Windows 7 login screen show only last user and “Other User” icons

you gave a very helpful answer to this issue some time ago, as follows:

"To display the user accounts and their profile images windows must scan the HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\ subkeys of the registry. If there are some some half-broken entries left after your repair of the user account, Windows cannot reliably read that profile. Instead of just skipping the profile and displaying the rest, which would practically disable the half-broken profile, it goes into the alternate logon mode. That mode doesn't need to display all the icons and names, and allows you to enter any profile's username. One could say it's somewhat more "robust" in this respect.

So my suggestion is to go to the ProfileList\ in the Registry and look for broken, double or superflous entries and export-then-delete them. Don't try renaming them, because ALL the subkeys of this entry are scanned, regardless of the names."

I am having the same problem now. I found the registry but am just not sure what to do now. There are 6 entries, one called ".DEFAULT" and 5 others (S-1-5-18, S-1-5-19, S-1-5-20 and two more with much longer strings after the S-1-5-21-). How do I know which ones to delete, and how do I delete them? Can you give a simple step-by-step explanation for someone who is not familiar with this at all...? Thank you!

The SIDs you have referred to indicate the following:

SID: S-1-5-18
Name: Local System
Description: A service account that is used by the operating system.

SID: S-1-5-19
Name: NT Authority
Description: Local Service

SID: S-1-5-20
Name: NT Authority
Description: Network Service

SID: S-1-5-21

Is a user account, would need the full SID to say what type

If click onto one and look at ProfileImagePath it will display there profile path and give a good indication of who's account it is eg. C:\Users\Foo this would be user Foo's profile

Foot note

Please link the question your referring too

Refrence

Microsoft KB article 243330