Ozzie writes in with a Windows question
Q. When I try to log on to my computer on the screen it says welcome and my screen name and when I try to log on to see my settings it logs me off and I am unable to see my settings to go online. I have Windows XP and before this problem occurred, I did a system restore. I cannot see my settings to go online and it keeps logging me off. Do you have any advice? Thanks for any help.
A. This can be caused by many different things but most of the time its virus/spyware related affecting the userinit.exe file. Here is a procedure you can try using the Recovery Console although it's a little advanced. You will also need to have a Windows XP CD handy (not a recovery CD).
1. Boot using your Windows XP CD.
2. Choose the option to use the Recovery Console.
3. Enter the administrator password assuming you know it. Try leaving it blank if you don't.
4. At the prompt type CD windows\system32
5. Then type copy userinit.exe wsaupdater.exe.
6. Exit and reboot your computer and login.
7. Click on Start then run and type regedit to use the registry editor
8. Locate the Userinit key in:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\
9. Modify the entry:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\wsaupdater.exe
so that it reads:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\userinit.exe
Another option is to do a repair installation which will reinstall Windows while leaving your programs and files intact. Just be careful to follow the instructions so you don't accidentally wipe out your system.
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