Xp intermitent login problem

[windows?]

I have a bare bones compaq/hp wana be a clone with windows xp home edition, sp2 and all updates according to msw website. It runs as well as can be expected, no locking, errors, and is as clean as i can possibly get it. the problem i have is, intermittenly when i attempt to login, i click on my user name and get the window to input my password and i get no blinking cursor to type. i click on another user and it is the same, window to input password but cant type. i usually would restart the comp and then i could input my password and login. i can login as well if i press cont+alt+del and get to the alternative login screen. i havnt been to concerned with this until my other computer on my home network started doing the same thing. in addition, there are times i type my password and login, getting the "loading your personal settings" message only to be returned to re-input my password. i dont login as sysadmin and this is not isolated to just one user. In the old days i would have un-compaqded/hped this computer along time ago, but the system did not come with os cd, only the recovery discs. What do you think?

 

[bushwhacker]

Sound like you cloned the entire drives, including the bootcodes. You will have to clone from the C:\ itself, not by the partitions, so you won't screw it up.

And second, I believe nearly all compaq / hp have restore partitions, did you vertify that?

 

[rf6647]

The initial burst screen from Compaq offers the opportunity to access the recovery partition. The Recovery CD will access the same partition. If the current HDD has additional partitions beyond the configuration that was intended by the original configuration, be careful. There is an 'advanced menu' that accepts the current partition (c:\) for the destination. D:\ is the recovery partition (usually fat32, positioned first on the HDD). It leaves other partitions alone. I cannot recall how this information is presented by the recovery CD.

As an individual problem, the Events logs may give indications of hardware problems or corrupted system files. Virus and other malware cannot be ruled out. Your observation about the second computer on a home network elevates the possibility of virus and malware.

The following is an observation, and not a proven fact. Compaq pokes holes in the firewall. I use ZoneAlarm, and it does not report unusual internet access. However, if the logged-in user is the primary account created by the recovery CD, when the shutdown is invoked, the first message indicates 'closing network connections'. Other accounts (full administrator priviledges) do not see this same message.