Hello. I have xp pro sp2. I have to logon even though I don't use a pw (my username comes up and I just hit enter cause I don't have a pw setup). On my girlfriend's home edition and on my old w2k pro I had it so it just boots all the way up without having to logon. How can I do this in sp pro sp2? Thanks.
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Is there a way to boot up all the way without loging on?
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Eva_Unit_0
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Also, I'm not sure how it works in XP but I know in 2k you can set it to assume that a particular user logs in every time. I don't remember much about that whole setup though.
swatbat
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Don't do what Mak says.
Start, run
type in "control userpasswords2"
Select the user you want to use then uncheck the box that says users must enter in a user name. Fill in crap it asks for. Leave password part blank if you have no password.
Start, run
type in "control userpasswords2"
Select the user you want to use then uncheck the box that says users must enter in a user name. Fill in crap it asks for. Leave password part blank if you have no password.
NoxTek
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swatbat said:
Listen to this guy, for he is correct.
BinarySynapse
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djnes said:
why download an unsupported application when there's a perfectly suited tool built into the OS, "userpassword2"? It'll allow you to choose the user to log in with, and set the password, if you have one on your accoutn.
Fark_Maniac
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Let's define "supported" for the home user.ryan_975 said:
I would say it is a perfectly good application since it does come from Microsoft as a PowerToy.
BinarySynapse
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Fark_Maniac said:
Supported means that if you have a problem with an application then you can call the company who made it and they'll provide a resolution for you, if there is one. Unsupported means that they company who made it won't provide any assistance what so ever. It's a use at your own risk scenario. If you call the company asking for help with an unsupported application, they'll just recite the unsupported line to you and ask if there's anything else they can help you with.
Now, MS has provided a perfectly usable tool for the OP's needs, with the OS. Why go out an use something else?
You wouldn't really need support for TweakUI....and if you had a question, you'd easily find the solution online. Furthermore, TweakUI does much more than just give the auto-logon feature. One would think on a power user forum, it wouldn't be such a big deal to use a small, free, tweaking tool.
Even if you aren't trying to do an auto-login, you should get TweakUI anyway. There's lots of little options right at your finger tips. Yes, you could change these options without TweakUI, but this is much easier than having to navigate through the registry whenever you want to make a change.
Fark_Maniac
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I dunno about you, but I'd much rather have a menu icon rather than remembering / typing in a command in the run box. tit for tatImaulle said:
IMO, TweakUI is more user friendly.ryan_975 said:
As far as a home user calling Microsoft for tech support, I'm not too sure that is a strong point. The fact that the OP is here asking for the help drives this feeling. If this is in a business setting, then I totally agree that "control userpasswords2" would be the way to go...unless there are domain security policies set in place and the option isn't even available.
DON'T REMOVE ACCOUNT PASSWORDS!
Open Regedit and do the following:
Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
You will make the following changes:
AutoAdminLogon = 1
DefaultDomainName = Your computer name
DefaultUserName = Enter the name of the user account
DefaultPassword = Enter your password. If this string value is not there you have to create it. And yes it will be stored in plaintext. This is how it works even with a utility unless it is using a replacement GINA which is not likely.
Open Regedit and do the following:
Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
You will make the following changes:
AutoAdminLogon = 1
DefaultDomainName = Your computer name
DefaultUserName = Enter the name of the user account
DefaultPassword = Enter your password. If this string value is not there you have to create it. And yes it will be stored in plaintext. This is how it works even with a utility unless it is using a replacement GINA which is not likely.
swatbat
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mm00659 said:
No prob.
To the others.
Yes tweakui will do it. It is a nice little app that ms doesn't give directy support for but it does work well. In the case of this it is something he will prob do a single time in the next year. I gave the built in option because tweakui is pretty much overkill for this. You can have it setup and done in less then 10 seconds. It would take longer to do it the tweakui way just because he would have to find it on ms site and download it. I also didn't bother with the registry way as it is not worth doing when the little run command does it.
That being said I agree with the password on the box idea. I just hate running systems without a password. Not like it matters but so much in this case. Also tweakui is a neat little toy to play with. Just be careful.
Stormscape
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oh no, it takes a whole 3 seconds to type tweakui into google and download it! the horror!
swatbat said:
This did NOT work for me. I have this same issue. I tried this a few weeks ago after finding it online.
Employing this fix actually ADDED a second administrator account to my logon so windows then booted to a logon screen to select which account wanted, whereas before it just went to the password screen.
I'm thinking that the issue cropped up when I had to install .net support and it created another windows logon.
I wonder if tesfaye's method will work. I'm really getting sick of having to enter a password (or even hit the damn enter button when I make the pw blank) when I absolutely don't need one in my home environment.
swatbat
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Stormscape said:
And by the time you did that you could be done if you use the command, not just finished finding the program to download.
