How to configure Windows NT/2000/XP not to require logon at startup

August 1, 2010

One of the ways to achieve this behavior is to edit the Windows registry.

Follow these steps:

1. Make sure that the user to be automatically logged on is a member of the Administrators group and has a password longer than 4 characters.
2. Run the "regedt32.exe" or "regedit.exe" program located in the Windows\System32 directory.
3. Find the "DefaultDomainName", "DefaultUserName", "DefaultPassword" keys in "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" (if the "DefaultPassword" key does not exist, it must be created with the data type "REG_SZ"), and supply information on the user as values of those keys (domain, name, password).
4. Enter "1" as the value of the "AutoAdminLogon" key (if the key does not exist, it must be created with the data type "REG_SZ"). Save changes and restart the system. If everything is specified correctly, the operating system logs on the specified user automatically after restarting.

Important: If the user's password is blank or shorter than 4 characters, the operating system logs on the user automatically after restarting only for the first time. Then the system changes the "AutoAdminLogon" key's value to "0", thus deactivating the automatic user log-on feature.

Note:

In Windows 2000/XP, it is possible to configure this behavior even via the Control panel.

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