1) Use the XP disk and go into the Recovery Console 2) "We need to replace the software hive with

a previous good backup." a.) type cd system32\config enter b.) type ren software software.old enter This renames the current software hive to software.old c.) type copy C:\windows\repair\software enter It should say "1 file(s) copied" d.) type exit this will leave recovery console 3) Hit F8 before Windows starts to enter Safe Mode - You should hopefully be able to log in now 4) Now we need to Fix the registry a.) Start-->Run--> type regedit, enter b.) Select/Highlight HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE c.) Hit File-->Load Hive d.) Find where you saved the software.old file (C:\windows\system32\config\software.old) e.) Just name it test 5) THIS IS WHERE MY FIX Differs from the previous post a.) Navigate to test\software\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\winlogon b.) Look for the Userinit field c.) Mine was blank which was causing the log off loop, others had wsaupdater.exe in this key - Double click on the ky and type C:\windows\system32\userinit.exe, Note: if anything differs repeat step 5 with HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\winlogon 6) Restart and log back into Recovery Console 7) Restore the original hive now a.) type cd system32\config enter b.) type del software enter c.) type ren software.old software enter d.) type exit enter 8) Log back into Windows normally. This worked for me and I hope you find that it also works for you! Thanks, good luck