Topic: HELP! Laptop login weirdness

[Larissa]

Today, when I logged on to my laptop, it gave me a temporary login and took me to a different desktop (none of my files, etc were there).  It took three or four attempts to log on properly, all with the same password (there were no typos), including after shutting down/restarting the laptop.  I finally got logged on correctly, and shut the computer down after I did what I needed to do.  Then I came home and turned the computer on a few hours later, and it did it again (three attempts this time).

I have an up-to-date Norton program.

What is going on?  Do I have a virus of some kind?  Should I be worried?

I have an HP Pavilion.  It was a Christmas present from my husband, so it is less than a year old.   

[David Wright]

There are a few things that could have happened.

The first thing I always do with laptops is unplug them completely. That means removing the battery too. After all power has been removed for 30 full seconds reinsert the battery and plug it back in. You'd be amazed at how many problems are fixed by doing that. It's the only way to reset the motherboard.

If that doesn't work you could go into Accessories, System Tools and System Restore. Is there a restore point for the last couple days? (you can Cancel after the dates are displayed) Sometimes OS patches don't install quite right.

Windows can misread a file and create a temporary account, which then has to be manually deleted.

Once you've logged in, does the laptop behave as it should? Any chance a stuck key is affecting your login?

Yes, viruses can do that sort of thing, but it's more likely to be something else.

[JennaWren]

ACK!!!!! I have no idea!!!! But I would be panicking and taking the laptop to the nearest computer genius store. That is really wacky!

I'm saying this as someone who went through two crashes that obliterated all hard drive data, so I'm a little over-edgy when it comes to weirdness on computers. I'm assuming you back up regularly? (I never did until after the second crash, so if you don't, I totally will not judge you )

Could just be a glitch in some program and restoring some original setting could fix it. I have no idea. But, like I said, I'd have someone professional assess the situation, especially if your back up is not up-to-date.
    

[Larissa]

Thanks, guys. Ugh.  The computer does act completely normal once I get logged on correctly. 

My husband took the battery out last night, but it's still doing it. I'll try again later, though, just to be sure.

I checked the System Restore thing, and it's turned off, so there aren't any restore points.

I went into the user accounts, and there's only mine and a guest one which is turned off, so I don't even know where this temporary one is coming from.

I also ran a full Norton's scan last night, and it found nothing but the normal tracking cookies. Blah.

*sigh*

[David Wright]

try this...

Go to Accessories and run Command Prompt
type:

cd \
regedit /e freddy.txt "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList"
dir f*.*

You should see a file called freddy.txt. Size doesn't matter. If it exists type:

type freddy.txt | find "bak"

The vertical line is the one above the enter key (with the backslash). If there's anything besides a blank line you probably need to find a tech to clear your temporary account. Or at least get a techie friend to run a Check Disk on your C:\ drive.

[xC0000005]

Mr. Wright's advice is sound.  Sounds like the profile provider couldn't access the profile.  Seen it happen because of AV, disk issues, and a dozen other things, but the getting shuffled to a separate desktop's a pretty good indicator.  The system event log will probably tell you what went wrong, but it will probably do it in a way that is not at all helpful if you don't speak computerese.