Member Avatar for Joe S

When I power up my HP Pavilion ze5300 laptop, I get the Welcome Screen "without" any user names to select. I "have not" recently loaded any new software from the internet or otherwise. I am running Windows XP Home which was installed by the manufacturer (HP).

I have used the ctrl-alt-del routine to force the log on screen to appear
during a regular boot and during safe mode. The log on screen lists my first and last name as the "User". I have "never" set up the password for this screen. I have left both fields blank and have also used "administrator" as the user and left the password blank. Without any luck! :sad:

Your thoughts?
--
Thanks,
Joe Swantack

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A short expert summary and recovery plan for the “Welcome screen shows no user names” symptom reported by (and later by ). This can be caused by (a) a policy/registry setting that blanks or hides accounts, (b) a change to the Welcome/classic logon mode, or (c) third‑party software or malware that alters Winlogon. The Computer Management -> Local Users and Groups route suggested by applies to XP Professional only; XP Home does not include that snap‑in. See Microsoft/XP documentation for edition limitations. (flylib.com)

Two registry places to check if access is possible: the interactive‑logon flag that hides the last user (DontDisplayLastUserName) and the per‑user hide list at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList. Hidden accounts will not appear on the Welcome screen and require the classic logon box (Ctrl+Alt+Del twice) to sign in; removing the DWORD for a username or setting it to 1 will restore visibility. (TweakUI also exposes this setting.) (learn.microsoft.com)

If the machine is currently locked and normal Safe Mode logins fail, try (1) F8 → Last Known Good Configuration to roll back recent registry changes; (2) Safe Mode and attempt the built‑in Administrator account; (3) if you still cannot log on, remove the drive and back up the user folders before repair. For offline recovery you can use a rescue/boot CD (for example the Offline NT Password & Registry Editor / chntpw) to enable/reset Administrator and edit or remove the SpecialAccounts\UserList entries so user names reappear. After regaining access, run full AV/anti‑malware scans—malware has been observed to create hidden accounts this way. (flylib.com)

Practical priorities: (A) back up data first if you cannot log in; (B) try Last Known Good and Safe Mode; (C) if locked out, use an offline tool to reset/enable admin, unhide the accounts in the registry, then scan for malware; (D) if a recent program install preceded the failure (as noted), avoid reinstalling that software until you confirm compatibility. If uncertain about offline tools, seek a local tech to avoid accidental data loss.

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All 9 Replies

Member Avatar for helloadam

well if you have no password for a user account it will not autom. sign on to that account..

Member Avatar for Joe S

well if you have no password for a user account it will not autom. sign on to that account..

I had a "user name" that would appear at the Welcome screen prior to the problem developing.

Please advise.

Member Avatar for alc6379

Have you checked out what's happening in the User Accounts control panel? Do the accounts still have names there?

If you haven't installed anything or changed any settings, it might be the work of spyware and viruses. Run a scan with some spyware and virus scanners. Also, try running System Restore back to a date when you had user names displayed.

Member Avatar for Joe S

Have you checked out what's happening in the User Accounts control panel? Do the accounts still have names there?

If you haven't installed anything or changed any settings, it might be the work of spyware and viruses. Run a scan with some spyware and virus scanners. Also, try running System Restore back to a date when you had user names displayed.

I can not get past the Welcome screen. All I can do is the "crtl-alt-del" routine and turn off the computer.

Your thoughts?

Member Avatar for alc6379

Try hitting "ctrl-alt-del" and then hitting del again. It should take you to a login screen, where you might be able to type in a user name.

Have you tried logging into safe mode yet? You might still have access to the Administrator account.

Member Avatar for Joe S

Try hitting "ctrl-alt-del" and then hitting del again. It should take you to a login screen, where you might be able to type in a user name.

Have you tried logging into safe mode yet? You might still have access to the Administrator account.

Yes, I have tried the "ctrl-alt-del" during regular boot and Safe Mode. The login appears, but no user/administrator names or passwords work.

Please advise.

Member Avatar for pjcesarz

Yes, I have tried the "ctrl-alt-del" during regular boot and Safe Mode. The login appears, but no user/administrator names or passwords work.

Please advise.

You know...I also have just experienced the same problem. It is as if my user account has been deleted and I have no access to my operating system anymore. Very alarming.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated....

Member Avatar for teenage helper

:rolleyes: to get in and get your user back:

1. Ctrl + Alt + Delete and log-on.
2. Go to control panel and go to classic view.
3. Click on administrative tools.
4. Click on computer management.
5. on the left, click local users and groups.
6. On right box click users.
7. Click on your user and turn off account is disabled.

If this does not work. I don’t no what to do.

Member Avatar for pjcesarz

Thanks for those suggestions, however the problem prevents proceeding past step #2. I figured out what 'caused' the problem and will explain in a minute. But to save all of my data from that computer which wouldn't let me log on I had to use a second computer and attach my hard-drive in "slave" mode. After transferring everything that I wanted to keep, I then had to perform a complete reinstall of my operating system!

Who caused this mess, you ask? SONY!!!!

WARNING...DO NOT USE SONY'S "SONIC STAGE" version 2 !!

Why do I know that they are the cause? Because immediately before my machine was ruined by Sony, I installed this software. My computer is WinXP home with SP2. Apparently this Service Pack is incompatable with Sony's horrible software.

You now ask, how do you know that something else didn't cause this problem?

Great question...like an idiot, after reinstalling my new OS and obtaining SP2 from the Microsoft website, I reinstalled Sonic Stage. BOOM...it happened immediately after that.

Perhaps Sony's new version 2.3, or something, no longer does this...I am not willing to try until I can get some explicit answers from those morons!

Good luck everyone...I hope my pain can save you all several hours of your lives that can be better spent. (Now how do I deal w/ my anger?)

:rolleyes: to get in and get your user back:

1. Ctrl + Alt + Delete and log-on.
2. Go to control panel and go to classic view.
3. Click on administrative tools.
4. Click on computer management.
5. on the left, click local users and groups.
6. On right box click users.
7. Click on your user and turn off account is disabled.

If this does not work. I don’t no what to do.

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