Sign in screen ignoring my password the first time I enter it and returning to the home screen

Hi Pete. I'm Greg, an installation specialist, 10 years awarded Windows MVP, and Volunteer Moderator, here to help you.

Does this happen with the other accounts? If not then it points to account corruption which I will deal with in steps given.

Go over this checklist to make sure the install is set up correctly, optimized for best performance, and any needed repairs get done: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

Start with Step 4 to turn off Startup freeloaders which can conflict and cause issues, then Step 7 to check for infection the most thorough way, then step 10 to check for damaged System Files, and also Step 16 to test a new Local Admin account. Then if necessary continue with the other steps to go over your install most thoroughly.

Update your drivers and BIOS/UEFI firmware from PC or motherboard maker's Support Downloads web page, using the full model number, Serial Number or Dell Service Tag on sticker. Compare the latest drivers available for download with the ones presently installed in Device Manager reached by right clicking the Start button. Make sure you have the latest Chipset, Display (Video), Sound, USB3, Bluetooth, Network and all other drivers, or else download and install the latest now.

Then type System Information in Start Search, compare the latest BIOS/UEFI firmware version with the one showing in System Information, and install it following closely the instructions on the download page, and on any Read Me file included in download.

Updating drivers from the Device Manager or Windows Update is rarely enough. The most basic thing we need to learn to maintain a PC is keep the latest manufacturer's drivers installed from their Support Downloads web page.

If nothing else works then do a Repair Install, by installing Media Creation Tool, open tool and choose to Upgrade Now. This reinstalls Windows while keeping files, programs and most settings in place, is the most stable method to advance to the latest version, and solves most problems. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/m...

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and keep me posted. If you'll wait to rate whether my post resolved your problem, I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

______________________________________________
Standard Disclaimer: There are links to non-Microsoft websites. The pages appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the sites that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the sites before you decide to download and install it.

Hi Greg, and thanks for the reply.

I've only noticed this problem once (so far) on this computer since my clean reinstall two weeks ago. I've been signing into and out of all four accounts several times a day, so by a rough calculation I'd say that over 99% of the time sign in has been fine. I'm beginning to wonder whether I perhaps did something stupid - like not hitting 'Enter' after typing my password, and just walking away ? I think that might give the symptoms I saw - I'll check that next time I remember.

I wish I'd had your checklist two weeks ago right after my reinstall. After a quick scan through it I can see that I did several of the things you listed, but also missed quite a few. I think I'll have several questions, but it may take a couple of days. Would it be best to ask those questions here or on your checklist topic itself ?

In the meantime, and since you specifically mentioned these four steps here -rRegarding your recommendation to do steps (4), (7), (10) and (16 - I think you meant 17):

Step 4) There's not much showing up for step 4 since the clean install was very recent. The laptop has two graphics cards/chips, an Intel and an NVIDIA. I need to do some googling to find out whether I should disable those. I believe that the ALPS is four the built in mouse touchpad, which I loathe (it irritates my fingertip!) - I always use a USB mouse, so maybe I can disable that ? Adobe Update Service - probably don't need that, as I only use Adobe Reader and the current version is fine for me. I can always check online if I think I might want an update, can't I ?

Step 7) was one of the first things I did, installing and running MalwareBytes Free. I also opted for BitDefender Free Antivirus rather than just using Windows Defender.

Step 10) I've assumed that after a fresh install everything should be okay, but I did run 'sfc /verifyonly' yesterday and it said there were no problems. Do you think running DISM is really necessary ?

Step 17) I haven't read through this, but the very first thing I did was to create a local admin account and change the account that I intended to use on a daily basis to a local non-admin.

Hi Pete -

You can ask the questions here or in the Checklist comments. I monitor both and usually reply within a half day.

Yes, if you use a mouse you can disable the touchpad at Startup. There should also be a setting in Settings > Devices > Touchpad, or in Additional Settings on one of the tabs (often last tab), to choose to Disable Touchpad when USB pointing device is disabled.

I do not recommend a third party anti-virus, and just had a thread yesterday where guy is sure Bitdefender damaged his hard drive. This is of course up to you, but IMO Defender gives best Windows performance, adequate protection, is built in, has least issues and is from Microsoft who knows how to protect their OS best.

DISM is to check the image by which SFC tests System files to make sure it's pristine, and can be skipped if you don't have broken files found.

Thanks for correcting that testing a new Local Admin account is now Step 17, since I recently added Step 16 which bumped it up a step. I appreciate the assist. That step is necessary a lot in Windows 10 due to all of the corrupted accounts we see here every day. So it is intended to test a new Local Admin account to see if it resolves the problem, and if so replace the old account - or run a Repair Install to see if it will fix the old account before replacing it.

Keep me posted on your progress as I will be here to help until the case is resolved.

Hi Greg, I just tried what I suspected might be the cause of the symptoms I saw.

This morning at the sign-in screen I typed my password but didn't press enter. Then I sat and watched. About 20 seconds later it reverted to the home screen. When I clicked that to bring up the sign-in screen and selected my account I, of course, had to enter my password again.

I'm now fairly certain that this is what happened, since I know that occasionally when logging into e.g an email account I have forgotten to press Enter and walked away. I'll be a bit more careful in future - I won't walk away until I've seen "Welcome" and that little circle of moving dots. But I'll keep an eye out. I know for certain that I had the genuine problem, having correctly entered my password and hit Enter, on another computer

Regardless of that, I'll still be running through that checklist of yours. But since I think I've found the cause of this particular instance of this problem I'll mark this particular topic as solved, and then ask any questions regarding it over on your main topic.

Thanks very much for pointing me to that checklist

(Edit: Apparently I can't mark this post as the answer , since it's my own)

I'm glad to hear it's resolved, Pete. Let me know if there's anything else.

Also when ready please mark the post which helped most as the Answer (or Resolved), to help others. A rating is also appreciated.

Hi Greg,

The answer to my specific problem still appears to be failing to hit Enter after typing the password, so marking your post as the answer would be incorrect. But I can't mark my own post where I suggested that as the answer. 

And as far as I can see you can only give a rating to a post you've marked as an answer.

What a quandary, eh ? :)

However, yesterday I ran into the same symptoms on another computer, a 10 year old laptop that was bought with Windows 7 and upgraded via Windows Update to Windows 10 when the free upgrade first rolled out.

I sat and watched after typing my password (and hitting enter - I'm more careful about that now).

I watched the little circle of dots and "Welcome" text for maybe 15 seconds - and then it went back to the home screen.

I clicked the home screen, the sign-in screen was displayed, and I had to enter my password again.

So I may get a chance to run through your answer on that one. However, the computer isn't mine so I'm not sure whether the owner will want me messing with it too much.

Pete