All American Auction Service         
                      A Business That Works For You!                                                     Rebecca L Lawrence
                                                                                                                                ( "Becky" Auctioneer )
                                                                                                                                 Thomas W Lawrence  
                                                                                                                                  ( Business Manager ) 

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Troubleshooting

Installing and Disabling Video and Audio

Average-priced desktops often come with integrated graphics and audio on the motherboard. How to install a graphics card and an audio card on a desktop that has these integrated components already?

Most motherboards that have integrated video do not have an AGP (Advanced Graphics Port) slot, which is necessary for the latest and greatest video cards. This slot is usually short and dark brown in color and is closer to the middle of the PC. Most machines will have a couple of PCI slots available that are beige and longer than the AGP slots, and where there can only be one AGP slot, there may be many PCI slots.

If you have only a PCI slot, then your choices are reduced greatly, as PCI video cards are neither as popular nor as powerful these days. Pretty much any PCI video card should work, and you should choose one that will work with your PC's specifications and have at least enough memory to handle the game or programs that you want to run.

The same holds true for AGP, with a bit of a kink thrown in. AGP cards come in different speeds, and if you install an AGP card that is faster than the slot your computer has, it could (although very rarely) damage your system. The best way to determine your AGP slot's speed is to find your PC manufacturer or motherboard manufacturer's Web site and see if there's a specification page for your particular model. Once the speed is determined, you're free to choose the correct card. Note: Many cards will work at multiple speeds, so if you have a 4X slot and you find an 8X card that supports 2X/4X/8X, then the card will slow itself to compensate for the 4X slot. Just to add insult to injury, there are also a few oddball AGP formats that may pop up, such as AGP Pro. These are formats unto themselves and are not generally compatible with the standard AGP format.

Now that the hard part is done, the installation should be fairly simple. Most newer onboard video cards will yield to the new video card being installed, so you need to do nothing except put the card into an empty slot (AGP or PCI appropriately) and install the software per manufacturer's instructions. On the rare occasion that you get no video when the new card is installed, you may need to manually disable the onboard video in the PC's BIOS or CMOS. Most computers will give you a short splash screen on start-up that states something such as: "Press Del for setup." Other possible keystrokes may include F1, F2, F10, F11, F12, Esc, Alt+Q and Alt+S. Once in setup, you may follow the menu prompts to navigate your PC's BIOS settings for anything that may disable Onboard Video. With this accomplished, follow the installation instructions above, and you should be in good shape.

As for sound cards, they should all be PCI these days, so providing that you have a free PCI slot you should be able to pop it in, screw it down, install the provided software, and be off and running. The same BIOS restrictions may occur as in the video card example, so some BIOS detective work may need to be done, but in many cases, it should be plug-and-play. Good luck, and try not to short anything out. Some motherboards may have a jumper on the motherboard for disabling onboard video. In which case you will have to look at your owners manual for your motherboard.

Creating a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition

This article describes how to create a Windows boot disk to access a drive with a faulty boot sequence on an Intel x86-processor-based computer.

This Windows boot disk can access a drive that has the Windows NT file system (NTFS) or File allocation table (FAT) file system installed. The procedures in this article can be useful to work around the following boot problems:

This boot disk can also be used to boot from the shadow of a broken mirror, although you may need to change the Boot.ini file to do that. This Windows boot disk cannot be used for the following problems:

To work around or fix these problems, run the Emergency Repair disk, load the last known good control set, or reinstall Windows, if necessary.
The Windows floppy disk must include the files NTLDR, Ntdetect.com, Boot.ini, and the correct device driver for your hard drive.

Note: The NTLDR, Ntdetect.com, and Boot.ini files usually have their file attributes set to System, Hidden, and Read-Only. You do not need to reset these attributes for this disk to work properly.

Method 1: You Do Not Have Access to a Computer Running Windows

Method 2: You Have Access to a Computer Running Windows

1. expand ntldr._ ntldr

Troubleshooting
You may encounter one or more of the following problems when you attempt to start your computer using your Windows boot floppy disk:

If the path pointing to the system files is incorrect or includes the drive letter, you may receive the following error message:

Windows could not start because of the following ARC firmware boot configuration problem: Did not properly generate ARC name for HAL and system paths. Please check the Windows (TM) documentation about ARC configuration options and your hardware reference manuals for additional information. Boot Failed.
 

If an incorrect SCSI driver has been selected or the Ntbootdd.sys file does not exist, you may receive the following message: Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem. Could not read from selected boot disk. Check boot path and disk hardware. Please check the Windows (TM) documentation about hardware disk configuration and your hardware disk configuration and your hardware reference manuals for additional information. Boot Failed.

