Upgrading from Win Me to Win Xp Pro, DLL Problem 1

[montana9550]

I have two laptops that are identical machines and were running Win Me. I wanted to upgrade both to Win XP Pro. On one it worked just fine, not a glitch. On the second, after XP seems to be installed completely and the computer is rebooting the last time, a window pops up:
"User Interface Failure"
"The logon user interface DLL CTCGina.dll failed to load. Replace the .dll or restore the original file."

The only choice I have is a "Restart" button which restarts the computer and on bootup, it shows the same popup. I know there are a lot of .dll files but I've never heard of this one. Is it a virus maybe?

Anyway I can boot to a prompt with a win Me boot floppy. Can I scan for viruses from that prompt?
I could always format the hard drive and start with a clean install but I'm stupid and left an important file on the desktop, thinking win would upgrade flawlessly like the other computer. I can't find anything about that dll on google.
What options do I have here? Thanks for any help.

 

[bcastner]

CTCGina.dll or CTXGina.dll ?

 

[montana9550]

CTCGina.dll is the exact file name in the popup window. I know CTXGina.dll is the only thing I could find anything about too. I'm stumped.

 

[tchatzi]

I only know 'msgina.dll' and 'shgina.dll'
but this might help if the file really exists

go to your laptop that works fine and
search C:\windows
for this file, rember to set 'view hidden files', and view system files' on

if you find the file copy it to a floppy disk and

now go to the broken laptop and load the Recovery Console with the XP Pro CD

go to same folder that you got it from (it might be in more than one folder, so mark the paths) and search for it like this
dir *gina.dll

if it is there
REN ctcgina.dll ctcgina.old

then
COPY a:\ctcgina.dll c:\location yougot it from
exit

if this doesn't work make a clean install of the os

 

[bcastner]

Somewhere you have installed a Remote Control program, some third party application similar to Remote Desktop.

There are several programs that hook the native XP GINA: the Novell Client, the Citrix Metaframe client, and most Remote Control applications are the most commonly found. Recently fingerprint and eyeball scanners, smart card readers and other security enhancements have joined in the GINA daisy chain fun.

If properly done they create a daisy chain: one xxxxGINA installs, and calls the xxxGINA that was already in place. You can find daisy chains of four or more xxxxGINA calls on some machines.

The problem comes when the uninstall routine for the GINA hooking application forgets to restore the daisy chain to its previous state, or some application breaks the daisy chain.

If you can find the program or hardware device responsible for the xxxGINA entry, you can reinstall it. Otherwise you would have to edit the registry and remove the daisy chain entry and reset the daisy chain order. Reinstalling or uninstalling the application is the preferred method of handling the error.

Note Most STOP 0xC000021A errors occur because Winlogon.exe fails, which typically occurs because of a faulty third-party Graphical Identification and Authentication (GINA) DLL. The GINA is a replaceable DLL component that Winlogon.exe loads. The GINA implements the authentication policy of the interactive logon model. The GINA performs all identification and authentication user interactions.

It is very common for certain types of remote control software to replace the default Windows GINA DLL (Msgina.dll). Therefore, a good first step is to examine the system to see if it has a third-party GINA DLL. To do this, locate the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Value = GinaDLL REG_SZ

• If the Gina DLL value is present and is anything other than Msgina.dll, this probably means that a third-party product has changed this value.
• If this value is not present, the system uses Msgina.dll as the default GINA DLL.

If this error first occurred after the installation of a new or updated device driver, system service, or third-party program, the new software should be removed or disabled.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;156669

 

[montana9550]

I searched for the .dlls on both computers. On the working laptop: msgina.dll, shgina.dll

Same two .dlls are on the non-working one. No CTCGina.dll or CTXGina.dll on either computer. Why would it be trying to load a .dll that doesn't exist? Is there some way I can make it not try to load that .dll? I'm really screwed if I have to make a clean install. Thanks for your time.

 

[tchatzi]

try to boot on safe mode pressing 'F8' see if it boots

 

[montana9550]

Ok finally I got it to boot in safe mode but it won't boot safe with networking and I need to get this file (36M) off the computer or find and fix the problem that is causing this so I don't have to format. I can't find in Remote software. Where else should I look? Thanks.

 

[bcastner]

Try this: boot into safe mode as Administrator. Start, Run, regedit

Go to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Right click the key, Export, provide a file name and save the existing registry values.

In the right hand panel now find this key:
Value = GinaDLL
(It might not say "Gina.DLL")
right click Value, and delete the key.

Reboot and test in normal mode.

 

[montana9550]

Ok, I fixed the problem with the help of bcastner's post. Found registry value Ginadll set to CTCGina.dll, changed to Msgina.dll. Everything seems to be working fine. Thanks for everyones help.

 

[tchatzi]

funny we almost print the same thing, but i was writting for another thread.

We are not that different bcastner after all. Inspide of our last battle.