Both ways work fine(well all 3 if you use the registry way someone elce posted). In this case it comes down to downloading an extra program or typing in a few characters and removing a check mark from a box. Doesn't make sence to go through the extra trouble of finding a program. I know it is not a big deal to get tweakui but it is an extra step.
swatbat
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Darknyt said:
Why are you using the administrator account? Only reason I could think of for this is if you were running xp home which by default does not let you log in as administrator if you are not in safe mode. Best way is to log in using an account with admin rights(well user rights if you can get away with it but that can be a lot of trouble)
djnes said:
This can't be hard to figure out.
I use an admin account because I don't NEED any other accounts.
I don't want a password, because no one uses my computer I don't completely trust (unless you count my 15 month old banging on the keyboard) and I want to be able to walk away after I reboot/startup for whatever reason and come back to a machine ready to go. Besides, if I trust someone enough that they are in my house on my computer, there just isn't anything on my computer I need/want to hide.
I just want it back the way it USED to be before that damn .net 2.0 messed it up.
djnes said:
Which are all completely useless and irrelevant in a physically secure home environment where a whole 2 people ever sit down in front of that machine. If there is some unauthorized person in my house I'm looking for the gun, not wishing I had a password on my computer.
Is there some remote access situation ya'll are thinking of? Seriously - you all have to know there are situations for which passwords just don't need to be used.
*slaps everybody with a trout*
(My pms is mainly due to this damnable logon that won't go away)
BinarySynapse
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Darknyt said:This can't be hard to figure out.
I use an admin account because I don't NEED any other accounts.
I don't want a password, because no one uses my computer I don't completely trust (unless you count my 15 month old banging on the keyboard) and I want to be able to walk away after I reboot/startup for whatever reason and come back to a machine ready to go. Besides, if I trust someone enough that they are in my house on my computer, there just isn't anything on my computer I need/want to hide.
I just want it back the way it USED to be before that damn .net 2.0 messed it up.
The administrator account has a widely known user name, "Administrator." Every hacker out knows it. Not password protecting it leaves your computer completely vulnerable to attacks from the internet Even if it is password protected it's still vulnerable since half the battle is already won for them, all they have to do is crack the password. If the computer isn't online, then fine use the Administrator account. But if it is online, don't be surprised when an exploit happens and you're affected by it.
Fark_Maniac
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just because you have AV doesn't mean you can't get infected by the latest and greatest viri.Darknyt said:
I've never seen an administrator account named that way...got a source pic? I'm not looking to needle you about it...I really am curious.
Doesn't TweakUI store the password without encryption?
I just do the control panel thing myself.
On a side note, if you want to lock the workstation after it boots and logs in, make a shortcut with this command and stick it in your startup folder.
rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation
I just do the control panel thing myself.
On a side note, if you want to lock the workstation after it boots and logs in, make a shortcut with this command and stick it in your startup folder.
rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation
If you want autologon you either run one administrative user account without a password which is not recommended at all, use a utility or the registry directly to enable AutoAdminLogon, or with some crafty coding you can write up a GINA that will automatically log you in and allow you to store your password in an encrypted value somewhere (Are there any [H]ardCodeMonkies out there?).
Enabling AutoAdminLogon (Automatic logon) requires that you store your password in the registry in plain text so you are still exposed.
If you install certain brands of VPN software, certain models of Linksys USB WiFi adapters, or any software that will replace the windows GINA or put on in the pass through chain then AutoAdminLogon may not work. Novell will always knock this out but they have similar methods of enabling the feature.
I like autologon or passwordless admin accounts when I'm setting up a computer for the first time but I feel strongly feel that using it for any other purpose is an absolute NO-NO. If you need a particular piece of software to run all the time then look into running it as a service. There is software out there that can run an application as a service so you don't need to have the machine logged on. I can check my public CSS server later for the name of the app that does it if that fits your needs (PM). I can't remember the name.
Enabling AutoAdminLogon (Automatic logon) requires that you store your password in the registry in plain text so you are still exposed.
If you install certain brands of VPN software, certain models of Linksys USB WiFi adapters, or any software that will replace the windows GINA or put on in the pass through chain then AutoAdminLogon may not work. Novell will always knock this out but they have similar methods of enabling the feature.
I like autologon or passwordless admin accounts when I'm setting up a computer for the first time but I feel strongly feel that using it for any other purpose is an absolute NO-NO. If you need a particular piece of software to run all the time then look into running it as a service. There is software out there that can run an application as a service so you don't need to have the machine logged on. I can check my public CSS server later for the name of the app that does it if that fits your needs (PM). I can't remember the name.