You can get a free Boot Loader here either Grub or MBR it's called Super Grub http://supergrub.forjamari.linex.org/

Windows Update Resetting

There are multiple things that can cause issues with the Windows Update site but the most common reason seems to be file corruption of some sort. Many of the Microsoft Knowledge Base articles above list the same "steps" toward a possible solution (or part of) for many different Windows Update problems over and over again - all having to do with eliminating file corruption as the cause of the problem. The below is basically a summary of the five most common steps to apply according to many of the KB articles but your results may vary from Microsoft's. Good Luck!

(Please do ALL of the following steps in the exact order listed after a full reboot and staying OFFLINE before accessing the net and going back to WinUp)

1. Delete the C:\Windows\MsDownld.tmp folder.

   1. Open your C:\Windows folder using My Computer or Windows Explorer.

   2. Click on View in the toolbar and select Folder Options from the pop-up menu.

   3. Select the View tab and then check off 'Show all files' in the Hidden Files section of Advanced Settings.

   4. Click OK and close the Windows folder. Next, click the Start button, move up to the Find entry and select Files and Folders.

   5. Set Look In to Local Hard Drives (if you do not have this option then select drive C:).

   6. Type in Msdownld.tmp for named and then click on Find Now.

   7. Delete the folder(s) that come up.

2. Enable ActiveX controls.

   1. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel.

   2. Click Internet Options, or Internet if you have IE4, and then Click the Security tab.

   3. For the Zone make sure you have "Internet" selected.

   4. Click on the "Custom Level" button.

   5. Select Enable for all ActiveX controls and plug-ins.

   6. Click on "Always accept cookies" in the Cookies section.

   7. Click on "Enable" for all options in the Downloads section.

   8. Click on "Enable" for all options in the Scripting section.

   9. Click OK.

   10. Click on the "Trusted sites" icon.

   11. Move the slider bar to Medium or lower.

   12. Click on the "Sites" radio button at the top.

   13. Make sure that the check box at the bottom labeled "Require server verification..." is unchecked.

   14. In the Add box type "http://*.microsoft.com" (without the quotes) and click "Add"

   15. Repeat step 14 for "http://*.conxion.com"

   16. Click OK, then click OK again or until everything is closed.

Note: After completing the remaining steps and successfully visiting the Windows Update Site (hopefully), you should set your security back to medium for the Internet zone.

3. Un-register and remove the scripting engine for the Windows Update site.

   1. Click Start, Run.

   2. Type regsvr32 /u c:\windows\system\wuv3is.dll and click OK.

   3. Click OK for the "... succeeded" message.

   4. Click Start, Find, Files and Folders.

   5. For the "Named" field type in wuv3is.dll. Make sure the "Look In" box is set to your C: drive first and then click the "Find Now" button.

   6. When you see the file (wuv3is.dll) listed in the bottom window, right click the name and the click "Delete". Say yes to confirm delete.

4. Clear the Temporary Internet Files folder and remove site controls from Internet Explorer.

   1. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel.

   2. Click Internet Options, or Internet if you have IE4, and then Click the General tab.

   3. In the Temporary Internet Files section, click Delete Files.

   4. In the History section, click Clear History.

   5. Go back to the Temporary Internet Files section and click the Settings button.

   6. Carefully select the View Objects button (NOT the View Files button).

   7. Locate the CV3 Classes, Right-click on the file and choose Remove.

   8. If you have a file called WuRedirInfoB Class remove this as well.

   9. Close the Downloaded Program Files window.

   10. Click OK back to the Control Panel.

   11. Close the Control Panel.

(If you are connecting through a proxy server you will need to have the cache cleared from that also.)

5. Deletion of most of the key files from the Windows Update folder.

   1. Click Start and then click Run.

   2. Type "explorer" (without the quotation marks) in the dialogue box and click OK.

   3. In the left-hand frame, click the '+' next to the Program Files folder.

   4. In the left-hand frame, highlight the WindowsUpdate folder.

   5. In the right pane highlight wuhistv3.log and click Edit > Invert Selection.

   6. Press your Delete key (or right-click and select Delete).  Click Yes to confirm.

   7. Close all windows and reconnect to the Windows Update Site using Internet Explorer by typing in http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com in IE's address bar and hitting enter.

  Before connecting to the WinUp site, deactivate/disable any Anti-Virus or Internet Accelerator programs as well as stuff like AtGuard, NetZip or GetRight that may be running.

  These programs can interfere with the Windows Update site and it's download or installation processes.  If one of these type of programs is running when you are attempting to use the WinUp site, it may very well be the cause of the download and navigation failures your seeing.

