Weird login problem with XP

ZnepJ · Feb 20, 2014

I have an XP machine where I occasionally get a strange login problem.

The login dialogue is there, but I can't login- it's as though the keyboard has been remapped in some strange way:
- the account has disappeared from the dialogue (both account and password entries are blank);
- most keys just produce an error beep;
- o toggles the domain part of the dialogue on and off;;
- l seems to act as an enter;
It's a Dell laptop, if that's any help.
The only thing I seem to be able to do is to access the machine via remote login (BeAnywhere) and force a restart/reconnect.

Any ideas?

Chicano · Feb 20, 2014

My guess is it may be a virus that's causing the problem... the keyboard driver can get infected and cause different problems, the obvious advice is to scan the computer for virus and malware.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
https://www.malwarebytes.org/products/

It may also help to set Auto Login so you don't have to type anything at the logon screen... you can easily set it with Tweak UI:

Download Tweak UI, install it, run it, and from "Logon" / Autologon / check the box / Set Password / Apply / OK

Tweak UI for Windows XP
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/tweakui.htm

ZnepJ · Feb 20, 2014

Chicano :

This doesn't have the behaviour I'd expect from a virus; it's not blocking login consistently, it's sometimes up to 10 days after a reboot that this problem appears.

None of my virus/malware tools can find anything.

It feels more like a corruption in something- I just wondered if anyone recognised the symptoms (it's not just refusing input completely: some characters cause special behaviour, others just beep).

*NEW INSIGHT*

I've just realised that the behaviour seen is the same as you'd see if the ALT key were held down.

I don't have "StickyKeys" turned on, but it's acting as though I do.

I'm using this old laptop as a mailserver - so it's sat there unattended most of the time (which is one reason I don't want it without a login requirement).

Chicano · Feb 20, 2014

1. I'd still use the Tweak UI application to a) set autologin, b) restart the computer, c) again use Tweak UI to disable autologon and see if it made any difference.

2. Run a Anti-Rootkit... This type of malware aren't always detected by Antivirus and Malware programs. http://www.malwarebytes.org/antirootkit/

3. See if SFC /Scannow helps. It refreshes/restores corrupted or missing system files, so if file corruption is the problem, this should solve it.
a) Close all files and programs
b) Insert the Windows CD in the optical drive
c) In Start \ Run or in a Command Prompt window, type: SFC /Scannow
d) Wait for the program to finish and restart the computer.

4. You could try KeyTweak to verify or re-assign default key functions of those keys you suspect of. http://keytweak.software.informer.com/2.3/

5. Try a different keyboard.

ZnepJ · Feb 25, 2014

Chicano :

No malware or viruses found. It's not a high-risk machine for malware, as it's pretty much never used for browsing etc. It's an old laptop machine that runs an instance of Mailtraq - an SMTP/POP/IMAP server.

I could plug in an external keyboard, I guess, but I'm not convinced it's anything to do with the hardware; I generally access it via VNC from another machine.

I'll have a play with KeyTweak to see if anything looks odd. The problem, of course, is that you can't run KeyTweak while it's in that state as you can't log in- if you can log in, by definition it's not in that state.

I'd probably have to remap just about all ALT-[key] combinations to make it work reliably.

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Weird login problem with XP

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