Looking for a TweakUI-like util for Windows 7

[Yousuf Khan]

This link is for vista, but I think it will work on 7.
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66966-logon-automatically.html

Thanks, it looks like it may work.

Yousuf Khan

 

[XS11E]

Thank you. That's why *I* have to bother with AV and antimalware
applications.

Learn something about Computer SECURITY.

I would suspect "Crash" knows as much or more about security as anyone
here. Check GRC forums for more info.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows7/ht/auto-logon-windows-7.htm

Uh, okay, I reviewed these suggestions, and it's not what I'm looking
for. I don't want passwords to become disabled in general for the
system. I want it to still ask for passwords, I just want it to
automatically login to one particular account at startup and run a bunch
of programs in there that will remain in the background. With the old
Windows XP TweakUI, I could setup an auto-logon for one particular
account, which when you switch out of it, you still needed to enter a
password to get into it again. You also needed a password to get into
any of the other accounts.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Yousuf Khan]

But WHY would anyone use auto-logon?

I see what the confusion is here. I don't want to disable password
logins completely on this system, I still want them. I just want to
auto-login to an account at Windows startup, and I always want that
account to be the first account to run on the system after startup. But
when you exit or switch out of that account, you will still be asked for
a password to get back into it. Same goes for all of the other user
accounts.

The suggestions I've been given so far, completely disable passwords
throughout the system, which is what I don't want! I agree, disabling
passwords is a _bad_ thing. The old Windows XP TweakUI allowed you to
auto-login to a fully password-protected user account at startup,
without disabling the passwords whatsoever.

Yousuf Khan

 

[LouB]

I see what the confusion is here. I don't want to disable password
logins completely on this system, I still want them. I just want to
auto-login to an account at Windows startup, and I always want that
account to be the first account to run on the system after startup. But
when you exit or switch out of that account, you will still be asked for
a password to get back into it. Same goes for all of the other user
accounts.

The suggestions I've been given so far, completely disable passwords
throughout the system, which is what I don't want! I agree, disabling
passwords is a _bad_ thing. The old Windows XP TweakUI allowed you to
auto-login to a fully password-protected user account at startup,
without disabling the passwords whatsoever.

Yousuf Khan

Try asking at the Win7 forums.
http://www.w7forums.com/
or
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/windows7

 

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

I'm looking for something equivalent to the TweakUI util that was
available at least up until Windows XP.

Actually, the main functionality that I'm looking for is the ability
to auto-logon a specific user account at boot time, in a multi-user
machine. Is this feature available elsewhere in Windows 7 now?

Another TweakUI feature I'm looking for is the ability to shrink the
"arrows" on a file shortcut.

I don't know about the shortcut icon arrow, but setting the autologin
in Windows 7 is easy - click the Start orb, type NETPLWIZ and press
enter, click on the user account you want to auto login, clear the
checkbox for "Users must specify a username and password to use this
computer" (or whatever the option is called exactly) and click OK. It
will then ask for the password for the account, and you are done.

 

[Yousuf Khan]

This link is for vista, but I think it will work on 7.
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66966-logon-automatically.html

So if one account has no password in the system among other accounts
that all have passwords, then the one without passwords will get
auto-logged on? That sounds interesting, except I can see people using
the computer will get lazy and just default to using that account
instead of their own.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Yousuf Khan]

Start/run/control userpasswords2...then select the account that is
password protected and change it to auto logon...exactly like in XP
using TweakUI.

Is that how XP's TweakUI used to do it? I didn't know that.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Yousuf Khan]

Yep! Sure/was is.

Okay, I just tried this under both XP & Seven, and there is nothing to
change it to "auto-logon" in either case.

Yousuf Khan

 

[rak]

I haven't tried this with a pc that has an account with no password. So I
can't confirm the statement on way or the other. I would suggest that all
of your accounts have some password on them, even if very simple. Then
there should be no issue.

