Steve Asks How To Get Rid Of Windows XP's
Logon Screen
Is there any way to prevent the Windows XP sign on page (click your user
name, etc.) when starting up Windows XP? Thanks, Steve
Answer
There are four conditions necessary to disable the Windows Logon screen:
1 There must be only two accounts on the computer, the administrator and the guest
account.
2 There must be no password for the administrator account.
3 The guest account must be turned off.
4 The welcome screen must be turned on. (Yes really)
#1 - Delete all user accounts except the administrator and guest accounts. (Important)
Windows XP requires at least one administrative account. And, you cannot delete the guest
account. When you delete user accounts, email and favorites belonging to those accounts
will be lost. Windows will give you the option of saving those user's desktops and
"My Documents" to a new folder on your desktop under "deleted
accounts". If you need to, you can import data from these deleted accounts to your
current one.
Deleting User Accounts - To delete accounts, logon as you normally do, then click start/
settings/ control panel and click user accounts. Then click "change an account"
Click on the account you want to delete, then click delete account. At this point you will
have the option to save that account's "My documents" folder and desktop. If you
wish to keep these files click "Keep files", if not click "Delete
files". Do this for all accounts except the Administrator (yours) and the
"Guest" account.
#2 - Remove the password from the Administrator (your) account. Note: You need only follow
this step if your administrator account is password protected. To determine if your
administrator account is password protected, simply look for the words, “Password
protected" under "User Accounts" in Control Panel. If it says
"Password Protected" click on your account and then click "Remove my
password". You will be prompted enter your password on the next screen. Enter your
password then click, "Remove password"
#3 - Turn off the Guest account. Go back to "User Accounts" in the Control
Panel. If the Guest account is turned on - click it then click "Turn off the guest
account"
#4 - Turning the Welcome Screen on or off. go back to the "User Accounts"
-"Pick a task" (in Control Panel) then choose the "Change the way users log
on or off" option. Now uncheck "Use Fast User Switching" and apply the
change. Also, make sure there is a check mark next to "Use the welcome screen".
Leaving "Use the welcome screen" unchecked will bring up the enter password
screen during boot up, even though you have previously deleted the password from your
account.
If you want to keep all user accounts and still login without clicking the Welcome Screen
or entering a password, download Tweak UI from Microsoft (See today's tip "Tweaking
Free and Easy" in this newsletter). This is especially useful if you do have your
account password protected (recommended) and would still like to skip the Welcome Screen
at Windows startup.
After you installed Tweak U.I. run the program from your Start Menu
1. Choose the "+" by "Logon" from the list on the left side.
2. Select the "Autologon" sub-option.
3. Tick the "Logon automatically at system startup" check box, and fill in the
required user name and password.
4. Click "OK" to save the changes and close Tweak UI.
You can download Tweak U.I. free from Microsoft. Even though there's a special Tweak UI
for Windows XP, the one for Windows 98 works on Windows XP and it's better, in our
opinion. Here's the download URLs for both. Choose whichever one you like:
Tweak UI For Windows XP Home, Media, and Professional Editions (Does NOT work with older
Windows versions!)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx
Tweak UI For Windows 98/ME/NT/2000 (Works great with
Windows XP!)
http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/downloads/PowerToys/Networking/NTTweakUI.asp
WARNING! If you use Tweak U.I.
"Automatic Login", anyone who turns on your computer will be automatically
logged in to your account with administrator privileges. This method is not recommended
unless you're the only person using your computer or your computer is only used in a
trusted environment. Do not use this method on notebook computers or other computer which
you carry with you.
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