Auto logon for Windows XP

Published: September 7, 2006

Would you rather not have to log on after your computer starts? If you’re the only person who uses your computer, you can make life a little easier by skipping the Welcome screen completely and having Microsoft Windows XP take you straight to your desktop.

To automatically log on to Windows XP upon startup

1.	Click Start, and then click Run. Note: Remember your user name at the top of the Start menu, because you’ll need it later.
2.	In the Open box, type control userpasswords2 and click OK.
3.	Clear the Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer check box. Click OK.
4.	Click the User name box, type the user name that was displayed on the Start menu in step 1. If you normally type a password to log on, type your password in both the Password and Confirm Password boxes. Otherwise, leave these boxes blank. Click OK.

Auto logon now allows anyone to start and use your computer without typing a password.

Note: Keep in mind that you should not enable auto logon if you need privacy for any files on your computer. If you need to maintain privacy, create separate user accounts for everyone in your home, and protect your account with a password.

Disable the Turn off computer button on the Welcome screen

Published: September 7, 2006

By default, the Microsoft Windows XP logon screen displays a Turn off computer button. This display seems convenient, until one of your kids happens to shut down your computer and close all your programs. To prevent this from happening, you can disable the Turn off computer button. You can still shut down your computer; you just have to log on with a computer administrator account first.

To disable the Turn off computer button on the Welcome screen

1.	Log on to your computer as an administrator. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2.	Click Performance and Maintenance.
3.	Click Administrative Tools.
4.	Double-click Local Security Policy.
5.	Expand Local Policies by clicking the plus sign next to it, and then click Security Options.
6.	In the right pane, double-click the Shutdown: Allow system to be shut down without having to log on policy.
7.	Click Disabled, and then click OK.

Windows XP removes the Turn off computer button from the Welcome screen—so no more shutting down without logging on!

Log on as an administrator

Published: September 7, 2006

Microsoft Windows XP has two types of user accounts: limited and computer administrator. Limited accounts are more secure because they offer some protection from spyware and viruses. For that reason, you should use a limited account for your day-to-day computing. For more information about user accounts, read Set up user accounts and log on to your computer.

Limited accounts are called that because they are limited—you can’t install software or change certain computer settings when you’re logged on with a limited account. That’s great if you’re creating an account for your kids and you don’t want them making any changes to your computer. But sometimes you need the unrestricted access a computer administrator account provides.

First, determine whether your current account is a computer administrator account. If the account is, you can install software and change settings using your current user account. If your account is not an administrator account, you can log on as an administrator by following a special logon process.

How to determine if your user account is a computer administrator account

To determine whether your current account is a computer administrator account

1.	Click Start, and note your user name at the top of the Start menu. Then, click Control Panel.
2.	Click User Accounts.
3.	Below your user name, you should see either Limited account or Computer administrator.

If your account is a limited account, you cannot install software or change certain computer settings. You can either log on using one of the computer administrator accounts (as described in Set up user accounts and log on to your computer), or you can log on using the special Administrator account as described in the next section.

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How to log on with the Administrator account

All Windows XP computers have a special user account named Administrator (some computer manufacturers might rename it).

To log on with the Administrator account so that you can install software or change computer settings

1.	If you are currently logged on to your computer, click Start, and then click Log Off. When prompted, click Switch User. Note: If your computer is joined to an Active Directory, the Fast Users Switching feature will be disabled. This is a common change made to computers used for business. In fact, it happens automatically when a computer joins an Active Directory domain. However, this setting is not the default setting. Almost all computers in home environments will have Fast User Switching enabled.
2.	On the Welcome screen, press CTRL+ALT+DEL on your keyboard by holding down both the CTRL and ALT keys and then pressing DELETE.
3.	The Log On to Windows dialog box appears. In the User name box, type Administrator. In the Password box, type your Administrator password, if you created one during Windows XP setup. If you have not assigned a password, or you do not know your password, leave the Password box blank. Click OK.

Windows XP logs you on using the Administrator account. You should use the Administrator account only when installing software or changing computer settings. When you are browsing the Web, reading e-mail, or performing other day-to-day computer tasks, you should be logged on using a limited account. For more information, read Set up user accounts and log on to your computer.

Activate the Guest user account

Published: September 7, 2006

Microsoft Windows XP includes a Guest user account, so people can use your computer without having a permanent user account. By default, the Guest user account is disabled, meaning that only users you've specifically authorized to do so can use your computer. If you want guests to be able to use your computer, you can enable the Guest user account. When logged on as a Guest, your friend can use your computer, but your friend cannot access your password-protected files.

To enable Guest access

1.	Log on as an administrator.
2.	Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
3.	Click User Accounts.
4.	Under or pick an account to change, click Guest.
5.	On the Do you want to turn on the guest account? page, click the Turn On the Guest Account button.

Now the Guest account is enabled. Alternately, you can disable the Guest account and set up your computer so that only one person can use it

Add an item to the Send To menu

Published: September 7, 2006

When you right-click a file name or a thumbnail in Microsoft Windows XP, you see a shortcut menu for that file. One of the items on the menu is Send To, which enables you to quickly e-mail a file, copy it to your desktop, or copy it to a floppy disk.

Sometimes what you really want to do is to save a copy of the file to a specific folder on your computer. If you have a folder where you frequently place files, you can add that folder’s name to the list of locations on the Send To menu. This can save you the time of opening another Windows Explorer window and copying the file from one folder to another.

For example, you could create a My Pictures folder and then use the Send To menu to copy your best pictures to that folder.