 

[relic]

So if one account has no password in the system among other accounts that
all have passwords, then the one without passwords will get auto-logged
on? That sounds interesting, except I can see people using the computer
will get lazy and just default to using that account instead of their own.

XP's TweakUI allowed Autologon for _any_ account you wanted; Password
protected or not.

 

[Jeff Layman]

I would suspect "Crash" knows as much or more about security as anyone
here. Check GRC forums for more info.

I'll second that!

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

XP's TweakUI allowed Autologon for _any_ account you wanted; Password
protected or not.

As does the method posted in this thread by Zaphod Beeblebrox for Windows 7
(also works in Vista).

See Message-ID: <[email protected]>

 

[Yousuf Khan]

I haven't tried this with a pc that has an account with no password. So
I can't confirm the statement on way or the other. I would suggest that
all of your accounts have some password on them, even if very simple.
Then there should be no issue.

Well, that's the way it is now. But this particular issue (need a
specific account auto-logged on at startup), has me wondering if I'm
being too pedantic about security. However, the old XP TweakUI had the
ability to auto-logon a account without compromising its security. Wish
there was something equivalent for Seven.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Yousuf Khan]

XP's TweakUI allowed Autologon for _any_ account you wanted; Password
protected or not.

Exactly, and that's what I want now for Seven as well.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Yousuf Khan]

As does the method posted in this thread by Zaphod Beeblebrox for Windows 7
(also works in Vista).

Unless ZB provided another method later, the one I see that he posted
using NETPLWIZ, will result in *all* passwords being disabled on a
system. I don't want any passwords disabled just for auto-logon.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

Unless ZB provided another method later, the one I see that he
posted using NETPLWIZ, will result in *all* passwords being disabled
on a system.

That's simply not the case. You should actually try it rather than
assuming you know what it does.

I don't want any passwords disabled just for auto-logon.

All the method I posted achieves is auto-login. Passwords are still
active for all accounts, even the auto-login account - the only time a
password is not required is when the system initially boots, it
automatically logs into the account specified in NETPLWIZ using the
password specified in NETPLWIZ. Network access, logins other than the
initial boot login, switch user, etc, all require passwords to be
entered for an account.

--
Zaphod

Arthur: All my life I've had this strange feeling that there's
something big and sinister going on in the world.
Slartibartfast: No, that's perfectly normal paranoia. Everyone in the
universe gets that.

 

[Noone]

Well, that's the way it is now. But this particular issue (need a
specific account auto-logged on at startup), has me wondering if I'm
being too pedantic about security. However, the old XP TweakUI had the
ability to auto-logon a account without compromising its security. Wish
there was something equivalent for Seven.

Yousuf Khan

Run this.

c:\windows\system32\control userpasswords2

You can then uncheck the item.

There are a number of very useful utilities for Win7 (32 and 64 bit_)
on the net. But none that of know of will enable boot without
entering the password.

 

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

Run this.

c:\windows\system32\control userpasswords2

You can then uncheck the item.

There are a number of very useful utilities for Win7 (32 and 64
bit_)
on the net. But none that of know of will enable boot without
entering the password.

This is a different way of getting to the same dialog as NETPLWIZ,
that I told the OP about a week ago. The OP seems to be under the
misconception that this does something different than what the old XP
TweakUI did. Perhaps this will help to correct that misconception.

--
Zaphod

Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster: A cocktail based on Janx Spirit.
The effect of one is like having your brain smashed out
by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

That's simply not the case. You should actually try it rather than
assuming you know what it does.


All the method I posted achieves is auto-login. Passwords are still
active for all accounts, even the auto-login account - the only time a
password is not required is when the system initially boots, it
automatically logs into the account specified in NETPLWIZ using the
password specified in NETPLWIZ. Network access, logins other than the
initial boot login, switch user, etc, all require passwords to be
entered for an account.

Remember from My Fair Lady "I think she's got it - by George, she's got it"
(approximately)?

Looks like it doesn't apply here