Every time I turn on my Windows XP-based laptop the following happens before reaching the welcome screen.

1. The system makes a single-beep sound
2. The message "The system could not log you on, please make sure you are using the correct username as password" pops up.
3. Behind this message is the regular windows logon box, which requires the username and password to be entered.
4. When I click "Okay" to the message that pops up it goes straight to the welcome screen.

I'm assuming it is attempting to auto-login to windows without a password everytime it boots up, but I have no idea how to fix this issue. This becomes very annoying and just gives me the horrible feeling that my computer is broken everytime I boot up. Thank you in advance for all your help!

EDIT: You can contact me at (removed email to prevent spamming) or blackonyx736 on AOL Instant Messenger if it would help you help me.

Answers to your questions:

1. This is the POST beep
2. 3. & 4. The "Administrator Logon" Dialog Box May Be Hidden Under the Welcome Screen or "The System Could Not Log You on" Message May Be Displayed

Thank you for your quick and efficient answer, but I'm still a little shady on how to fix this issue.

Under resolution for my issue, Microsoft lists "To work around the other problem, remove or update the appropriate registry key if the Autologon feature is required for an existing account. If you do not need or you do not want the Autologon feature, change the setting of the Autologon feature so that AutoAdminLogon=0."

How do I get to the AutoAdminLogon parameter? (And thanks for putting up with my illiterateness)

BACK UP YOUR REGISTRY FIRST !!!!!
http://consumer.installshield.com/kb.asp?id=Q108237

Start/Run/regedit

The registry and its settings are: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
DefaultDomainName (REG_SZ) : Computer name
DefaultUserName (REG_SZ): User name (admin)
DefaultPassword (REG_SZ): Password
AutoAdminLogon (REG_SZ): 1
AutoLogonCount (REG_DWORD) : any value greater than one (1)

Refer to the link in the above post

My issue has been resolved, thank you very much for your efficient and professional help in solving my problem.

Your very welcome, I was happy to help