Log-On Inconsistencies

Good morning Forum,

 

My Dell Laptop, "Smartstep 200N" running Windows XP Home Edition, SP2 does not log on the same every time.  Once in a while it logs on by what I consider correctly.  I can determine that by the icons in the System Tray.  The biggest clue is the "cord" icon indicating I'm on AC power vice battery.  Other times it comes up in a condition where all icons are not displayed and I am usually able to correct that by a log off, log on.  I suspect that maybe that there is a hidden user profile that is coming up instead of my own.  I should have only two profiles, my own and a "guest" profile that I currently have deactivated.  The computer is a "hand-me-down from my daughter and her and my son-in-law pretty much destroyed it prior to giving the thing to me.  I've been trying to get it running well again but this is one thing that has me frustrated.

 

When it comes up it just goes to the desktop without giving me a choice of users.  That seems to indicate that only one user is active, that being myself as administrator.  How can I best get it to come up so I can be sure that there is only one user?

 

Any help here would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Jerry.