Windows XP won't boot - Looping Logon/Logout

[JLimone]

Windows XP computer won’t boot up. The wallpaper appears for a few seconds without any icons. The logon screen then shows up. When an id is selected it begins to logon and then logoff’s. I read a post about problems with Userinit but the value is valid. I had updated Spybot, after the update I did not restart the computer. There was a .exe file placed on the desktop that I deleted. I ran Spybot and during the process to fix items I received an error that a file was missing. I could not get past the error so I shut down the machine. Now the computer will not boot and it just keeps looping to the logon screens.

[129260]

on these issues: http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=35588

http://forums.spybot.info/blog.php?b=14

http://forums.spybot.info/showthread...ght=login+loop

[JLimone]

Thanks for the response. I tried Method 2 and the value for Userinit was already "c:\windows\system32\userinit.exe,". Any other suggestions?
Thanks again. . .

[129260]

to be honest i would love to help you but i have not experienced this issue. I would wait for a spybot team member to assist you. If you read all the threads i provided, and none of the solutions worked, wait for a team member to assist you. I'm sorry you are in this predicament. I hope you are able to be helped and get your machine back

[md usa spybot fan]

JLimone:

Does the file C:\WINDOWS\system32\userinit.exe exist?

[JLimone]

I'll check to see if the userinit.exe exists. I have a copy from another XP machine and I'm going to compare it to the one on the computer that won't boot. If it doesn't match I rename the bad one and copy the new one. If it doesn't exist I'll copy the new one. Does that make sense? I'll post back and let you know tomorrow. The bad pc is home so I'm trying to find a solution while at work. Thanks for the help. . .

[JLimone]

to be honest i would love to help you but i have not experienced this issue. I would wait for a spybot team member to assist you. If you read all the threads i provided, and none of the solutions worked, wait for a team member to assist you. I'm sorry you are in this predicament. I hope you are able to be helped and get your machine back

Thanks for the help, someone suggested to make sure the userinit.exe exists so I'll give that a try.

[JLimone]

The userinit.exe file did exist. I finally used Recovery Commander from the Fix-it Utilities rescue disk. I was able to go back to a windows restore point before the spybot update. Again, thanks for the help.