Windows 7 login screen show only last user and "Other User" icons after profile problem

I recently had a profile problem with my Windows 7 PC. My original profile in the registry had ".bak" appended to it and a new profile was created. I was unable to login with the new profile. I fixed this immediate problem by logging on in safe mode. This enabled me to restore my original profile.

However, since that moment the login screen now operates differently. Instead of showing icons for all the users with accounts on the PC, it now only shows two icons. The first icon is the last user who logged on and the second icon always shows "Other User". I have tried several different solutions recommended by other people with similar problems, but none of them have fixed the problem. I think the person who started this thread has the same problem, but none of the proposed solutions helped him either.

Any help much appreciated.

Mike Thompson

Posted 2010-04-04T00:56:35.160

Reputation: 145

A quick question: You can now access your account through "Other User" though right? – Vervious – 2010-04-14T03:18:51.393

I'd be interested to hear what you figure out, because this is something that I would actually prefer.

Did you intend to have it set to have you type the username and password, or click an icon? Right now it sounds like it's stuck somewhere inbetween. – nhinkle – 2010-04-14T03:52:05.407

When I click "Other User" I can can login in as any valid user.

There are settings in the local security policy editor that control this functionality properly, but I appear to in no man's land where none of the known registry settings seem to correct the problem. – Mike Thompson – 2010-04-14T12:19:13.920

What if you create another new (temporary) account? Does the icon for the new account get displayed in the welcome screen? – Vervious – 2010-04-15T02:08:50.183

New accounts will not be displayed either. – Mike Thompson – 2010-04-17T02:58:30.430

Hmmm... this may not make a difference since your problem doesn't seem account specific but... in regedit, navigate to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList. What's in there? Is there a S-1-5-21-xxxxxxetc subkey in there with a "ProfileImagePath" value that matches your user folder? – Vervious – 2010-04-17T22:33:59.133

Can you give us a dump of everything in your HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon and HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies and HKLM\Software\Policies registry keys? Any abnormal settings in the registry are likely to be in one of these locations, and I'd be interested to look at what they contain. – nhinkle – 2010-04-19T03:03:40.210

Answers

I'm on a domain here, so I can't verify my ideas, but concerning the newest post in the thread you linked to, here is my thinking:

To display the user accounts and their profile images windows must scan the HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\ subkeys of the registry. If there are some some half-broken entries left after your repair of the user account, Windows cannot reliably read that profile. Instead of just skipping the profile and displaying the rest, which would practically disable the half-broken profile, it goes into the alternate logon mode. That mode doesn't need to display all the icons and names, and allows you to enter any profile's username. One could say it's somewhat more "robust" in this respect.

So my suggestion is to go to the ProfileList\ in the Registry and look for broken, double or superflous entries and export-then-delete them. Don't try renaming them, because ALL the subkeys of this entry are scanned, regardless of the names.

This is also in line with Ibrahim77's solution oveer there which basically is: except for your Administrator account, delete all profiles, delete all ProfileList\ Subkeys, delete all Profile Folders and start anew.

Oliver

Posted 2010-04-04T00:56:35.160

Reputation: 588

It worked! So Simple! Windows left a corrupted profile in the registry when it hiccupped. May this question & solution help others. Hopefully MS will fix it in a future version of Windows. Thanks Oliver. – Mike Thompson – 2010-04-20T13:13:43.777

+1, with more details (and a way to fix without loosing profile list): https://superuser.com/a/1404899/131936

– LogicDaemon – 2019-06-04T09:14:05.620

That worked for me as well, except for one modification: I exported the whole ProfileList key. The exported reg file then contains all the original info for later restore in case of fsckup. Saves a few mouse clicks :) – oligofren – 2014-05-08T07:14:58.473

AN IDEA: go into control panel, then system properties, then change settings for "Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings". Next to "to rename this computer or change its domain or workgroup, click Change" click Change. Is there a "Member of " domain set there, by chance? Since your screen sounds like the one people have when they are a member of a domain.

Also check the rest of my comments. Did you try all the solutions in the similar thread you noted in your question? Some sound pretty decent. Also check the registry keys...

If you just can't bear it and nothing solves it, do a backup and reinstall. :)

ALSO: try looking through all the policies one last time though you might have already done so.

Search for local security policy, run it...

Then expand local policies then Security Options...

For every policy that begins with "Interactive logon", make sure everything is right. e.g. for Display user info when session locked, it should be display name only or something like that. The rest are mostly disabled, not defined, or a couple enabled.

Other than that... scan for malware... I wouldn't know.

Vervious

Posted 2010-04-04T00:56:35.160

Reputation: 4 654

It seems unlikely that he would become accidentally attached to a domain, since becoming a member of a domain requires entering the domain admin password. That usually doesn't happen without the user realizing it. – nhinkle – 2010-04-19T05:18:56.830

true. Probably some detail in the registry then. – Vervious – 2010-04-19T05:38:35.287

Interestingly, the workgroup reverted to "WORKGROUP" instead of the name I gave it. I renamed the workgroup back, but this has made no difference to the login problem! – Mike Thompson – 2010-04-19T10:57:42.560

You did try the "dontdisplaylastusername" trick right? (in the windows answers thread). I'm still trying to find a solution for you. :) – Vervious – 2010-04-19T23:01:44.357

And check all the policies one last time :) (updated answer( – Vervious – 2010-04-19T23:15:34.060

ALSO: check that HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\AutoAdminLogon is equal to 0 and not 1. – Vervious – 2010-04-20T03:00:18.357

Here's how to do it through a graphical interface:

Press Win+R to open the "Run" dialog
Type control userpasswords2 and press Enter
Toggle the checkbox labelled "Users must enter a username and password to use this computer"
If a password box appears I would recommend setting it to the same as the one you currently use for your account
Restart

You should now see the users listed, not the "SomeUserName" and "Other User" configuration.

sdhobbs

Posted 2010-04-04T00:56:35.160

Reputation: 9

-1

Someone mentioned deleting the key

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\Default

Though if this is correct or works, I don't know.

sdhobbs

Posted 2010-04-04T00:56:35.160

Reputation: 9