading Windows normally.
I will now describe what will probably happen (but I can't be certain because some manufacturers do not give out full restore disks).

It will take a couple of minutes to get anywhere and then uou will need to select a language (be sure to choose UK English keyboard and not US English, as there are some differences). Then choose to repair your computer (not reinstall Windows). Then click on manually repair and finally choose command prompt. Then you should be able to follow the instructions that I gave above for using notepad - this will give you access to your hard drive.

As well as using notepad to find the virus scanner, you can also follow these instructions from the information in the link that Lil306 provided:
type regedit at the command prompt and press enter

Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\

In the right pane, you should see:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\wsaupdater.exe,

Change it so that it reads:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\userinit.exe

If the computer does not start up off the CD, then look out for some text on the screen when the computer first starts - it should tell you which key to press to get a boot menu (often F11 or F12). If this still doesn't help, then let me know and I will suggest something else.

The Linux CD will also let you run a virus scan, but using a laptop restore disk is probably easier if possible.

As suggested by Lil306, the other option is to use the disk that came with your Windows XP computer and then follow these instructions:

Press the key to enter recovery console when prompted.

at the command prompt, type
cd C:\windows\system32 (and press enter)

next type:
del wsaupdater.exe (and press enter)

Press y if it asks you to confirm

Then type:
copy userinit.exe wsaupdater.exe (and press enter)

Now type exit. The computer should restart and you can remove the CD. This will hopefully allow you to login again, but I am not confident that it will totally remove the virus, so be sure to run a full virus scan straight away.

Right i asked my sister if her new laptop came with a cd she said no so now im stuck really as i dont know where to get one from, i have asked around and not getting no where i think i will just give up.