Textureheap

Join Date 04/2008

Installing LogonStudio kills welcome screen (reverts to classic)

And here's how I fixed it.

Clean install of Windows XP Pro SP2 (2600), + all updates.

I installed LogonStudio, loaded and applied the most amazing .logonxp file (more on that later), then rebooted only to find no more shutdown/welcome screen, just the ugly classick login box as if you had disabled the welcome screen.

Now I've done this before on a customer's machine and it worked perfectly, same OS, so I researched the googleverse and found little to help, but my passion for this particular logon screen drove me forward. I've had this exact same issue on another machine before and just gave up on it, not this time.

I compared the registry against another system, entries under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

As expected I found only a difference in the longonui file name (duh) as LogonStudio uses logonuiX.exe instead. So I tried many things, uninstalling, reinstalling, creating another user, uncheck apply, recheck apply the "use welcome screen", et cetera to the third power, several hours worth anyway, to no avail. Even uninstalling LogonStudio failed to give me back my welcome screen. But I did discover I could edit the UIHost name back to logonui.exe and get my original welcome screen back, fully functional.

So that gave me the idea to have a try at importing the logonuiX.exe file from the Ghost I made of the customers machine where LogonStudio was working. With LogonStudio still in the dust bin, I then disable the protection on the file: Set the decimal value of SfcDisable to 1. Then restarted the computer, renamed the logonui.exe (found in the system32 dir) to xxlogonui.exe, copied the working logonuiX.exe in, changing it's name to logonui.exe. Immediately XP screamed hell no! Unrecognized file. I just replied, FU, cancel. The file sizes between the two logonuiX.exe files, both created by LogonStudio, were slightly different, 6,201,856 for the file that worked, and 6,246,912 for the one that didn't (I can upload them somewhere if anyone is interested in doing some forensic analysis).

The result is: it works now, and that with LogonStudio still uninstalled. I found myself pumping my fists! YAY!

And here's why: google for "RAVEL by ~007TINAR" and find yourself with the worlds most astounding LogonXP screen.

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Have no idea how this got in the CES 2007 forum, could someone move this to the LogonStudio room?

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ShelbyGT_The_Car

Join Date 01/2004

+103

Are you using any netware?

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I installed some Dameware NT utilities but haven't had a need for them yet, haven't even launched them once. This system is not intended for a domain either, just a small home type network. But otherwise there is nothing, no antivirus, no other security setup yet.

I swear I was in area 359 when I clicked the create thread button:
https://forums.wincustomize.com/forum/359

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ShelbyGT_The_Car

Join Date 01/2004

+103

Is fast user switching enabled? You have something not right with your login or system resource files!

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Bebi Bulma

Join Date 04/2004

+209

Is fast user switching enabled? You have something not right with your login or system resource files!

Was thinking that as well. The custom logon screen will only display if your account is pass protected (if the only account) or if there are multiple accounts.

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Yes, both the check marks and the registry entries report the use welcome screen and FUS enabled. Believe me, I tried everything imaginable. There is only one user account with no password. The Admin account has a password, specified during windows setup, but hasn't been logged into, so no user file directories either, no show on welcome screen when switching users (which worked prior to LogonStudio), there was only the one user name on the logon screen.

I've just now tired restoring a ghost of this system prior to the first attempt to installed LogonStudio and uninstalled the Dameware and some other things. Cleaning the registry, restarting and installed LogonStudio again with no change in the aforesaid behavior. I then went even further back to the first Ghost long before the Dameware, with no change.

Outside this one odd issue, the system, before and after, functions completely normal.

I stayed up all night with this so I'm kinda seriously fried at this point, and have to go to work here in a few minutes. Will try some other things later, I may try and do a full file compare against the known working system, or even try installing another copy of XP Pro.

Did want to share the solution I found before I forget some details, in case this helps someone else, I've read other threads with the same to similar issue. It does work though.

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Bebi Bulma

Join Date 04/2004

+209

There is only one user account with no password.

That's why. Try adding a password or setting up another account and see if it works then. That's what I had to do (should have a password on the account anyway, especially if it's an admin account).

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Been there done that, serveral times. Passwords or no, it no workied.

Customer machine I mentioned above, was setup the same way too, no password, one user account, one unused admin account with simple password. LogonStudio worked perfectly on that system.

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Meant to say, I did try setting up an additional user, as was also suggested in other threads. Autologon or not, passwords or not, no change. Hours and hours of trying such things.

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