As stated previously, everything you need to accomplish the OP's task is in Windows already:
1) Start - Run - control userpasswords2 (press Enter)
2) On the dialogue that appears, highlight the username/account you want automagically logged into the machine - just highlight it, don't doubleclick on it.
3) Once the username/account is highlighted, uncheck the box that says "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer." If there is no check in that box already, check it and we'll set it up to remove the login requirement. Check = Step 4; no check = Step 6.
4) Click Apply. A box will appear asking for the username/account password; enter it twice as requested. If you don't have a password, this entire exercise is for naught because Windows requires a password for autologin - even using TweakUI to make this Registry hack work requires the same thing. No password = no autologin Registry setting, that's the simple fact, even the TweakUI info tells you this so that's probably why it didn't work for some people.
5) Click OK and you're pretty much done. Autologin of the desired username/account should work fine from that point on. If not, then something is fishy with your security settings or networking, there's no other reason(s) it shouldn't work.
6) If the box is already unchecked, check it, click Apply, then proceed to step 1 above and follow through.
I've done this oh, say, 15,000 times on various Windows machines since before 2K went RTM so I know it works with 2K/XP/2K3 - Vista will most likely be very different for this specific requirement, it remains to be seen.
Using TweakUI is of course an option, but it's still considered unsupported software, and I've had instances myself and read reports from others that the AutoLogin Registry edits somehow get corrupted after random periods of time. I can't say why, I'm simply commenting on my own experience and knowledge.
YMMV, as always with any Windows tip of any kind. No two machines are exactly the same, not even with an imaged version of Windows applied to the same hardware configs - but that's Windows.
1) Start - Run - control userpasswords2 (press Enter)
2) On the dialogue that appears, highlight the username/account you want automagically logged into the machine - just highlight it, don't doubleclick on it.
3) Once the username/account is highlighted, uncheck the box that says "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer." If there is no check in that box already, check it and we'll set it up to remove the login requirement. Check = Step 4; no check = Step 6.
4) Click Apply. A box will appear asking for the username/account password; enter it twice as requested. If you don't have a password, this entire exercise is for naught because Windows requires a password for autologin - even using TweakUI to make this Registry hack work requires the same thing. No password = no autologin Registry setting, that's the simple fact, even the TweakUI info tells you this so that's probably why it didn't work for some people.
5) Click OK and you're pretty much done. Autologin of the desired username/account should work fine from that point on. If not, then something is fishy with your security settings or networking, there's no other reason(s) it shouldn't work.
6) If the box is already unchecked, check it, click Apply, then proceed to step 1 above and follow through.
I've done this oh, say, 15,000 times on various Windows machines since before 2K went RTM so I know it works with 2K/XP/2K3 - Vista will most likely be very different for this specific requirement, it remains to be seen.
Using TweakUI is of course an option, but it's still considered unsupported software, and I've had instances myself and read reports from others that the AutoLogin Registry edits somehow get corrupted after random periods of time. I can't say why, I'm simply commenting on my own experience and knowledge.
YMMV, as always with any Windows tip of any kind. No two machines are exactly the same, not even with an imaged version of Windows applied to the same hardware configs - but that's Windows.
Note: This method doesn't work if you're computer has joined a domain. It's not really a hack. It's a setting delibrately placed in the registry but not easily accessible for a very good reason. No UI to set something doesn't always equal a hack. You seem a bit frustrated, why?bbz_Ghost said:
Read my previous post. If your GINA changes you can lose the ability to use AutoAdminLogon. In what ways would you suggest networking having an effect on the way AutoAdminLogon functions?bbz_Ghost said:
For those of you interested in how the logon process (MSGINA) works read this MSDN article. You can skip the code examples if you aren't a programmer.bbz_Ghost said:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windows2000serv/maintain/security/msgina.mspx
TweakUI is not very likely to be the cause of this corruption. With or without TweakUI's assistance the registry settings I mentioned here and which are also outlined in the Microsoft link control the automatic logon process. One of the settings may have been changed by another app, windows during a rollback, or a password change. I don't understand what you mean by corrupted.bbz_Ghost said:
I would feel better about someone using TweakUI vs going into the registry.
Agreed but that would go for any computer, at least after it's been turned on.bbz_Ghost said:
Vista is using shgina.dll for the Shell User Logon. ooooh more reading. Anyway, the AutoAdminLogon setting is still there. I'm going to try the same keys and see if it works in Vista.
You can easily rename it....and in fact most corporate IT groups do through policies. I have my admin account and guest account renamed at home (guest disabled), and I'm using a third account with admin privs...all with strong passwords.Fark_Maniac said:
Fark_Maniac
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Yes I understand that. However, as I read it, it sounded like the account came that way without any aide from the computer user.djnes said:
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