[How-To] AutoLogon your 2000/XP system

electron

Administrator
Staff member
How to log on your Windows XP/2003 Server automatically
for systems connected to a domain
by electron

Why
Enabling this feature would allow you to automatically have your machine login and start applications such as your HA software, allowing a transparant power failure recovery, and making rebooting much easier. I personally also use this method to automatically login my htpc/dvr to avoid any keyboard interaction (Infrared Remote is all I want to use). I would like to advise not to use this feature with accounts which have full administrative access, or on corporate networks!

While there are other methods of logging in a system automatically (i.e. Start > Run > 'control userpasswords2' ), using Tweak UI is the only one which will work with computers connected to a domain.

How
Download Tweak UI from Microsoft's website, Tweak UI is part of the free Microsoft Powertoys for XP suite.



Once the download has finished, execute the file (TweakUiPowertoySetup.exe) by double clicking on it.



The setup wizard should appear now. Click Next to continue the install.



Accept the end-user license agreement and click Next.



Click Finish to finish the installation.



Start the Tweak UI software, you can find it in the 'Powertoys for Windows XP' program group in your start menu. Click the 'Tweak UI' entry.

ss10.jpg
ss11.jpg


Click the Logon entry, followed by clicking the Autologon entry.



Enable Autologon by clicking 'Log on automatically at system startup', a checkmark should appear.


Enter the user name of the account you wish to use, and the domain.

Click the Set Password button and enter the password for this account.



Click Apply in your main Tweak UI screen.

Your system is now ready to automatically logon, reboot your system to test this. You can place a shortcut to your favorite software in the startup menu, and it will be up and running just by turning the machine on.

That's it!

Note
If you are using Windows 2000 Pro/Server, you have to download the older 1.33 version: http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/dow...g/nttweakui.asp , instructions should be similar.
 
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