The HOSTS File

  If you still cannot access Web sites (such as www.microsoft.com) or can access only certain Web sites, you may have a HOSTS file that prevents you from resolving the correct URL address. HOSTS files are used for name resolution. For additional information, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q219843 Problems Using Internet Explorer with Incorrect Hosts File

Other Considerations

  The following is a list of possible solutions. For best results, follow the steps below as they are outlined:

Examining a Blue Screen of Death Error with the Watchdog Event Log

Troubleshooting Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) errors, or as Microsoft calls them, Stop messages, can be extremely frustrating due to the fact that, by default, Windows XP automatically restarts the computer as soon as a BSoD error occurs. There's not enough time for you to analyze, let alone read, the error code before the message disappears.

You could disable the Automatically Restart option in the Startup And Recovery dialog box, but doing so might lock your system into an unrecoverable error situation. As such, that's not an advisable solution.

Fortunately, Windows XP keeps a special log of all BSoD errors, called a Watchdog Event Log. Unlike a memory dump, whose creation is the result of a BSoD error, a Watchdog Event Log is a straight text file that is easier to read and understand.

Here's how you access a Watchdog Event Log:

1. Use Windows Explorer to access the C:\Windows\LogFiles\Watchdog folder.

2. Locate and right-click the most recently dated .WDL file.

3. Select the Open command from the context menu.

4. In the Windows dialog box, choose the Select The Program From A List option and click OK.

5. When you see the Open With dialog box, select Notepad and click OK.

6.  

Diagnose Faulty RAM with the Windows Memory Diagnostic Utility

Faulty RAM can play havoc on a computer, whether it's a file server or a desktop workstation. RAM failures can result in computer lockups, data loss, and file system corruption problems. The problem is that these symptoms can occur because of other causes, such as general motherboard problems, operating system bugs, viruses, etc. You need a way to separate RAM problems from these other causes. To help diagnose RAM problems, Microsoft provides a free utility, Windows Memory Diagnostic, that will allow you to thoroughly test RAM on your systems.

Obtaining and installing Windows Memory Diagnostic
You can obtain the Windows Memory Diagnostic utility from Microsoft's Online Crash Analysis Web site. Click the Download link. The file you'll download, mtinst.exe, is only 640 KB, so it will download quickly.

After you've downloaded the file, run it. You must accept the license when the wizard begins. You'll then see the Windows Memory Diagnostic Setup screen. Here you have only two options: Create Startup Disk or Save CD Image To Disk. The first choice creates a bootable floppy disk. The second creates an ISO image that you'll need to burn to a CD. For the purposes of this article, we'll just create the boot floppy.

Windows Memory Diagnostic will work with all types of RAM, except ECC, on x86-based computers. The computer can have CPUs from Intel (Pentium or Celeron) or AMD (K6, Athlon, or Duron). According to Microsoft, the utility might not report errors on ECC RAM, because ECC automatically detects and corrects the errors. It is also possible that Windows Memory Diagnostic might detect errors ECC RAM cannot correct.

Windows Memory Diagnostic will test only the first 4 GB of RAM. If you have more, you're out of luck.

Running the diagnostic
To start the tests, boot your computer with the disk you created. At this point, you may notice that the utility is a little rough around the edges. Even though Microsoft has called it "Windows" Memory Diagnostic, you'll notice that it resembles a DOS utility more than anything remotely Windows-like.

After Windows Memory Diagnostic has loaded, it starts running the first of three test suites, the Standard test suite, without offering you any options. The Standard test suite is the most basic of the three, the other two being progressively more thorough.

Unless you pause or exit the test at this stage, the rest of the test passes of this suite will run.

To run more thorough tests, you'll have to press [T] while Windows Memory Diagnostic is running. This gives you the option to select the Extended Test suite. You can also select the Basic Test suite (somewhat more thorough than the Standard suite) or create a custom test suite by going to the Advanced Options menu and selecting Change The Test Suite.

To get to this menu, first press [P] to pause Windows Memory Diagnostic, then press [M] for menu. You'll notice the following Advanced options can be set:

The Extended tests can run a couple of hours, so you might want to let it run overnight. The tests will continue running until you pause the utility, exit it, or restart the computer.

Identifying the culprit
For some hardware configurations, Windows Memory Diagnostic can identify which memory module is the culprit. If Windows Memory Diagnostic finds an error in one or more memory modules, you'll see the View Errors By Memory Module option in the menu. This option will show you which specific memory modules are failing and need to be removed or replaced.

When interpreting test results, keep the following in mind:

Diagnosing Computer Slow Downs

User complaints are minimal when new PCs are rolled out. They start up quick, and programs seem to open in a snap. But over time, users begin to notice that their system is slow or that it hangs up often. While the possibilities for system slowdown are endless, I have identified 10 common troubleshooting areas you should examine first before you suggest to management that it's time for an upgrade.

