[SGTSLaughter]

I have a problem with a pc im working on for a friend, where at the login screen when i choose a user acct it logs on and then logs me right back off immediately. I have tried to enter through safe mode also but to no avail. I did find a thread concerning this that is a couple yrs old, but am having an issue making the suggested solution (by gerryf) work for me. Here it is: Old Post My problem is that when i try to enter the recovery console it tells me that i dont have a hard disk installed and tells me that it cannot continue. I'm working with a dell xps 400 with (1) SATA hd. All connections are fine and pc will boot into windows, but will just not let me past the loggin screen. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thx

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Hello and Welcome to GeeksToGo.
This is going to be long but bare with me and hopefully we'll get you back up and running in no time.


Put your winxp cd in cd drive and reboot your system
When promted to push any key to boot to cdrom then click a key
Click R to enter recovery console

Type the following

expand d:\i386\userinit.ex_ c:\windows\system32
click enter

Once it says 1 file copied
Then type exit and click enter
System will reboot
Make sure to remove winxp pro cd before it boots up and let it boot fully
Windows should start normally

If not post with result



Wannabe1 userinit.exe fix





Give this a try. Without knowing a little more about what caused the problem, I can't guarantee it will work...and it requires the machine you make the disk on AND the machine you are fixing are both running XP.

Please download RC.ISO and save it somewhere you can find it.
Also download MagicISO.

Start MagicISO. You should see a window informing you about the full version of MagicISO.
In the bottom right select Try It! and the program will open.
Click on File and then on Open and navigate to the RC.ISO file you downloaded. Select it, and click Open.

First, we'll need to add a clean version of userinit.exe to the current RC.ISO

* In the upper right pane, double click on the i386 folder.
* Right click in the upper right pane and select Add Files...
* Navigate to C:\Windows\System32 and select userinit.exe
* Then click Open to add userinit.exe to the CD image.
* Click File and select Save As...
* Name the file RCplus and save it somewhere you can find it.


Next, we'll need to burn the newly created image to a disk that we can use to fix the problem.

* Put a blank CD-R disk in your CD burner and close the tray. If an AutoPlay window opens, close it.
* Click on Tools and select Burn CD/DVD with ISO.... A window will appear.
* Click on the little folder to the right of CD/DVD Image File then navigate to the newly created RCplus.iso Image file and click Open.
* In the CD/DVD Writing Speed drop-down menu choose the 8X setting.
* Under Format make sure that Mode 1 is selected.
* And finally, click on the Burn it! button to burn RCplus.iso to disk.


Once the disk is burned, put it in the machine you want to fix and restart it.
Boot to the CD just as you would with a Windows XP disk.
At the Welcome to Setup screen, press R to enter the Recovery Console.
Choose the installation to be repaired by number (usually 1) and press Enter.
When you are asked for the Administrator password, enter the password or leave it blank (default) and press Enter.

At the C:\Windows> prompt, type the following commands pressing Enter after each one. Note: Watch the spaces.

D:
cd i386
copy userinit.exe c:\windows\system32
exit


After putting in the third command, you should receive the message 1 file copied which will indicate that the operation succeeded.
Now take out the CD and reboot your computer to normal mode. Try to log in and it should let you back in.

Thanks to wannabe1

Edited by rshaffer61, 28 April 2009 - 06:47 AM.

[rshaffer61]

Hello and Welcome to GeeksToGo.
This is going to be long but bare with me and hopefully we'll get you back up and running in no time.


Put your winxp cd in cd drive and reboot your system
When promted to push any key to boot to cdrom then click a key
Click R to enter recovery console

Type the following

expand d:\i386\userinit.ex_ c:\windows\system32
click enter

Once it says 1 file copied
Then type exit and click enter
System will reboot
Make sure to remove winxp pro cd before it boots up and let it boot fully
Windows should start normally

If not post with result



Wannabe1 userinit.exe fix





Give this a try. Without knowing a little more about what caused the problem, I can't guarantee it will work...and it requires the machine you make the disk on AND the machine you are fixing are both running XP.

Please download RC.ISO and save it somewhere you can find it.
Also download MagicISO.

Start MagicISO. You should see a window informing you about the full version of MagicISO.
In the bottom right select Try It! and the program will open.
Click on File and then on Open and navigate to the RC.ISO file you downloaded. Select it, and click Open.

First, we'll need to add a clean version of userinit.exe to the current RC.ISO

* In the upper right pane, double click on the i386 folder.
* Right click in the upper right pane and select Add Files...
* Navigate to C:\Windows\System32 and select userinit.exe
* Then click Open to add userinit.exe to the CD image.
* Click File and select Save As...
* Name the file RCplus and save it somewhere you can find it.


Next, we'll need to burn the newly created image to a disk that we can use to fix the problem.

* Put a blank CD-R disk in your CD burner and close the tray. If an AutoPlay window opens, close it.
* Click on Tools and select Burn CD/DVD with ISO.... A window will appear.
* Click on the little folder to the right of CD/DVD Image File then navigate to the newly created RCplus.iso Image file and click Open.
* In the CD/DVD Writing Speed drop-down menu choose the 8X setting.
* Under Format make sure that Mode 1 is selected.
* And finally, click on the Burn it! button to burn RCplus.iso to disk.


Once the disk is burned, put it in the machine you want to fix and restart it.
Boot to the CD just as you would with a Windows XP disk.
At the Welcome to Setup screen, press R to enter the Recovery Console.
Choose the installation to be repaired by number (usually 1) and press Enter.
When you are asked for the Administrator password, enter the password or leave it blank (default) and press Enter.

At the C:\Windows> prompt, type the following commands pressing Enter after each one. Note: Watch the spaces.

D:
cd i386
copy userinit.exe c:\windows\system32
exit


After putting in the third command, you should receive the message 1 file copied which will indicate that the operation succeeded.
Now take out the CD and reboot your computer to normal mode. Try to log in and it should let you back in.

Thanks to wannabe1

Edited by rshaffer61, 28 April 2009 - 06:47 AM.

[SGTSLaughter]

First of all, thx for the fast response. I understand completely the solution here, but my main problem is that when i enter the recovery console it tells me "Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer" and tell me to hit f3 to exit. HD is def installed and working properly because i can boot to the windows login screen just fine. . If i could get this to recognise that i have a HD installed i would have the solution to my propblem. Thx for ur help

[rshaffer61]

Are you using a win xp cd that came with the system or a recovery console program?

Edited by rshaffer61, 28 April 2009 - 08:15 AM.

[SGTSLaughter]

i've tried both.... built the rc cd as u instructed and also tried my oem disk. It loads to the rc no problem but then tells me no hdd after i hit "r" to try to access the console

[SGTSLaughter]

just got it.... copied the userinit file from an xp computer onto a flash drive then hook the dell's hd up to my pc and placed the file into the sys32 folder... reinstalled the drive and it worked! Should have thought about this one sooner... thx for all your help rshaffer61

[rshaffer61]

You are very welcome. I'm glad we could help and please let us know how everything works out for you.
If there is anything else we can do to help please feel free to ask. I appreciate that you allowed me to assist you with your issue and for your patience. Thank you for choosing GeeksToGo for help.
This issue now appears to be resolved.


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