Passwords are there to prevent unauthorized use of your computer. Only those who know the password can access the computer. However, if the customer is always in your custody without anyone else having physical access to it then you can set Windows 7 to log-in automatically without asking for the password. For computers running in a home environment, you can easily change the setting via the User Account Wizard. For computers connected to a domain, a registry setting will need to be modified, see the second method for Editing Registry below.
Through Advanced User Account Window
This method applies to all computers that are not part of a domain network, such as Home Computers running Windows 7.
- Hold the Windows Key and Press R. Type netplwiz in the Run dialog and click OK.
Run netplwiz Command - User Accounts dialog will open. Under Users for this computer, highlight the user on which you want to configure automatic login and uncheck the box beside “users must enter a username and password to use this computer” and click Apply.
Uncheck users must enter a username and password to use this computer - Automatically Log On dialog will appear. Enter the password for the account and click OK. If there is no password setup, then leave it as it is and click OK.
For Computers Connected to a Domain
If you are on a domain network, then the method above will not apply to you. This is because usernames and passwords are assigned by the Active Directory therefore to login without entering a password in a domain environment you will need to modify the registry. To do this, follow the steps below:
Warning: Proceed at your own risk as editing the registry needs technical expertise and if not done right, you may damage your system beyond repair.
- Hold Windows key and Press R. Type regedit in the Run dialog and click OK. Registry Editor Window will open.
Running the Registry Editor - Browse to the following path.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
- With Winlogon highlighted in the left pane, locate the AutoAdminLogon key in the right pane. Right-click on AutoAdminLogon and click Modify and change the value to 1.
Set AutoAdminLogon Value to 1 in the Registry - Now reboot PC and follow the User Account Password Wizard method above. If this still won’t work, then go back to Registry Editor and navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon.
- With Winlogon selected in the left pane, right-click on a space in the right pane and look for a value called DefaultDomainName if it does not exist, then click New > String Value and Name it DefaultDomainName.
DefaultDomainName in the Registry - Right-click on DefaultDomainName and click Modify. Under Value Data Type in your domain’s name and click OK. Similarly, create a DefaultUserName string value with your username as Value data and DefaultPassword string value with your current password as Value data.
DefaultPassword Value in the Registry - Now re-check if the Value data of AutoAdminLogon is 1. If not so, change it to 1. Now restart your system and you should be able to log in automatically.
Press and hold the Shift key after you log off or when Windows starts if you want to bypass the AutoAdminLogon process and want to log on as another user,
