in message
Hi, I am just wondering if rather than starting up windows XP logged
out, it
is possible to start logged in, but locked, so the programs that need
to
start when windows starts up can without losing any security. My
computer has
only one user and needs to be password protected.
Programs that only startup by using the Startup group (for a particular
account) or the
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run key
aren't usually designed to run without a GUI session started. They are
designed to assist a user's experience in their Windows session. For
example, there would be absolutely no point in loading a clipboard
manager unless you actually logged in since nothing else needs the
multiple clip management.
My guess as to what the user really wants is to power up the host and
then walk away to get a cup of coffee while the host boots up through
POST, Windows startup, and also to get all the user-session programs
started so it is ready for use whenever they get back. Use the
auto-logon feature to start the user's Windows session after Windows
starts up. That will load the user's startup programs. To lockout the
Windows session, maybe adding the following command to the user's
Startup group might lock it after the auto-login:
%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation
This triggers the Windows lock terminal operation, similar to hitting
the Win+L shortcut key. Since this locks the computer by showing the
login screen, obviously the user will actually need a non-blank password
so no one else could walk by and simply hit Enter to get unlocked and
start using that user's Windows session. Rather than put a shortcut to
it in the Startup group, you could also add an event to Task Scheduler
that is scheduled to start on login.
