Win 2K server hangs at Loading ur personal settings

effluvium · 25th June 2008

Please help me,

2 days ago I shut down my PC standalone server 2000 as usual.
The next day, my PC hangs forever after the password and Logon box at "loading your personal settings".

Unfortunately, there's no other account for any other user (only administrator account with a blank password. It is a quite fresh installation of Win Server 2000 and didn't managed yet any other account). This machine is a standalone server (NO DNS NO Active Directory, NO Domain ).

I tried to reboot in Safe mode, Last known Good config and all other options of F8 startup menu, but no way to log on. I'm sure it's not a virus, because I scanned the hard disk some hours before this trouble.

I'd like to know if it is possible to avoid to reinstall again Windows server 2000 (I mean is it possible to track what is blocking the logon process at startup ? is there a mean to detect which service fails to start)

Is it possible to access the NT registry, if I extract the hard disk and put it as a slave disk in another Win 2k server ? If yes what hive in the registry should I modify ?
Thank you for any suggestions.

(Unfortunately I have no other account except administrator one)

mflynn · 25th June 2008

Hi effluvium

Welcome to the BBS!

It sounds like you have blown the Administrator account!

Never ever use the Administrator account for day to day regular logon! As soon as you get this fixed create a new Admin level account I usually use Supervisor and use it day to day!

The first thing to do is a repair install. This will keep all your settings and data and programs.

To do it boot from the CD as to do a new install at some point look for setup to find the existing Windows installation and offer to repair it by pressing "R".

If it offers to repair with Repair Console do not do that.

Only when it offers to Repair the existing Windows installation choose R!

If you see warnings that this will install a new or format or overwrite the existing OS then abort or you will be doing an new install. From there it will look like a regular install but somewhat shorter.

See this link! Say Windows 200 pro but is same for server.
http://www.windows2000.windowsreinstall.com/Repair/

Mike

effluvium · 25th June 2008

Hi mflynn,

Thank you for your suggestion to reinstall partially Windows server 2000.
As I said before, I was looking a solution to avoid this.

You don't think that (to follow my first idea which is to extract the hard disk of the machine and to put it as a slave disk in another Server 2K PC), if we delete the File NTuser.dat located in \Documents and Setiings\Administrator, it could be effective. Windows 2K has to recreate this file containing the profile of the administrator

mflynn · 25th June 2008

Nope!

You said you did not want to install from scratch. The proceedure is not a reinstall but a repair, all you have done while it was working will still be there.

Based on what you have reported and since "Last known good.." does not work. Based on your own classification of "Beginner" the alternatives would be even harder!

The process I prescribed is easy and simple, much more easy than removing HD slaving HD on another machine. What are you thinking Jeeze!

Do the 25 minute repair install and get it overwith!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mike