If you have issues with your XP system that automatically logs you off upon a successfull logon which can be caused by Spyware (in most cases). One of those spyware applications is ‘Search Assistant’ which is usually located in the ‘C:\Program Files\WindowsSA‘
It can also contain ‘omni*.*‘ files in the Windows\System32\ directory that are linked to ‘Userinit‘ key. If you delete these files using your anti-virus or anti-spyware application, you are not able to login.
To be able to use the registry on the machine where you’re unable to login, you have two options:
– Use the recovery console
– Use another machine on your network and run the registry editor. Select ‘File–>Connect Remote Registry’. In the prompt box, enter the computer name of your PC.
Ok, here’s what to do when you access the registry:
1. Navigate to
“HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon”
2. If there is a key named “OldUserinit“, delete the “Userinit” key and rename the “OldUserinit” key to “Userinit”.
3. The “Userinit” key should now say
“WINDOWS_PATH\system32\userinit.exe,”
“WINDOWS_PATH” is a variable to where you have your windows installed.
It usually is like this “C:\WINDOWS\system32\userinit.exe,”
After this Windows logon should work normally and you should be able to run a full system scan with your anti-virus application.