My Windows 7 XP Mode virtual machine has just locked me out of password log on. Two years of use and it never required I use a password on wake up, I never asked for that. Suddenly yesterday, password required! I located password and used it successfully a couple of times, but now even that is not good enough! Perhaps (unfairly) because I tried to get to the bottom of the new phenomenon and removed the password from the user accounts? Permissions are still set to ok for all users. I have been all the way through the settings I can access with the VM file hibernated, and have deleted the previously saved log on info, which always previously worked automatically as charged. Now when I attempt to log on it asks me for credentials, seems like progress, but when I offer them, and check the "remember my credentials" box, I still get the splash screen "The system could not log you on. [reminder about caps...]" !! Round and round. Back up and restore point versions of the VM toss me back into the same log on loop. There are no other machines on any network, I am the administrator and sole user. It must be specifically about the log on, a speck of dust corruption ... is there a way around this? I tried creating a new VM but the black inner box gets stuck at one point requesting I insert a boot disc. Thanks for input, AKa