cannot switch between users on XP

Hi, Thought I had malware, ran all the programs From Remove malware, and was told my logs are clean, started happening a few weeks ago, can only switch by logging off, I have Win Xp with all security patches, ect. Does any body have a
guess why, I've tried to check box on control panel but it switches back, Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

 

Try by starting with this!
>Start by opening the Control Panel. Open User Accounts. Click on "Change the way users log on or off".
>Are there check marks beside both "Use the Welcome Screen" and "Use Fast User Switching"?
>Even if you use this method, you might try toggling the settings to off, applying them, then toggling them to on again.

Good Luck
Rustyjack

 

Someone or something made a registry change, which disabled Fast User switching. I always turned it off on XP machines, due to it was not ready for prime time, when XP came out.

 

Thanks for the quick reply, yes I had already tried the control panal way , it will not stay switched on. Next step ? thanks again, LiveKarl

 

Have you tried using the Control Panel way in Safemode then rebooting ?

 

I have not tried that, so I boot up in safe mode then make the change?

 

Yes !!

 

Thanks but didn't work, just unswitches itself., thanks again for your help.

 

Kelly's -Korner is a safe site.

Perhaps trying fix number 34 will help. You download the .reg file and then right-click it and select Merge. It sets the values in the Windows registry to the default values for user switching in XP of a fresh install. It is worth a try and no harm done since they are just default values.

Edit: BTW, did you try RustyJacks suggestion of " try toggling the settings to off, applying them, then toggling them to on again." sometimes that works.

 

Greetings, livekarl...

Pardon the intrusion, and by all means follow up on the previous excellent suggestions. I do have a quick question: do have any type of Windows XP tweaking program installed, such as Tweak UI, XSetup, anything like that? Those programs often include registry hacks that enable/disable fast user switching.

 

Thanks , and no I do not, pardon my ignorance, I've never even heard of tweeking xp, thanks for the suggestion, I'll give it a try!

 

Good morning...

I suggest that you do not install any tweaking program, at least until you resolve your present problem(s) - I only mentioned those programs with the belief that the presence of one or more of them might be causing the symptoms.

Did you try the toggling and .reg file suggestions?

 

Sach2

Thanks for the very successful tip I worked right away, you are a genius! Thanks for your patience also. LiveKarl

 

Glad it was a relatively easy fix. Those type of anomalies can be tricky to track down sometimes.

 

Well I guess I jumped to conclusions, It worked for a little while and now we can get to the user screen but can't switch to another user without logging off first. Becoming more, and more baffled. I get to the user's screen and click on another user and it just comes back to main screen? Are there any other useful fixes in Kelly's Corner?

 

Hello, A quick Question, what are these tweaking programs you speak of and what do they do for XP? Thanks, LiveKarl

 

From the MG download page:

Among other tweaks, the powertoy can enable/disable XP fast user switching. I'm pretty sure, however, that the program is just a fancy GUI for registry tweaking - the fast user switching section most likely contains the exact same registry changes that have been already mentioned.

Certainly not going to hurt anything to try it, especially if other efforts have failed.

 

I don't like the looks of that - especially since the fix worked for a while but then broke again.

1. You might consider creating new Admin and User profiles in case this is a profile corruption problem.

2. You might also consider running through the Malware Forum's Read & Run Me First thread, performing all of the suggested steps, and attaching the requested logs to a new thread in that forum - let the Malware gurus determine if there might be something malicious causing your problems.

 

Boy, I'm just posting right along here...:-o

Just saw that you have already tried the Malware Forum approach - sorry about that. At least we're thinking along the same lines...

 

I was researching another problem and came across something that reminded me of this thread. Have you looked at the Fast User Switching Service to make sure it's up and running, set to 'Automatic', etc.? Might be worth a shot to run 'services.msc' and verify that the actual service is ok...

 

Hi, Not sure what you mean by Service, consider me one step above amoeba. , could you give me a step by step on this, thanks in advance. LiveKarl

 

Good morning...

Click Start > Run, type services.msc, click Ok - scroll down and verify that the Fast User Switching Compatibility service is started.

 

Thanks again for your post I finally had a moment to run this servicse.msc and it was"Started", still can't just switch between users. thanks again for your help!!,

LiveKarl

 

Good morning...

Go ahead and grab Tweak UI. I don't have an XP machine available ATM, but if I remember correctly the program installs as a Control Panel applet. Find the 'Fast User Switching' toggle and see if you can change any symptoms.

 

I know I've said this before but it is working now, Thanks again for your help!!

LiveKarl

 

No problem - glad you got it sorted and thanks for the feedback.

 

Hello, Sorry to bother you again, I thought I had this fixed, but I'm back to the same problem. I thought I had kept all of the answers, in my inbox but can't find the fix that worked, still/or again I can't "fast Switch" between users. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

Good morning...

Whichever "fix" worked, it seems to have been only temporary...can you roll your machine back via System Restore, see if there is a change in symptoms?

********

Hope you and yours are weathering the effects of Sandy - stay safe...

 

Sorry for my ignorance, but how do I "system restore"? Thanks for asking about Storm, we were one of the lucky ones, we only lost and cable, and we are back to normal now except I can't get gas. Thanks for all your help. LiveKarl

 

Hi...

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306084

 

Hi just to tell you restore did not work, have been having nothing but problems with the computer since I tried that, but suddenly the fast switching is working again. But really thanks for all of your previous help, you have been a tremendous source of help, thanks again LiveKarl