Getting rid of Ctrl-Alt-Del to log on
 

A friend of mine has recently changed jobs. Her laptop had been "messed about with" by the IT geek at the old job (he'd locked and passworded everything so she could only access the "company" website and MS software). He's removed most of those locks, apart from a couple which I'll be tackling in a week or two. She's resigned to the possibility of a "wipe and reinstall" - the restore software is on the hidden partition.

However, whenever the machine boots up, she has to press Ctrl-Alt-Del and go through a login routine - presumably something of Bill's. Since only she uses the laptop, she wants to get rid of that. It's not a "feature" I know - does anyone know how to turn it off?

It's XP - not sure if "Pro" or "Home".

You may find the answer via the Control Panel - User Accounts - change the way users log on.

Select use the welcome screen.

I have 2 laptops both of which I have managed to get to start straight into the desktop avoiding both the welcome screen (it shows briefly but you don't have to click on the account name) and the ctrl-alt-del routines. But they have different selections in the user accounts boxes! I'm not sure if the pasword thing is also bypassed if you don't have a password - ie reset it to nothing. You can access more password/log on functions by typing "control userpasswords2" into the start, run command line

There was a time when you could simply ESC past the password routine.

Don't suppose that works any more.

TweakUI (look on Microsoft's site for Power toys) will let you automaically log on without having to make any keypresses.

Thanks! I nosed about in my laptop, and couldn't find it in TweakUI, but it was there clear as could be in one of the panels in "control userpasswords2".

I'm ready for the fair Julia when she turns up with her laptop!

No, Esc didn't work http://pdhomes.net/music/isleofjerse...s/eyebrows.gif

I think this only works in XP Pro, Keef, but if you are feeling brave:eek: check column 2 in Row 1 here............except I BET you've already done it:)

Thanks BOAC - no, I hadn't done that one!

Thanks for the link - I've loaded a few of the others, too. Now to find out if I can do them via VPN to the desktop back in Essex (I'm using the laptop up in the Norfolk hideyhole at the moment).

....on a fairly similar vein (Passwords, that is)....there was a thread some time ago about getting scheduled tasks to run without having a password entered. Did it ever get resolved?

My own laptop used to go direct to desktop, ready for use, without any other buttons after the power switch - but as I use it extensively as an alarm clock (it wakes me with calming music through media player) when I'm in hotel rooms, I find I have to set the password and enter it every time I want to log onto the darned machine.

In the same way that Keef's "female friend" (cough?) is the only one to use that particular machine, I am the only one to use my laptop - and i don't want a password, but I do want scheduled tasks to wake me up.

When I started using my (pre-installed XP) computer, I simply entered a blank field for the password request on initial power-up.

It's never asked for one since. Perhaps if you get to the 'change password' area and enter as above, it will disappear thereafter?

Knowing M$, there's probably a gotcha.

KG - have you tried the Cpl function "control userpasswords2"? Just untick it.

The lady in question is a friend of M's (that's Mrs Keef) and young enough to be my daughter http://img103.exs.cx/img103/8760/friends3.gif

The "control userpasswords2" function will do it. Or you can set it to log intself on, by giving it the ID and password you want it to use. My laptop and my desktop both go straight to the main desktop with no password input.