1. Processor overheating
Modern processors generates a lot of heat. That’s why all processors require some sort of cooling element, typically a fan of some type. When the processor temperature goes over spec, the system can slow down or run erratically. The processor fan may fail for several reasons:

Often you can tell if there is a fan problem by listening and/or touching the computer. A fan that has loose bearings starts jiggling and vibrates the case, making a characteristic noise. You may barely notice the noise at first, and it’s common for even the experienced computer pro to overlook this change. But as time goes by, the sounds and vibrations will become so prominent that you’ll change the fan out just to stop the racket!

You don’t always need to replace the fan. If it is covered with dust, you can often spray away the dust with compressed air. Note that even though you might get the fan running again, its life span has likely been reduced because of the overwork. You should keep an extra fan in reserve in case of failure.

Tip
Another common reason for processor overheating is over clocking. Until heat begins to take its toll, over clocking does allow for significant performance improvements. Because processor over clocking can really cook a processor, most dedicated over clockers do not use regular processor fans. Instead, they use complex—and expensive—water-cooling systems. For more information on over clocking, check out Overclockers Hideout.

There are a number of utilities that will track the temperature of your processor and case. If you want to try some of these utilities, check out CNET's Download.com and use the search term "temperature."

2. Bad RAM
several situations can lead to a bad RAM relationship with a particular machine:

In the “old days” of Fast Page RAM, buying new RAM for your computer was a pretty simple affair. You just needed to know what speed your motherboard supported and the maximum each slot would take. Today, there are many different speeds of RAM, and the better motherboards may be tolerant of using RAM that does not match the motherboard’s maximum specs. For example, your motherboard may support PC133 RAM but will still work with PC100 RAM. But be aware that you may see performance decreases if you install RAM that is slower than the maximum spec.

Tip
Some motherboards will even allow you to mix speeds but will default to the slowest RAM installed.

Minor flaws in RAM chips can lead to system slowdowns and instability. The least expensive chips often have minor flaws that will cause your system to slow down or Blue Screen intermittently. Although built-in mechanisms may allow the system to keep working, there is a performance hit when it has to deal with flawed RAM chips.

In the past, no one worried about RAM chips getting hot, because they didn’t seem to generate much heat. But that’s changed with newer RAM types, especially SDRAM. To check for overheating, open your computer’s case, power down, and pull the plug out. Ground yourself and touch the plastic on one of your RAM chips. Ouch! They get pretty hot. If you find that your RAM chips are overheating, you should consider buying a separate fan to cool your memory. If your motherboard doesn’t support a RAM fan, you might be able to get enough additional cooling by installing a fan card that plugs in to a PCI slot.

Tip
Another RAM-related problem may occur if you add more than 64 MB of RAM to a system that doesn’t support caching of more than 64 MB of system memory. The system’s performance will degrade when it accesses the uncached memory. For example, the Intel Triton i430FX/VX/TX-based motherboards completely disable the onboard L2 cache when more than 64 MB of RAM is installed, causing major performance degradation.

3. Failing hard disk
there are many signs of imminent failure before a hard disk finally gives up. Some of these signs include:

Detecting a failing hard disk can be tricky because the early signs are subtle. Experienced computer professionals can often hear a change in the normal disk spin. After the disk deteriorates further, you’ll see the system crawl to a standstill. Write processes will take a long time as the system tries to find good blocks to write to. (This will occur if you’re using a robust file system such as NTFS; other file systems will likely Blue Screen the computer.)

When you notice the system slow down, run scandisk or chkdsk, depending on your operating system. If you notice a bad sector where a good sector existed earlier, that’s a clue that the disk is going bad. Back up the data on the disk and prepare for it to fail soon. Make sure you have a spare disk ready so you can replace it when it fails, or replace the disk as soon as you notice the early signs of failure.

Disk noise and scandisk/chkdsk are your best indicators for identifying a failing drive that’s leading to a system slowdown. However, if you are managing a system remotely, or you can’t take the system down for a full chkdsk/R, you can use tools that monitor disk health, such as Executive Software’s Disk Alert.

4. BIOS settings
one often-ignored culprit of system slowdown is the machine’s BIOS settings. Most people accept the BIOS settings as they were configured in the factory and leave them as is. However, slowdowns may occur if the BIOS settings do not match the optimal machine configuration. Often you can improve machine performance by researching your motherboard’s optimal BIOS settings—which may not be the same as the factory defaults.

There is no centralized database of optimal BIOS settings, but you can employ a search engine such as Google or AllTheWeb and use your motherboard name and BIOS as keywords to find the correct settings.

