Windows XP - The automatic logon of the user no longer works

Especially after an update or service pack from Microsoft, many users have the problem that their user account is not automatically logged in, but the so-called logon window appears with a prompt to enter the password. Also in the user account properties of the System control you won't find anything, which is why in most cases you can only use tools such as TweakXP or TuneUp 2003, which reactivate the automatic login feature for your account.

Check user account and password entry

Windows-Tweaks shows you how to automate your logon again, even without the use of such ambivalent tools:

1. Click in succession on Start/Execute and type in the command line regedit button. An editor appears for editing the Windows registry.

2. Now shimmy through the keys HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon and double-click on DefaultUserName. Enter your user name here, e.g. Carmen in.

Now enter the value DefaultPasswordyour user password for your account (in our example Carmen).

Now double-click on the value AutoAdminLogon and set a 1 so that the administrator (i.e. your main account) is automatically logged in. The value ForceAutoLogon must be 1 so that the automatic logon is forced and this setting is retained.

Reactivate Autologin under Windows XP

If those values are only partially available, you can also change them yourself by right-clicking on a free area in the right-hand pane using the menu command New/string create. Enter the above-mentioned value designations as the name, e.g. ForceAutoLogon and proceed as described above.

3. If you were unsuccessful with this operation or you want another user account such as Sandro is logged in during startup, the following command will help:

Click again on Start/Execute and type this time rundll32 netplwiz.dll,UsersRunDll to open the user account administration known from Windows 2000. Now select the desired account (user account) and remove the tick in front of Users must enter user name and password.

After clicking on Take over or OK you will be asked for the password (including repetition). From the next restart, you can look forward to a stumble-free login to the user account of your choice.

NOTE FOR NEW PUBLICATION: This article was produced by Sandro Villinger and comes from the Windows Tweaks archive, which has been built up since the late 1990s.