Icrontic is proud to offer the Office Hours series of articles. Each week we’ll take a look at a common problem in Windows or often-used software and nail down a quick fix for it. This week, the good doctor explores how to suppress the login screen to automatically log a user into a Windows XP-based system.
The symptom
For many enthusiasts, the computer they use is all their very own. Few are allowed to so much as breathe in its direction, much less touch the rig, lest they disrupt the zen an owner has with their machine. For these savvy solo users, the Windows login screen simply wastes time. Rather than being a slave to the mighty password, why not automate the login process?
Treatment
In truth, Windows has supported automatic logins for a very long time. The aptly, if not boringly-named Automatic Login feature disables the password requirement and brings a selected user to their desktop as part of the boot sequence.
Users make a surprising number of requests regarding this feature because it is obtusely trapped in the arcane underbelly of Windows XP’s many hidden menus. The ensuing steps will put the power of automation back in your hand by banishing that login screen forever.
Step 1:
Open the run prompt from the Windows start menu and launch the account control utility by typing control userpasswords2.
Step 2:
Upon executing this command, a new window for controlling the various options of a user account will appear. At the top of the window, a majority of Windows users will have a tick in the checkbox that reads “users must enter a user name and password to use this computer.” This checkbox is root of our symptoms and must be unchecked.
Step 3:
Windows will now prompt for the user name and password of an account that, going forward, the boot sequence will automatically bring to the desktop. Once this information has been entered and you’ve hit okay, you can back out all of the menus and restart the PC to activate the changes.
Post-mortem
Reversing the procedure requires that a user re-tick the box that was unchecked in step two. This will restore the login screen complete with users and required passwords.
While a minor nuisance, needlessly typing your password day by day can quickly become an irritation. By harnessing the power of obscure Windows menus, we’ve made sure that a specified user is automatically logged into the desktop at the conclusion of the Windows boot process.
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