Disable the log-on screen in Windows XP and Vista

My previous post described how to add information to and otherwise customize Windows' Welcome screen. But maybe you just want to get your PC going without having to log into an account. You can bypass Windows' log-on screen by changing settings in the Windows Registry, as described in a tutorial on the Computer Performance site, but I find it much simpler to use a free Windows-tweaking utility to do the same thing.

The program I used to customize the Windows Welcome screen—TweakNow PowerPack 2009—is the same tool I used to disable the log-on screen on my Vista laptop. Click Windows Secret in the utility's left pane and choose User Accounts. Click "Enable auto log-on," select the account you want to log into automatically, enter the account's password and domain name (if necessary), and click Save. The next time you start the PC, Windows will start and open that account automatically.

Set Windows to start logged into a specific account—without having to enter a password—via this setting in TweakNow PowerPack 2009.

(Credit: TweakNow)

TweakNow PowerPack 2009 works with XP, Vista, and Windows 7, but I tested it only with Vista. I didn't need to download the program to my XP test machine because that system already has Tweak UI, Microsoft's free XP-reconfiguration utility that lacks a Vista version.

To set XP to start a specific account without requiring a log-on, open Tweak UI and click Logon > Autologon in the left pane, check "Log on automatically at system startup" in the right window, enter the account's user name and domain (if necessary), and click the Set Password button.

The free Tweak UI utility makes it easy to start Windows without having to log into an account.

(Credit: Microsoft)

In the Set Autologon Password dialog box, enter the account's password in each of the two text boxes and click OK.

Add the account's password twice and click OK to start Windows without having to log in.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Why bypassing the Windows log-on is dangerous
Setting Windows to open an administrator account automatically is risky, period. Even starting a standard account without requiring a password is dangerous, though less so. There are many very good reasons why Windows accounts are password-protected, and far fewer good reasons for doing without passwords.

That's why I recommend against allowing automatic log-ons in general. But far be it from me to tell you how to use your PC, so if you want to save a few seconds each time you start your system—and you're not worried about somebody doing serious mischief after gaining easy access to your account—it's okay by me.

[wboatwright]

I like going to Start, Run, and then using "control userpassword2" to setup the auto login.

[doreilly]

Unfortunately, this command is not available in XP Home, which a lot of people still use. But for Vista and XP Pro (and Windows 7), this is a fast an easy alternative to using a separate program to disable the logon screen.

Dennis

[wboatwright]

The command is available and works on XP Home and XP Pro versions. I tested it on two different XP Home computers. With all due respect Dennis, your information in not correct.

Why install a program when all you need to do is go into your account settings and remove the password?

[Ck87.JF]

I second the comment about control userpasswords2 - the easiest thing to do, and I think it works even in Windows 7! I can't test it right at the moment, but I'm pretty sure.

[Dustyn]

Would have been WAAAAAY simpler to just use "control userpasswords2" instead of recommending 3rd party applications.

[wboatwright]

The command "control userpasswords2" does work in XP Home. I tested it on 2 different computers.

[HazZ_117]

You can also use AusLogics Boostspeed for duin that...