Getting Logged Out After You’ve Logged In to Windows XP?

A malware infected registry can cause this harmless but annoying problem where Windows immediately logs off straight after logging on.

I’ve heard of guys reinstalling their entire systems because of this auto logoff issue.  Bizarre stuff.

If Windows XP automatically logs you off after login you can try these two step by step solutions.

The solutions are similar but one is executed locally and the other remotely over the network.

There’s also a third possible solution which is to edit the registry via command prompt which can be very tricky.

If you’re really stuck, leave a comment.

Solution 1: Edit Windows Registry On The Local PC

1. Boot up Windows XP into Command Prompt (If you don’t how to get into Safe Mode, see this article).
   Note:  If you can’t get into Safe Mode you can try this from another Windows computer on your network.  See below for more.
2. When at the desktop, click Start > Run
3. Type regedit and click OK
4. In regedit, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
5. In the right pane, double click on Shell
6. Enter the following: explorer.exe
7. Click OK
8. In the right pane again, double click UserInit
9. Enter the following (assuming your hard disk is c:): c:\windows\system32\userinit.exe
10. Click OK
11. Exit Regedit
12. Restart your computer and try logging in
    

Solution 2: Edit Registry Remotely From A Networked Windows PC

1. Boot up a working Windows XP computer normally.
2. When at the desktop, click Start > Run
3. Type regedit and click OK
4. Click File > Connect Network Registry…
5. Enter the hostname or IP address of the infected PC > Click OK
6. In regedit, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
7. In the right pane, double click on Shell
8. Enter the following: explorer.exe
9. Click OK
10. In the right pane again, double click UserInit
11. Enter the following (assuming your hard disk is c:): c:\windows\system32\userinit.exe
12. Click OK
13. Exit Regedit
14. Restart your computer and try logging in