The "Welcome to Windows" Logon Screen Does Not Appear When You Start the Computer (817142)

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

When you start your computer, the Welcome to Windows logon screen does not appear. You may also receive an error message that is similar to one of the following:

A recently installed program has disabled the Welcome Screen and Fast User switching. To restore these features, you must uninstall the program.

The following file name might help you identify the program that made the change:

C:\Windows\System32\Awgina.dll.
User interface failure.

The login user interface dll C:\Windows\System32\Awgina.dll failed to load. Contact your system administrator to replace the dll or restore the original dll.

You may experience this issue after you turn on the Fast User Switching feature in Windows XP.

CAUSE

This issue may occur if Symantec pcAnywhere is installed on the computer and the pcAnywhere Graphical Identification and Authorization (GINA) filter, Awgina.dll, prevents you from logging on to the computer.

When pcAnywhere is installed, it replaces the default Windows GINA file, Msgina.dll, with the Awgina.dll file. Some versions of the Awgina.dll file may cause this behavior.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use one or both of the following methods, as appropriate to your situation:

Method 1: Turn Off the PcAnywhere GINA filter

Restart the computer in Safe mode and turn off the pcAnywhere GINA filter. To do so:

Restart the computer in Safe mode. To do so:
1. Restart the computer.
2. When you see the "Please select the operating system to start" message, press F8.
3. On the Windows Advanced Option Menu, use the arrow keys to select Safe Mode, and then press ENTER.
4. If you use a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select Microsoft Windows XP from the list, and then press ENTER.
Delete the GinaDLL registry entry. To do so:WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate, and then click the following registry key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon
4. In the right pane, right-click GinaDLL, and then click Delete.
5. Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the deletion.
6. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.
Restart the computer.

Method 2: Remove pcAnywhere from the Computer

Remove pcAnywhere from the computer. For more information about how to do so, see the program documentation or visit the following Symantec Corporation Web site:

http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about a related issue that occurs in Windows 2000, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

306948 Installing pcAnywhere 9.0 on Windows 2000 Generates Continuous Restarts

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