How to Get Rid of the XP Logon Screen

A reader wrote to say that he had configured his XP Pro computer to ask for a logon username and password, but is not on a local network and doesn't want to have to deal with this each time he logs on. Here's how to get rid of the credentials prompt (called "classic logon") that requires you to press CTRL+ALT+DEL and enter your account information. This takes you back to using the Welcome screen:

1. Click Start | Control Panel.
2. Open the User Accounts applet.
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. Under Secure logon, uncheck the box that says Require users to press CTRL+ ALT+Delete.
5. Click OK.

In XP Home, under User Accounts, click Change the way users log on or off and check the box that says Use the Welcome screen. Note that if you have the Welcome screen enabled but you want to bypass it for one logon and bring up the classic logon box, you can do so by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL twice when the Welcome screen appears.

How to Add the Administrator Account to the Welcome Screen

Like to use the Welcome screen to log on, but annoyed because the administrator account doesn't appear as one of the choices? Here's how to add it:

1. Click Start | Run and type regedit to open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to the following key:
   HKEY LOCAL MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MicrosoftWindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList
3. Right click in the right pane and select New | DWORD value
4. Create a value and name it Administrator
5. Assign a data value of 1.
6. Close the Registry Editor.
7. Reboot the computer.