No Windows or Network Logon Dialog Box at Startup

ID: Q141858

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 95
Microsoft Windows 98

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you start Windows, you may not receive a Windows or a Network Logon dialog box, or you may receive one of the following error messages:

No network provider accepted the given network path.

The operation being requested was not performed because the user has not logged on to the network. The specified service does not exist.

Or, the Change Passwords tab may be missing from the Passwords Properties dialog box. Note that this symptom occurs only if the second cause listed below is in effect.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if any of the following conditions are true:

The Primary Network Logon field is not set correctly.

The following entry appears in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Network\Real Mode Net registry key
AutoLogon=<x>
where <x> is a number.

NOTE: The AutoLogon value must be BINARY and must be set to 0 for AutoLogon to work.

You are logging on to a Novell NetWare network and the server you log on to is running multiple frame types.

You are logging on to a Microsoft or NetWare network and you have cached your network password.

The network adapter is improperly configured.

RESOLUTION

Use the following troubleshooting steps to resolve the problem. Make sure to restart Windows after each step.

You can edit the registry using System Policy Editor (Poledit.exe) or Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). Check with your network administrator before you make any changes to the registry.

System Policy Editor (Poledit.exe) is available in the Admin\Apptools\ Poledit folder on the Windows 95 CD-ROM. Use the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel to install System Policy Editor.

In Windows 98, System Policy Editor is available in the Tools\Reskit\Netadmin\Poledit folder on the Windows 98 CD-ROM.

NOTE: System Policy Editor is not included in the floppy disk version of Windows 95. You can download Policy.exe, a self-extracting executable file containing Poledit.exe, from online services. Please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for information about downloading Policy.exe:

Q135315 CD-ROM Extras for Microsoft Windows 95 Upgrade

Troubleshooting Steps

In Control Panel, double-click Network. Click the appropriate setting in the Primary Network Logon box, and then click OK.

Delete the following entry in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Network\Real Mode Net registry key:
AutoLogon=<x>

In Control Panel, double-click Network. Double-click the IPX/SPX- compatible protocol, click the Advanced tab, click Frame Type, change the value from Auto to the specific frame type running on the server you log in to, click OK, and then click OK again. If you do not know which frame type is running on the server you log in to, contact your network administrator.

Repeat step 3 as necessary, trying each frame type, to determine if selecting one of the frame types causes a Network Logon dialog box to appear at startup.

Disable the Automatic NetWare Login option with System Policy Editor (as described on page 515 of the Microsoft Windows 95 Resource Kit), or with Registry Editor by adding the following DWORD value:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NWNP32\ NetworkProvider\DisableDefaultPasswords = 1

For information about troubleshooting problems related to enabling the Maximum Sockets or Maximum Connections settings, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q142489
TITLE : Problems After Modifying Maximum Connections or Sockets Value

MORE INFORMATION

If you use the right mouse button to click a NetWare server in Network Neighborhood and then click Attach As on the menu that appears, you have the option to save (or cache) your password. If you save the password, it is stored in your password cache file. If the Primary Network Logon field is not set to Client For NetWare Networks, you are not prompted to log on to your preferred server.

For additional information, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q127933
TITLE : Err Msg: No Network Provider Accepted the Given Network Path

Additional query words: dun dial-up networking autologon


Keywords          : kbnetwork msnets win95 win98 
Version           : WINDOWS:95
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: July 20, 1999