To add a folder to the Send To menu

1.	Click Start. Make note of your user name ("Administrator" in the example below) which is displayed at the top of the Start menu. Then, click My Computer.
2.	In the My Computer window, click the Tools menu, and then click Folder Options.
3.	Click the View tab. Under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders, and then click OK.
4.	In the My Computer window, double-click Local Disk (C:), double-click Documents and Settings, double-click your user name, and then double-click SendTo.
5.	Click the File menu, click New, and then click Shortcut.
6.	The Create Shortcut Wizard appears. Click the Browse button.
7.	In the Browse For Folder dialog box, click the folder you want to add to your Send To menu, and then click OK.
8.	Click Next.
9.	Click Finish.

Now when you right-click a file and click Send To, the destination you selected will be an option on the Send To menu. You can create shortcuts to local or network programs, files, folders, computers, or Internet addresses.

Create a password reset disk

Published: September 7, 2006

If you're running Microsoft Windows XP Professional, you can create a password reset disk that—if you ever forget your password—you can use to log on to your computer. If you forget your password but don’t have a password reset disk, you'll have to reinstall Windows XP to use your computer.

To create a password reset disk

1.	Log on to your computer as an administrator.
2.	Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
3.	Under Pick a category, click User Accounts.
4.	In the User Accounts window, click the account name that you want to create a password reset disk for.
5.	Under the Related Tasks section, click Prevent a forgotten password.
6.	On the Welcome to the Forgotten Password Wizard page, click Next.
7.	Insert a floppy disk into your disk drive. If necessary, select the disk drive you want to use, and then click Next. Note: If your computer doesn’t have a floppy disk drive, you won’t be able to use this wizard. If you cannot install a floppy disk drive on your computer or laptop, you could consider using a USB-connected floppy disk drive.
8.	Type your password, and then click Next.
9.	After the Forgotten Password Wizard creates your password reset disk, click Next.
10.	Click Finish.

Remove your password reset disk and store it in a safe, secure place. Storing your disk in a secure place is very important because anyone who uses the disk can access your computer without knowing your password. If you ever forget your password, you can use this disk to reset and change your password.

Add a Map Drive button to the toolbar

Published: September 7, 2006

If you have more than one computer running Microsoft Windows XP connected to your home network, you can share folders between them so you can open files on one computer even if they’re stored on another. To make it easier to connect to a shared folder, you can add a Map Drive button to your Windows Explorer toolbar. This button provides a fast link to the shared folder.

To add a Map Drive button

1.	Click Start, and then click My Computer.
2.	Right-click the toolbar, and then click Customize.
3.	The Customize Toolbar dialog box appears. In the Available toolbar buttons list, click Map Drive, and then click Add. To be able to remove mapped drives using a toolbar button, select Disconnect, and then click Add.
4.	Click Close.

The Map Drive button appears on your toolbar. To map a network drive, click the Map Drive toolbar button. The toolbar button has exactly the same effect as clicking the Tools menu and then clicking Map Network Drive.

For more information about customizing toolbars, read Change your toolbars.

Format backup drives with NTFS

Published: September 7, 2006

Backing up your important files regularly is the key to recovering from a serious system failure. And, with Microsoft Windows XP, the most effective way to back up your computer is to copy your files to an external hard drive using Windows Backup. Before you back up your computer for the first time, you'll want to be sure your external hard drive is formatted with the New Technology File System (NTFS).

There are two ways to enable NTFS on your external hard drive: you can format it or convert it. If you have not yet copied any files on your external drive, you should format it with NTFS. Formatting is preferable to converting because it will make the drive run faster, among other benefits. Formatting a hard drive permanently removes all files, so you should not format the drive if you have saved anything on it (without making a copy of the files first). If you don't want to overwrite the data, you should convert the drive to NTFS instead.

Note: File systems define how your computer writes (or saves) files to a hard drive. Windows XP supports two file systems for external drives: FAT32 and NTFS. External hard drives typically come formatted with the FAT32 file system because it is compatible with earlier versions of Windows. However, the NTFS file system is superior to the FAT32 file system in many ways. Most importantly, NTFS can support files larger than 4 GB in size, which provides plenty of room for your backups.

Format a backup drive with NTFS

Before you begin, connect your external hard drive.

To format the drive with NTFS

1.	Log on to your computer as an administrator.
2.	Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
3.	Under Storage, click Disk Management.
4.	If the Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard appears, click Next. If the wizard does not appear, skip to step 8.
5.	On the Select Disks to Initialize page, click Next.
6.	On the Select Disks to Convert page, click Next.
7.	On the Completing the Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard page, click Finish.
8.	Right-click your external drive (which will probably be drive E or drive F), and then click Format.
9.	In the Format dialog box, type a name for your external hard drive, such as Backup Drive. Then, click OK.
10.	Click OK again.

Windows XP formats your external hard drive. Within a few minutes, your drive will be ready for you to use.

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Convert a backup drive to NTFS

If you have already copied files to your external hard drive, and you don't want to delete them, you can convert your hard drive to NTFS.

To convert an external drive to NTFS

1.	Log on to your computer as an administrator.
2.	Click Start, right-click My Computer.
3.	In the My Computer window, make a note of the drive letter and label assigned to your external drive. Usually, the drive letter will be E or F. The drive letter will not be C (that's the hard drive inside your computer). The label is the word between the drive picture and the drive letter. Some drives may not have a label.
4.	Click Start, click Run, and then type convert drive_letter: /fs:ntfs For example, if your external drive is drive E, you would type convert E: /fs:ntfs Then, click OK.
5.	A command window appears. Type the label for your external drive, and then press ENTER. If your drive does not have a label, just press ENTER.
6.	If a message warns you that the volume is in use by another process, close any other open windows. Then, press Y and then ENTER.

Windows XP converts your external drive to NTFS. When the conversion is done, the window automatically closes. Your drive is ready for your backups.