Trying to log onto Windows XP but it logs me off immediately.

From my collection of notes - From Microsoft Support -

This kind of behavior can occur when some program has removed the
Wsaupdater.exe file from the computer. Wsaupdater.exe is spyware that
changes the Userinit.exe, to Wsaupdater.exe in the registry. Though
Registry Clean can remove that file, it cannot change the registry subkey
back to Userinit.exe.
 
Please understand that userinit.exe is a major process in the Windows
Operating System. On boot-up it manages the different start up sequences
needed, such as establishing network connections and starting up the
Windows shell.
 
I suggest we perform the following steps to troubleshoot this issue.
 
Step 1: Boot into Recovery Console
 
1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive, and then restart the
computer.
2. Click to select any options that are required to start the computer from
the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so.
 
3. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the
Recovery Console.
4. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, choose the
installation that you need to access from the Recovery Console.
 
5. When you are prompted to do so, type the Administrator password. If the
administrator password is blank, just press Enter.
 
Note: This password for the default Administrator account is set when
installing Windows XP. If you have not set a password for it, press Enter.
 
Step 2: Use Recovery Console to copy Userinit.exe to Wsaupdater.exe
 
1. At the Recovery Console command prompt, type "cd system32" (without
quotation marks), and then press ENTER.
2. Type "copy userinit.exe wsaupdater.exe" (without quotation marks), and
then press ENTER.
3. Type "exit" (without quotation marks), and then press ENTER.
 
Now, let's reboot the computer in Safe Mode.
 
Step 3: Log onto the computer in Safe Mode
 
1. Restart the computer.
2. Keep pressing the F8 key until the Windows Startup menu appears.
3. Choose Safe Mode, and press Enter.
4. Log onto Windows by using the Administrator account or any user account
with Administrator privileges.
 
NOTE: In Safe Mode, your system display and Desktop will look and perform
differently than in Normal Mode. This is only temporary. Restart the
computer and then we can boot into Normal Mode.
 
Step 4: Modify the registry
 
1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit , and then click OK.
2. In the Registry Editor, on the left pane, navigate to the following key
by expanding the plus sign (+):
 
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
 
Note: Please right click on "Winlogon", click "Export", and then save it to
the C:\ drive as a backup. (In case we need to undo the modification, we
can double click it to restore the registry key)
 
3. Highlight Winlogon, in the right pane, right-click userinit, and then
click Modify.
4. Replace "wsaupdater.exe" with "userinit.exe," (make sure to include the
comma, as shown), and then click OK.
5. Restart the computer.
 
Step 5: Rename the Wsaupdater.exe file
 
1. Log on to the computer in Safe Mode by using an account that has
administrator-level permissions.
2. Click Start, click Run, type "%Windir%\system32", and then click OK.
3. Right-click on wsaupdater.exe and click Rename to rename this file as
wsaupdater.old, and then click OK.

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TaurArian [MVP] 2005-2010 - Update Services

This did not work for me. I got as far as Step 3. Trying to log on in Safe Mode, I got the same results.