During the logon process, Windows Vista switches from the Welcome screen to the desktop either when Windows Explorer is ready or when the desktop switching time-out interval has passed. Additionally, when client-side caching tries to access the redirected Desktop folder from a network share that is inaccessible, the system must wait for the network time-out interval to pass. (The network time-out interval is longer than the desktop switching time-out interval.) Therefore, Windows Vista switches from the Welcome screen to a blank screen to wait for the network time-out interval to pass before the desktop appears.
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
To work around this issue, extend the desktop switching time-out interval by changing a registry key. After you do this, you will see the Welcome screen instead of a blank screen while you wait for the network time-out interval to pass.
To extend the desktop switching time-out interval, follow these steps:
- Click Start, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
- Locate the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
- Right-click System, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
- Type DelayedDesktopSwitchtimeout, and then press ENTER.
- Double-click DelayedDesktopSwitchtimeout.
- In the Value data box, type 45, and then click OK.
- Close Registry Editor.