Auto Logout During Login
Cause
I was unable to update VMware Horizon agent from 7.7.0 to 7.10.0 on Windows 10 1803/1809. I found out that if I use revouninstaller I could force the removal of the Horizon agent, update vmware tools (which took extra reboots due to VC Distribution errors), then install the newer agent.
However, a couple machines had issues with revo (I blame Microsoft) and I was unable to log back in after a reboot. I would enter my credentials and immediately get told I was being logged out.
Fix
The problem ended up being the userinit reg key[1] had a bunch of vmware muck attached to it. I removed all of it and was able to log in again.
Please note that though I was able to log in, I had other errors. Basically the system would not recognize that my domain account was not a local admin.
- Boot off Windows install media
- Load the command prompt.
- Import the system registry[2]
reg load HKLM\temp D:\Windows\System32\Config\SOFTWARE regedit
- Navigate to the following key and remove everything except the userinit string.
HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion/Winlogon/UserInit
- Reboot and log in.
