Windows Unable to Switch User in Windows XP

Our computer has two logons, one for me and one for my wife. Both have full admin privileges. When logged into one, XP will not let you switch user to another. This started fairly recently. I could find no setting that controlled this option, and Microsoft's site had nothing. There is no error message when this happens. After clicking 'switch user', it just returns to whatever you were working on under the current logon. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

Check the control panel and under users, click "Change the way users log on". Make sure "Enable fast user switching" is enabled. If it is, and you're still having problems, reply and let me know.

 

Also try windows updates. there is one for user switching i believe

 

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'm still stumped. I have current virus and spyware protection as well as Windows updates. The tricky part is that this problem only started about a week ago. I can select the option you mentioned, ouija, but after I click on "Apply Changes", nothing...changes. When I go back into the option, the box is unselected. There is no error message, just a cantankerous XP setting. This confuses me because when I set up the box less than 6 months ago, I made sure that option was selected for both our logons. It worked fine until recently. If there are any more ideas, I'd sure appreciate them. Thanks again.

 

Try running regedit and browse to:

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

Change the DWORD entry "AllowMultipleTSSessions" to "1" and reboot your machine.

 

Make sure the service for Switching isn't disabled... Sometimes software does that...

Run > services.msc

Check that "Fast User Switching Compatibility" is Enabled to auto and that "Secondary Logon" is auto...

 

Good point. However if the service was disabled, an error would be displayed when trying to turn on fast user switching. Either that or it would be greyed out, I can't remember.

 

It's a possibility...

Do you have a non windows firewall on the pc? Or recently installed software from either accounts? Do both accounts do this (one account to the other and vice versa)?

There's reports of firewall software not supporting FUS so this could be it, that or your virus scanning software.

Could this be your wife? http://forums.wugnet.com/Perform Maintain-User-switching-problems-ftopict355569.html

 

Thank you. Thank you. And thank you. It finally did the trick! The problem was in the Services. The Fast User Switching Whatever We Call It was set to manual and wouldn't start because the dependencies (the other ones you mentioned) were disabled. I guess I'll think twice before I go through there willy-nilly shutting down things I don't quite understand but figure aren't really necessary, huh? Once again, I appreciate all the help from both of you.

Nope, but was pretty close, wasn't it? My wife thinks forums are stupid. I guess I'll make her sign up for Bit and thank you guys personally!

 

She declined. But our couch sure is comfortable!

 

No problem as I run into these things with staff members at work. Good thing we are using policies becuase then I'd be having to do this constantly...


www.tweak.us is a good site for things that will speed up your xp install