Windows XP Log In

markwilliams82 · 25 Nov 2009 at 12:06

I've got an PC with Windows XP and it keeps coming up with the Welcome to Windows login screen. The PC is no longer part of a network so how can I bypass the login screen and just log into the pc locally?
is there a way without having to wipe the computer?

SiriusB · 25 Nov 2009 at 12:32

If you mean the small grey dialoge box that comes up [after pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete sometimes] then you can click on Options and a third drop down box should appear.

Change it to the name of the computer and not the Domain name it came from. You can then log in locally. However, you should still be able to log in using your domain user and password.

Once you have access to the computer you can remove it from the domain.

bledd · 25 Nov 2009 at 12:55

start
run
control userpasswords2

untick 'users must enter a password to use computer'

then type in the username and password you wish to autologin with.

always a good idea to have admin passwords set, even if you do use autologin

doggs · 25 Nov 2009 at 12:59

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315231

markwilliams82 · 25 Nov 2009 at 13:03

SiriusB said:
If you mean the small grey dialoge box that comes up [after pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete sometimes] then you can click on Options and a third drop down box should appear.

Change it to the name of the computer and not the Domain name it came from. You can then log in locally. However, you should still be able to log in using your domain user and password.

Once you have access to the computer you can remove it from the domain.

I've tried login in selecting the computer name but it wouldnt work and I tried with the username and password but that didnt work either.

I just need to bypass it so I can disable it like in the other posts

SiriusB · 25 Nov 2009 at 13:57

Are you sure the log in details for the local account are correct?

I had a similar problem once with trying to get access to an XP machine locally. As a last resort I tried Administrator with a blank password and hey presto, I was in.

Sp00n · 25 Nov 2009 at 14:00

You probably dont have a local user setup if it was joined to a domain (other than the local administrator).

As Sirius said, try logging on locally with the administrator and a blank password, if that fails then you can use hiren to reset the local admin.

Once you have the correct details, do what bledd suggested with the control userpasswords2, having a password on an account is a good idea even if its setup to auto login, mainly (in my experience) as you cannot login via rdp with a blank password.

There are also ways of auto-loggin in a domain account which you could do as it sounds like it has the password cached.