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SteveHodge

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System hangs at 'loading personal setting'

My XP professional system has started hanging at 'Loading your personal settings'
It started after I changed my CD-drives, but reversing the change doesn't solve the problem, so the hardware change may be a co-incidence

I have to reset or power off. I can then start the machine in safe mode, but only after letting the machine run through the resulting disk check, getting to the login in screen and only then restarting it. It will not even start in safe mode (it just hangs at screen full of messages)if I reset it then try safe mode straightaway (without letting it go to the normal login screen and then restarting from there)

From safe mode I have checked the DNS settings and run Spy-bot as suggested in various answers to this problem, but not found a solution. Spy-bot does not seem to be able to get rid of three entries in the registry which it describes as 'data source objects exploits'. I am wondering whether just to delete these keys from the registry. They are in all three sub keys of HKEY_USERS

Even if not in safe mode the machine seems to be running OK prior to login. If I don't try to login from the keyboard I can access its drives through the network quite normally
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SteveHodge

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Two further points;
I tried creating another user as i thought it might be related to the files for my default user, but this made no difference
The registry keys that Spy-bot doesn't like are HKEY_USER\default\Software\Microsoft\Windows\InternetSettings\Zones\0\1004. They are all the same except that 'default' changes to a set of numbers for the other two
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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Fatal_Exception
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You are also welcome to visit:

www.doverproductions.com

and ck out the Spyware link under XP..  Lots of resources there that may help you..

FE
Thanks. There was quite a bit of nasty stuff in there which i removed. I still have the problem though. I traced it to the plug & play service, and opened another question on this. Feels like some sort of file corruption, maybe committed by the nasties
Steve
Yes...  very well could be..  I will ck your other thread and see if you are getting help.

and Thanks..

FE