How do I set windows to perform auto login?

Question

Windows has a feature that allows an administrator to perform auto-logon whenever it is started. How can this feature be activated?

Answer 1

I'm confused...what's the question?

Answer 2

@Thomas Owens: Actually, it's more of a "sharing common knowledge" issue, intended to make SO as the place to search for things you don't know, as well as "things you know but always forget and find yourself searching google for 15 minutes to find it again".

I believe this is relevant for developers because it is often used in testing environments or might even be relevant for some products (e.g. if auto-logon affects my product then I would like to be able to detect it). Furthermore, I believe being familiar with as many features of the systems you work on as you can is a good thing.

Answer 3

@Hershi: Two things. First, I don't see how this is a programming issue or even of concern for developers. System admins, maybe, but not developers. Second, the format you used is confusing. If you are going to answer your own question, don't answer it in the question field, but respond with an answer. The question should contain just a question and the answers should contain answers.

Answer 4

@Hershi

I think that answering your own question is fine, but the answer should go in the answers section, not in the question itself. That's where people are going to look for the answer, and that will allow your answer to be judged against other answers based on user votes.

Answer 5

It sounds like you answered your own question. Auto-logins can indeed be set up using the steps you described.

Are you asking how you can only do that some of the time? If so, what circumstances should trigger the auto-login?

Answer 6

Based on the advice, moved the answer to the answers section:

There are tools out there that give you a GUI for setting this easily, but you can also do it relatively easily by editing the registry.

Under the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Add the following values:

• DefaultDomainName String < domain-name >
• DefaultUserName String < username >
• DefaultPassword String < password >
• AutoAdminLogon String 1

Important: Using auto-logon is insecure and should, in general, never be used for standard computer configurations. The problem is not only that your computer is accessible to anyone with physical access to it, but also that the password is saved in plain-text in a well known location in your registry. This is usually used for test environments or for special setups. This is even more important to notice if you intend to perform auto-logon as an administrator.

Answer 7

If you don't want to store the clear-text password in the registry, use this method:

• Start -> Run
• enter "control userpasswords2"
• disable checkbox "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer"
• click "OK"
• enter a valid user name and password that is used for auto-logon