5. Disk type/controller compatibility
you’ve just purchased a new UDMA-66 disk drive, and it doesn’t seem any faster than any of the other drives in your machine. You do some benchmark testing and the new disk tests the same as the other drives in your system. So what’s the problem?

It could be that your motherboard doesn’t support the UDMA 66 specification. Check your manual to determine what type of IDE interface it supports. If the motherboard only supports UDMA 33, then your UDMA 66 throttles down for backwards compatibility. You can get around this problem by installing a PCI UDMA 66 add-on card and plugging the new drive in to that interface.

Another potential problem may be the cable type you are using. UDMA 66+ drives require a different cable than older drive types. The drive may not work at all with the old cable type. Aged cables will break down over time, especially if they are tightly folded and the temperature of the case remains consistently high. It’s always worthwhile to change out the drive cable to see if performance improves.

Tip
you can now get rounded IDE (and floppy) cables that are less vulnerable to breakage caused by folding and that are less likely to impede airflow. For an example of rounded cables, see 8 Balls Hardware review.

6. Windows services
Many Windows services are enabled by default. Many of these services, however, are not required for your machine to run properly. You should review the services running on your Windows 2000/Windows XP computer and disable those that you don’t need.

One way to see what services are running is to use the Services applet found in the Administrative Tools menu. Right-click My Computer and select Manage, as shown in

Figure A.

Important information contained in the Services console includes the service Name, Status, and Startup Type. You can get more details on a service by double-clicking on it to bring up the service's Properties, as seen in Figure B.

You can stop the service by clicking the Stop button. If you are sure that you don’t need the service, click the down arrow in the Startup Type drop-down list box and set the service to Disabled. If you are not sure if you need the service, change the Startup Type to Manual. Then you’ll have the option of manually starting the service if you find that you need it.

Another way of controlling which services start is using the msconfig utility (see Figure C). Open the Run dialog box and type msconfig in the Open text box.

Notice the Essential column. These are services Microsoft considers essential to running the computer. However, note that many required services are not defined as essential in the System Configuration Utility window. You can prevent a service from starting at boot up by un-checking the check box to the left of the service.

One service that is well known for slowing down Windows 2000/Windows XP systems is the Indexing Service. This service indexes the content of each hard disk and makes it easier for the Search utility to find files. Unless you are running a Web site that uses the indexing service, you may want to disable it to improve performance.

7. Runaway processes
Runaway processes take up all of the processors' cycles. The usual suspects are badly written device drivers, and legacy software installed on a newer operating system. You can identify a runaway process by looking at the process list in the Windows Task Manager (see Figure D). Any process that takes almost 100 percent of the processing time is likely a runaway process.

We see an exception to this rule, however, shown in Figure D. On a smoothly running system, the System Idle Process should be consuming the majority of the processor cycles most of the time. If any other process were to take up 98 percent of the processor cycles, you might have a runaway process.

If you do find a runaway process, you can right-click the process and click the End Process command. You may need to stop some processes, such as runaway system services, from the Services console. If you can’t stop the service using the console, you may need to reboot the system. Sometimes a hard reboot is required.

8. Disk fragmentation
as files are added, deleted, and changed on a disk, the contents of the file can become spread across sectors located in disparate regions of the disk. This is file fragmentation. Some operating systems, such as Windows NT, don’t have a built-in defrag utility; you must obtain a third-party solution, such as Executive Software’s Diskeeper.

Disk fragmentation can significantly slow down your machine. The disk heads must move back and forth while seeking all the fragments of a file. A common cause of disk fragmentation is a disk that is too full. You should keep 20 percent to 25 percent of your hard disk space free to minimize file fragmentation and to improve the defragmenter’s ability to defrag the disk. Thus, if a disk is too full, move some files off the drive and restart the defragmenter.

9. Background applications
Have you ever visited an end-user’s desktop and noticed a dozen icons in the system tray? Each icon represents a process running in either the foreground or background. Most of them are running in the background, so the users may not be aware that they are running 20+ applications at the same time.

This is due to applications starting up automatically in the background. Look first for such programs in the Startup folder in the Start menu. Many applications place components in the Startup folder to run in the background. Some of these, such as the Microsoft Office Find fast, can really chew up processor and disk time and noticeably slow down a system. Review each of the entries in the Startup folder and delete any that are unnecessary.

10. File system issues
some file systems work better than others for large disk partitions. If the machine runs Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, you should use the NTFS file system for best performance.

File system performance is closely related to cluster size and the number of clusters on the disk. NTFS file systems will bog down if you have a 60-GB hard disk configured with a cluster size of 512 bytes. This creates an enormous number of clusters, which the file system must track and seek. This becomes especially problematic when the drive is highly fragmented. One solution is to use larger cluster sizes. If you set the cluster size to 4K or larger, you will see noticeable improvement in file load times. Please note, however, that large clusters can significantly increase the amount of cluster slack space and lead to a lot of wasted disk space.

