Logon Password problem

[ncarron]

I use WinXP Pro SP3 on a 3 year old Dell Laptop

Once I tried to password protect one folder. But it ended up password
protecting the complete bootup sequence. I removed the password, but now
when booting up I get the password screen.
No password is set, so I just press OK, and the desktop soon comes up.
I want to get rid of the password screen and bootup to the desktop without
intervening, like normal people.
How do I eliminate the password screen?

I tried to delete my administrator account by creating a new account which I
set as administrator, and changed the old one to limited. This is supposed
to let me delete the old one, which I thought would solve the problem. But it
didn't work. Now the only account that shows under Control Panel-User
Accounts is the old (now limited) one. I can't even display an administrator
account, or change to it, or bootup in it. So I can't even download and
install software. I recently reinstalled WinXP, and have not yet got AV or
Spyware protection, and now cannot install it. For example when trying to
install SuperAntiSpyware, I get an error msg sayinig I have insufficient
privileges to access the directory.

Without being able to bootup as an administrator I'm more or less prevented
from doing anything serious on the machine.

How do I get out of this mess and get back to the usual administrator account?
Thanks for your help.

 

[Nepatsfan]

Answered inline.

I use WinXP Pro SP3 on a 3 year old Dell Laptop

Once I tried to password protect one folder. But it ended up password
protecting the complete bootup sequence. I removed the password, but now
when booting up I get the password screen.
No password is set, so I just press OK, and the desktop soon comes up.
I want to get rid of the password screen and bootup to the desktop without
intervening, like normal people.
How do I eliminate the password screen?

Keeping in mind that configuring your computer to logon a user account
automatically significantly reduces the system's security, here are two options.

1. Download and install TweakUI from Microsoft. TweakUI is
available here.

Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

Direct Download of TweakUI
http://download.microsoft.com/downl...a6-b352-839afb2a2679/TweakUiPowertoySetup.exe

Once the program is installed, go to Start -> All Programs ->
Powertoys for Windows XP -> TweakUI.
Click the + sign next to Logon in the left hand column.
Click on Autologon.
In the right hand pane, put a check mark in the box next to
"Logon automatically at system startup".
Enter the name of your user account in the User Name box.
Hit the Set Password button and enter your password twice.
Note: You should skip this step if your account has a blank
password.
Click OK to close TweakUI.
Restart your computer to see if you get the desired results.

2. Go to Start -> Run.
Copy and paste the following into the Open box:

control userpasswords2

Click OK.
In the "Users for this computer" box, click on the account you
want to have logged on automatically.
Uncheck "Users must enter a user name and password to use this
computer".
Click OK.
In the box that pops up, make sure the account you clicked on
earlier is entered next to User Name.
Enter your password twice.
Note: You can leave the password box blank if the account does
not have a password.
Click OK.
Reboot to see if you get the desired results.

For more info take a look here,

Courtesy of Ramesh Srinivasan, MS-MVP
Configure Windows XP to Automatically Login
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

I tried to delete my administrator account by creating a new account which I
set as administrator, and changed the old one to limited. This is supposed
to let me delete the old one, which I thought would solve the problem. But it
didn't work. Now the only account that shows under Control Panel-User
Accounts is the old (now limited) one. I can't even display an administrator
account, or change to it, or bootup in it. So I can't even download and
install software. I recently reinstalled WinXP, and have not yet got AV or
Spyware protection, and now cannot install it. For example when trying to
install SuperAntiSpyware, I get an error msg sayinig I have insufficient
privileges to access the directory.

Without being able to bootup as an administrator I'm more or less prevented
from doing anything serious on the machine.

How do I get out of this mess and get back to the usual administrator account?
Thanks for your help.

Go to Start -> Log Off and log off from your new account. If the Welcome screen
is displayed you might see an icon representing the administrative account you
created. Click on it to logon.

If the account isn't displayed on the Welcome screen, hit the Ctrl + Alt +
Delete keys at the same time twice. This should bring up the Logon to Windows
dialog. In the User Name box enter Administrator and any password you may have
created for this account when you installed Windows. Once logged on with the
built-in Administrator account you should check Control Panel -> User Accounts
to see if the administrative account you created is displayed. If not, create
another admin account. Log off from the Administrator account and log on with
the new admin account. You can now install your security programs.

Good luck

Nepatsfan