The most stupid XP problem ever

Visti

Hi guys, we decided to install XP on my girlfriend's laptop because the included Vista was kicking its ass over and over. No problem - I had it lying around, but eh! Only in a US version. No problem, I've used it to install on my own computer and I'm having no problems. Now. My girlfriend has some sensitive data, so she needed a logon welcome screen, which I never use myself.

Also, cool - I set that up. Install all the programs she needs and everything is peachy - I tell her that when she leaves the computer she can log out and we do and it works. Logging out and in with her password, that is.

All is good. Restart time. Now she can't log in. Password denied. We ctrl+alt+del, type in the user field and the language is set to US English. She uses a dash in her pass, so that's somewhere else now. Luckily, I sort of know my way around that from way back, so we log in again. Every regional and language setting is set to Danish and it works without a hitch when XP is booted.

So, this is ridiculous. This XP install apparantly only initializes the keyboard layout / language after the login process. I tried switching with alt+shift, but no dice.

ZackSchilling

This is what you need:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/138354

There's also a way to force a language menu on the login screen, but I can't find how to do that right now. The first link should work fine, however.

SiliconStew

Try changing this Registry setting

http://windowsitpro.com/article/articleid/14867/how-do-i-configure-the-default-keyboard-layout-during-login.html

Visti

Sweet jesus.

Thanks, you guys!


Edit: But wait! Question the second:

Control Panel says that the administrator account is hidden from the welcome pane once you add a user account, but that doesn't seem to be the case. What gives? We have two administrative accounts now, does the second one have to be a regular user for it to be hidden?

Also, while making the second account I accidentally clicked that users couldn't look at other user's files. Which sucks, because I downloaded a few things as administrator to set up later on her user account. Is this also a reg fix?

SiliconStew

If you give a regular user account admin privileges, it will hide the built in Administrator account.

Any admin account can move files between user profiles. That setting means the User A can't get into the profile/My Documents/Desktop of User B and vice versa. This is a good thing. It shouldn't affect any folders outside of the C:\Documents and Settings folder.

You shouldn't give any regular user admin privilages. The Administrator account is there for a reason. Log in with it just to install stuff or use "runas". This is one of the best ways to prevent viruses.

Visti

Well, I put the only other account in the Administrator group, but the Administrator account is still there, but it's not that much of a nuiscance - She's just used to only one account, like on Vista.

I don't know.. I never had viruses or anything on any of my machines, maybe I'm due..

ronya

I've had the Administrator account appear in the Welcome screen (and had normal users disappear a la Administrator), but I can't remember the registry key at the moment. I do remember it's a registry setting buried somewhere in each account that hides it from the screen, though.

That's all I can recall, sorry I can't help more

warban

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/remove-user-accounts-from-the-logon-screen-in-windows-vista/

You could hide the account using regedit.

Follow at your own risk and all that.