Another trick to alleviate file system issues involves tweaking some Registry values (Start Menu|Run|Regedit):

If you are not using the NTFS file system, you may be able to improve performance by moving files and folders out of the root directory. With FAT partitions, you may notice a big slowdown in system performance after running scandisk because a large number of .chk files are placed in the root directory. Users sometimes fill their root directories by making it the default file storage location. Move as many files and folders as possible out of the root directory, and performance should improve significantly.

Disabling the Windows XP Login Prompt for Password.

Additional information:

Note: If you are looking for additional information on how to disable the Windows Welcome screen please refer to document CH000537.

Disabling startup login prompt for password

1. Click Start, and Run

2. Type "Control Userpasswords2" and press enter.

3. Uncheck the box for "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer."

4. Click Apply and Ok.

Disabling prompt for password after Windows XP resumes from standby or hibernation

1. Click Start, Settings, and Control Panel

2. Double click Power Options

3. Uncheck the "Prompt for password when computer resumes from standby" option.

4. Click Apply and then Ok.

Additional Information:

Computer passwords are used to help identify and distinguish users and their access or capabilities on a computer or computer network. Passwords can also help restrict and prevent users from accessing confidential data or accessing programs they should not have access too.

When creating a password, create the password using the following rules, making the password more secure.

Eliminate Logon in Windows XP

Answer Number One

There are four conditions necessary to disable the Windows logon screen:
1. There must be only two accounts on the computer, the administrator and the guest account.
2. There must be no password for the administrator account.
3. The guest account must be turned off.
4. The welcome screen must be turned on.

Step 1: Delete all user accounts except the administrator and guest accounts. To delete accounts, log on as administrator, then click Start > Settings > Control Panel > User Accounts > Change An Account. Click the account you want to delete, then hit Delete Account.

Step 2: Remove the password from the administrator account. Click the administrator account and Remove My Password. You will be prompted to enter your password on the next screen. Enter your password and click Remove Password.

Step 3: Turn off the guest account. Navigate back to User Accounts in the control panel. If the guest account is turned on, click it, then "Turn off the guest account."

Step 4: Turn on the welcome screen. Navigate back to the User Account screen as described above. Click "Change the way users log on or off." Make sure there is a check mark next to "Use the welcome screen." Then click Apply Options.

Answer Number Two

OK, there are a few different ways to do this; they allow for different
situations, as I explain below. In all cases you have to be the system
administrator to alter these settings. These instructions are generally for
XP Home.

Option 1: This is useful if there is only one user account on the machine.

1) Open the Window's Control Panel (Settings>Control Panel on your Start
Menu), and choose the "User Accounts" panel.
2) Choose the "Change an account" option, then select your account.
3) Choose the "Remove my password" option and follow the instructions (you
may already have no password, and in that case skip this step).
4) Use the back button to go back to the "User Accounts ... Pick a task"
page, then choose the "Change the way users log on or off" option.
5) Uncheck "Use Fast User Switching" and apply the change.

Your system should now go straight to your desktop.

Option 2: Automatically logon to a specific account. This is perhaps more
useful as it lets you use apps which require user authentication (Window's
"Scheduled Tasks" for instance). You do need to install an extra program
from Microsoft here, but it's free and very useful anyway.

1) Go to Microsoft's PowerToys XP page:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp and from the
downloads column on the right get Tweak UI. Install it!
2) Run the newly installed app (it'll be on your start menu), and choose the
"+" by "Logon" from the list on the left.
3) Select the "Autologon" sub-option.
4) Tick the "Logon automatically at system startup" check box, and fill in
the required user name and password.
5) Click "OK" to save the changes and close Tweak UI.

Your system now instantly logs on itself. Note that you can still logoff
which means other user accounts are still accessible.

Answer Number Three

One of the settings in Microsoft's free tool "TweakUI" allows you to make Window's logon automatic.
The version described here is the latest as of 5/9/04 intended for XP and Windows 2003, with procedures outlined for the "first time" user.

(Know these before you begin)
...No Windows version installs TweakUI by default. However, in case someone else installed it for you, Select "Start Menu", "Settings", "Control Panel", "Add or Remove Programs", checking this list for a TweakUI install. If listed, Microsoft suggests uninstalling it before installing the new version.
...TweakUI only "uses" preset login names and passwords. It does not change, create, or delete them.
...TweakUI's auto-logon function is a "Safe Set", meaning, if set incorrectly, the auto-logon simply won't work with no ill effects to the system.
...TweakUI in any version is a Microsoft "Tech-Tool", used to change Windows functions. Experimenting with TweakUI's additional settings without reading up on them can produce some undesirable effects, but when used correctly, TweakUI is a must have tool.

