Loading Settings...Saving Settings Startup Problem

I'm having a major problem with XP Home Edition. When I start my computer, I get the Loading Settings screen, which automatically switches to the Saving Settings screen and then goes back to Loading Settings, Saving Settings, etc, etc, (the "Windows XP Startup" and "Windows XP Shutdown" sounds repeat themselves one right after the other). By the way, I have the XP tweak that skips the Welcome and log on screens at startup since I'm the only person that uses the computer. I've tried Debugging, Safe Mode with Command Prompt, Restore To Last Working Settings and a few others, but nothing is working. I ran Spybot just before shutting down the computer the last time it worked and got the "Congratulations! Your system contains no spyware" message. When I restarted the computer, I started having this problem. I also have Norton Anti Virus 2004 and did a Live Update (manually) a few hours before this started happening. Anyway, I realize this is probably a virus, (even though I haven't downloaded anything other than virus definitions in the past few days) and I have no clue what to do now. The XP restore disks aren't doing any good because I can't get past the Loading Settings, Saving Settings screens. Any suggestions?

**When I do the Safe Mode with command prompt, I get the list of partitions or whatever, and then it stops at the bottom of the screen and does nothing. If I press a button on the keyboard, I go right back to the Loading Settings, Saving Settings screens.

 

bump;
I'll see if i can help tomorrow---so sleeeepy now, but maybe this bump up can help in the meantime

 

307545 - How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting

Warning: Do not use the procedure that is described in this article if your computer has an OEM-installed operating system.

 

Thanks for the link, but I don't receive an error message and I have the security updates mentioned in the article. I can't access the Recovery Console or System Restore. I can't get to the desktop at all. Am I missing something in the article?

 

Did you remove any spyware/malware recently with a program called Ad-aware?

You say you cannot access the recovery console, why? If you have your install cd you should be fine. 307654 - How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP


You can also download and save it to floppy disk...

Download details: Windows XP Home Edition Utility: Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install

When you run the download, it puts the XP installation program, including the Recovery Console, onto a set of six floppy disks. To get to the Recovery Console, boot from the first floppy, and then swap disks as prompted until you reach the 'Welcome to Setup' screen. Press r to open the Recovery Console.

 

I have the download on floppy disks, but I'm not sure how to boot from the first floppy. Is there something I need to do other than putting the disk into the drive?

 

After you create all six disks, insert the first disk in the floppy disk drive, and then restart the computer. Note that the computer must be configured to boot from the floppy disk drive. In some cases, you may need to modify your computer's BIOS settings to do this.

 

I probably do need to modify the BIOS since I get an error message when I start the computer with a disk in the drive. How would I do that?

 

Not all computers use the same method of entering the bios. Look at this link and see which one applies to you.

How to get into your computer's BIOS

 

Okay, I've used the 6 disks and now its telling me to insert the XP CD, which I don't have. XP is the OS my computer came with and I didn't receive an XP disc. Is there anything else I can do?

 

Unfortunately, if xp was already installed on your computer, then the procedure outlined in the link I provided will not work. That's what the warning I gave meant.
Warning: Do not use the procedure that is described in this article if your computer has an OEM-installed operating system.

It's possible the user account has been corrupted. Try starting in safemode, log into the administrator account and create a new one. You can then copy your old data to the new account.
811151 - How to copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile

 

hi,
try these steps.
log into recovery console using windows xp CD

You will be in C:\windows
type 'cd system32'
the directory should now be C:\windows\system32
type 'copy userinit.exe wsaupdater.exe'
Take out the cd and type exit at recovery console and restart the computer

Startup your computer and login using your username
Start < Run < Regedit
- Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon and change
Userinit to "C:\WINDOWS\system32\userinit.exe,"
i have been using these solution with around 80% success .
hope this solves your issue .

 

Hi onlinetech, that was going to be my next suggestion, but she has no xp cd. She should be able to access the recovery console with the xp startup boot disks, but she seemed to have trouble, as it asked for the xp disk.

 

After loading all six disks, an on screen message tells me to either insert the Windows XP Home Edition disc and press enter, or quit. My computer came with XP installed (HP), so I don't have an XP Home Edition installation disc. I'm not sure what to do at this point. Is there anything else that can be done to fix this problem?

 

Sounds like you may have pressed 'enter' instead of 'r' when you got to the 'welcome to setup' screen. My system also came preinstalled. I just tried the disks myself and I got to the recovery console no problem. Try again

When you type in the commands that onlinetech gave, omit the quotes