Vista Tutorial - Login process has failed to create the security options

Hello all,

This is my first post and I realise the topic has been addressed already. However, the relevant threads are closed (incidentally, I'd love to know why) and from what I can tell, no one's got to the bottom of this problem despite a flurry of recent correspondence on the subject.

I have a new laptop (weeks old only) and its my first experience with Vista (Premium). Today, although I've not changed the configuration or added or removed any software, my screen is randomly and unexpectedly going pale and although the cursor moves, nothing else is responding. Eventually, the screen goes black and after further delay this message appears:

"Login process has failed to create the security options"

The system does not respond to CTL-ALT-DEL. The only way to shut down is to power off.

On restart (apart from the usual warnings and suggestions that I start in Safe Mode following a forced shutdown), everything works fine again for awhile, then the problem re-occurs.

I've been studying the Web all morning and there's been a rash of this problem starting just a few months ago (there are few, if any reports before that). This is very suspicious therefore.

In most forums two main options are routinely offered - first, that it is related to hard disc failure and second that it is related to anti-virus software. Neither is definitive however. In fact, most people are still reporting that the problem is NOT fixed, which is why I am surprised that threads relating to it are closed.

Does anybody know what's going on, or the real solution?

Plain English, step-by-step, idiot's guide answers preferred - I am a computerphobic.

Follow up to yesterday:

The problem became increasingly acute. Soon the computer would freeze within minutes of each startup.

I tried to uninstall Norton 360 (a fix claimed to work on some forums). However, the computer froze long before the long uninstall routine could finish, thus, after many aborted attempts, I was left with the highly unstable shreds of the Norton application. After all this it was still manically trying to backup my files even though technically, Norton had been deleted!

Now I can't re-install or delete Norton (or anything else) because I only have a minute or two between freezeups.

System Restore does not work - it takes ages and then says it cannot complete (no reason given).

On top of all this, many other failures are being reported - including security issues and the seeming failure of my wifi connection (not real, because the wifi is working fine on my reliable old XP laptop).

Now I've given up trying to fix it and I'm reformatting my hard-drive. I'll let you know what happens when I've restored everything (except Norton - I am suspicious that it is the problem).

I'd appreciate some advice - so far, there's total silence!

I've reformatted the C drive and re-installed all the basic stuff (like Office). My laptop automatically re-installed the OEM 16-day trial-version of Norton. So far, everything is working just fine.

I spoke too soon. Having let the laptop stand idle for awhile its now frozen once again. This despite reformatting the disc and the fact that it is installed only with OEM software precisely as on the day it was purchased.

So now I'm really stuck.

Please, is there anybody out there who can help? I am happily talking to myself so it seems!