1) DOWNLOAD TWEAKUI FOR XP/2003
Go to Microsoft's Website, Microsoft.com.
At the top right of their page, type into the "Search" field, (tweakui xp) without the brackets and select "go".
Next page; choose the top line offering, "PowerToys for Microsoft Windows XP".
Next page; at the right, select "tweakui.exe", the 3rd selection 147 KB file.
You'll be prompt to save the file to your computer.
Selecting "Save" prompts you to "Save As" and shows your current "Save to" directory.
You can change this, saving to another location, or keep as is. Either way, remember where it's saving to because you'll need to get to it later. Once saved, exit the net.

2) INSTALLING TWEAKUI
(Note: The downloaded file name will not be "tweakui.exe" but rather "TweakUiPowertoySetup.exe". It's common for users to loose the download location. If you can't find the file, bring up the Start Menu / Search / For Files and Folders, and enter ( tweakui ) without the brackets into the search field. If the download was successful, "Search" will find it for you. You can install it from the search results window.)

To install TweakUI, Right Click on "TweakUiPowertoySetup.exe", select "Open", and install.
After TweakUI installs, find TweakUI's shortcut in your Start Menu / All Programs / PowerToys For Windows / Tweak UI, and select it.

3) SETTING AUTO-LOGON IN TWEAKUI
In TweakUI's left window, select the (+) to the left of "Logon" then select "AutoLogon".
Check the box, "Log On Automatically at System Startup".
Enter the Login name you use into "User Name" (case and punctuation sensitive).
If you do not use a password, skip the password entry, "Apply and OK".
If you do use a password, use "set password", enter it (case sensitive), "Apply and OK".

4) RESTART YOUR COMPUTER
If your logon name and password fields were entered correctly, you'll go directly to your desktop during boot.
You can toggle the auto-logon function off/on using TweakUI's "Auto Logon" check box, leaving the name and password as is, or you can hold down the "Left Shift" key during boot-ups, preventing automatic logon, requiring manual password entry for that boot.
If you ever change your Login Name and/or Password, you'll have to reset TweakUI to reflect the same.
Check TweakUI's "About / Tips" for some quick tips using TweakUI.
 

Answer Number Four

To slip by the Welcome Screen and log on to Windows XP automatically can
be done two ways . . . through the Users Applet GUI, or through a
registry hack.

CAVEAT ABOUT AUTOMATICALLY LOGGING INTO THE ADMINISTRATORS ACCOUNT

But firstly, I must question the wisdom of circumventing the Windows XP
security model for the sake of a moments convenience. Windows XP (and
its' forerunners Windows 2000 and Windows NT) were designed with the
idea of limiting a users' access to those rights and permissions
appropriate for the level of work they do on the machine (and a single
user does perform more than one role on his or her computer). The
concept of an 'Administrator' able to do anything on a computer, and of
a 'Limited' user whose rights are sharply curtailed is a cornerstone of
a security principle called 'Least Privilege.'

To hone in this idea . . . you might take a trip and carry ALL of your
identification papers, credit cards, birth certificate, social security
card and all of the cash you planned on spending on your trip in your
wallet, obviously bulging in your back pocket. What an inviting target
you would make to a pickpocket. That is what you are doing when you log
on to your computer as an Administrator. Everything is there to take
complete control of your system should you become compromised.

Alternatively, you could be a street-savvy traveler and carry only those
documents necessary for travel, locking up passports in hotel safes,
carrying the bulk of your cash as travelers checks, and taking advantage
of under-the-shirt money belts. Now, if you were pickpocketted, what
would the thief have? Not much and probably not enough to steal your
identity and ruin your vacation. This is the idea behind 'Limited'
users. The user just doesn't have the permissions and rights to do
serious damage to the system . . . least privilege.

Even if your computer has only one user, yourself, you can still assign
roles for each session. The Administrator account can DO ANYTHING on
the computer and anyone who compromises you while you are logged in as
an Administrator can do likewise. If you are logged in with Limited
rights and permissions . . . and are then compromised, then the attacker
can only do what you as a 'limited' user can do. It is a very important
consideration.

Unfortunately, most users do not take advantage of this 'concept of
least privilege'. Windows XP requires at least one Administrator
account be established when it is installed and that is as far as
account maintenance usually goes. Few computer users ever bother to
establish non-administrator accounts and, instead, dive right into
surfing the web like a tourist wandering into the most unsavory part of
town with a bulging wallet just screaming to be stolen.

The first thing a user should do immediately after installing Windows XP
or bringing that shiny new multi-gigahertz machine home from the store,
is to establish a Limited Account for day-to-day computing uses (like
web surfing). The Administrator account should never be automatically
signed into for any reason . . . it should be a conscious step for those
occasions needed for installation of programs and maintenance of the
computer. If you desire to automatically sign into Windows XP (and
bypass the Welcome Screen), you should do so with a Limited Account.

There is also one more consideration to keep in mind with automatic
login. The password (if any assigned) of the automatic login account is
kept in clear text in the registry and can be read by anyone with access
to the registry (either locally or through remote registry access).

As long as you understand the rights granted the account you wish to
automatically logon with, here is the procedure:

Manually through a graphical user interface (GUI):

NOTE: Use must be logged on as Administrator to make these changes.

1. Click on the Start Menu the on Run; enter "control userpasswords2"
(without the quote marks)
2. The User Accounts Dialog Box opens. Select the Users Tab
3. Uncheck the 'Users must enter a user name and password to use this
computer' check box
4. Select the Advanced Tab
5. Clear the 'Require users to press Ctrl-Alt-Del before logging on'
check box (if it is not already unchecked
6. Click the 'Apply' button
7. A dialog box will open asking you for user name and password. Choose
the user name and password combination for a Limited Account rather than
an Administrator for best security practices
8. Finally, click OK
9. Reboot and your computer should skip the Welcome Screen and
automatically log onto the account you specified in step #7

Should you need to login as Administrator (or another user's account)
hold down the Shift key after you log off or as Windows restarts.

If, at some time in the future you find a need to require logins, simply
retrace the steps above and place a check mark in step #3.

Note: Microsoft's TweakUI
(http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp) has an
AutoLogon option that can be set to do the same thing as above. TweakUI
is unsupported by Microsoft.

The steps to enable AutoLogon through a registry hack are somewhat
daunting but you can read the steps here
(http://www.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315231) if
you feel brave.

Though I can understand the hassle of requiring a logon on a system that
has only one user . . . I cannot over stress the importance of using
Limited Accounts for day-to-day activities. Your computer came with an
Administrator account . . . now create yourself a Limited account and
use that to automatically login to Windows XP.

Answer Number Five
You can simply set a default user and password
Click Start and click the Run command. Type control userpasswords2 in the Open text box. Click OK.
In the User Accounts dialog box, click the Users tab.
On the Users tab, remove the checkmark from the Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer checkbox. Click Apply.
An Automatically Log On dialog box appears. Here you type in the user name and password for the user account that you want to automatically log on. Type in the User name, the Password and Confirm password. Click OK.
Click OK in the User Accounts dialog box. Restart the computer

Summary

The Windows Welcome screen will always appear whenever there are two or more enabled users configured and AutoLogon is not enabled for one of them. Clearly in this situation the OS cannot decide who should be logged on, hence the Welcome screen.

The Guest account is created ‘turned off’ by default during Windows installation, so for most users this will never appear on the Welcome Screen. I suspect that there are numerous Windows users who don’t even know that it exists. However, Chris’ Step Three covers this.

The Administrator account is always disregarded by the Welcome screen anyway unless you start up in Safe Mode. This means that the Welcome screen lists only any remaining enabled ‘real’ user accounts. (By ‘real’ I mean users excluding such as IUSR_SystemName, IWAM_SystemName, ASPNET, SQLDebugger etc.)

The ability to disable user accounts does not exist in the Control Panel / User Accounts function (save for the Guest account turn on/off ability) which would imply that any notionally inactive accounts must be deleted in order to achieve AutoLogon. However, should anyone need to have multiple user accounts with only one enabled (and this is not a crazy as it might seem) then all that is required is to disable the ‘extra’ accounts by using the Computer Management to in the MMC (Microsoft Management Console).

This can be accessed by either:

· Control Panel
· Performance and Maintenance (if in Category view)
· Administrative Tools
· Computer Management

Or

· Right click ‘My Computer’
· Left click ‘Manage’

Then, under Computer Management (Local) select Local Users and Groups, then Users. Double click the account to be disabled to view the Properties, check the Account Disabled box. And click Apply. Voila, the user has disappeared from the Welcome Screen.

This also removes the problem Chris mentioned in his First Step regarding losing email and favorites etc. as the accounts are not deleted.

The one point that should be mentioned is that to permit automatic logon, the one remaining enabled account must have no password otherwise the Welcome screen will still appear. It may also be helpful if that one remaining enabled account had admin rights but this is not absolutely necessary.

I am also amazed that Chris tells us that we need to determine if the administrator account is password protected in Step Two having asked us to log on as Administrator in the First Step. We have a phrase here in England that neatly describes this – “Arse about face”

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