SOLVED Windows 7 HP Welcome Screen Question

[vladguan]

Hi All,

I've posted this on MS Answers but did not get resolved.

We have two laptops, mine, an ASUS G73J that came with Windows 7 HP 64 and wife's DELL 1720 that I installed Windows 7 HP 64 recently.

Both of our laptops have passwords set.

With my wife's laptop, Windows 7 boots straight to the Welcome Screen showing the larger account icon with her name below it and the password entry field below that. This is also the case if she locks her laptop.

With mine, Windows 7 first boots to the Welcome Screen with a smaller account icon with my name below that. I have to click on that icon to get to the Welcome Screen with the larger account icon and password entry.

Is there a way to change mine to be like my wife's?

Basically, I have this one and I want it to be like this one.

Thanks in advance,
Vlad

 

[Nibiru2012]

It might have to do with the native LCD screen resolution. Also you might check the View setting when you right-click on the desktop.

 

[vladguan]

It might have to do with the native LCD screen resolution. Also you might check the View setting when you right-click on the desktop.

I think you have misunderstood my question entirely.

Both of our laptops have password protection so what I am after is no automatic login. My wife's laptop has a 17" screen running native 1900x1200 and mine has a 17.3" screen running native 1900x1080.

Wife's laptop boots straight to the screen shown by the second link in my previous post. Mine boots to the screen shown by the first link. I have to click on my account icon to get to the second screen.

Basically, wife's laptop has a single stage logon/welcome screen whereas mine has a two stage logon/welcome screen.

 

[TrainableMan]

Try this first and see if it works ...
In the start search box type NETPLWIZ and run the item it finds.
Check the box that says "users must enter a user name and password to use this computer"
shut down and reboot.

If that was already checked or it doesn't solve the problem then read on ...

Could you open the registry editor and locate ...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
... and take a screenshot (stretch the columns in such a way that I can see Name/Type/and Data)

Then go down one level to AutoLogonChecked. If it has anything but the default please screenshot that too.

Then under SpecialAccounts\UserList does it contain "(default)" and also "Admin" and is the data value on Admin 0?

 

[vladguan]

Try this first and see if it works ...
In the start search box type NETPLWIZ and run the item it finds.
Check the box that says "users must enter a user name and password to use this computer"
shut down and reboot.

If that was already checked or it doesn't solve the problem then read on ...

Could you open the registry editor and locate ...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
... and take a screenshot (stretch the columns in such a way that I can see Name/Type/and Data)

Then go down one level to AutoLogonChecked. If it has anything but the default please screenshot that too.

Then under SpecialAccounts\UserList does it contain "(default)" and also "Admin" and is the data value on Admin 0?

Hi TrainableMan,

The checkbox is already checked on netplwiz.

I've attached the screenshot of WinLogon. AutoLogonChecked sub-key has just the default and there is no SpecialAccounts sub-key.

Cheers,
Vlad

 

[TrainableMan]

The part you blurred out, was it not set to Admin? You don't have to tell me what it is but normally that is simply Admin. Did you take over the Admin account yourself rather than just creating the system with an additional administrator account besides the Admin default?

Also, the SpecialAccounts should be under Winlogon, not under AutoLogonChecked, in case I wasn't clear about that.

BTW, the other Winlogon settings seem to match mine just fine.

 

[vladguan]

The part you blurred out, was it not set to Admin? You don't have to tell me what it is but normally that is simply Admin. Did you take over the Admin account yourself rather than just creating the system with an additional administrator account besides the Admin default?

Also, the SpecialAccounts should be under Winlogon, not under AutoLogonChecked, in case I wasn't clear about that.

Hi TrainableMan,

No, it was not set to Admin, just my username. My laptop came pre-installed and upon starting up for the first time, was asked to create a user which I did and made it an administrator.

Yes, there is no SpecialAccounts under Winlogon.

Cheers,
Vlad

 

[TrainableMan]

Can you compare your wife's registry settings with yours @
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
and below

 

[vladguan]

Can you compare your wife's registry settings with yours @
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
and below

Hi TrainableMan,

The only differences are the following:

Mine:
"ShutdownFlags"=dword:80000027

Hers:
"ShutdownFlags"=dword:0000002b

Mine also contained an empty Notify sub-key

Cheers,
Vlad

 

[TrainableMan]

I don't think that's it. Let's try something else. In search box type secpol.msc and run the object found.

Under Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options compare yours and your wife's where the Policies start with Interactive logon.

 

[vladguan]

I don't think that's it. Let's try something else. In search box type secpol.msc and run the object found.

Under Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options compare yours and your wife's where the Policies start with Interactive logon.

Hi TrainableMan,

No can do as both of us have the Home Premium Windows 7.

 

[TrainableMan]

Yeah, unfortunately that's part of the Group Policy Editor which requires Pro+. I suspect it's a registry thing but I don't know where else to suggest there.

Not as likely but ...
msconfig.exe
The boot tab.
By any chance is "No GUI boot" checked on yours?

 

[TrainableMan]

Just a possibility, another registry location to compare ...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

 

[vladguan]

Just a possibility, another registry location to compare ...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

Hi TrainableMan,

No differences in the System branch either and all settings in msconfig were the same.

Could it be the fact that mine started off as just Windows 7 Home Premium and later received the SP1 whereas my wife's installation was Windows 7 Home Premium with SP1.

I might post this on Microsoft's Tech Communities and see if they can help.

Cheers,
Vlad

 

[TrainableMan]

I don't believe the SP1 would make a difference but I don't have any other ideas.

If you get a solution at MS Tech please post it back here.

 

[vladguan]

Haven't had a reply from social.technet yet. However I discovered something interesting last night.

I used msconfig to set the next boot to safe mode with networking to check something unrelated. When it booted into safe mode, I had the same two stage logon. I then updated a software which required reboot. Upon reboot, it became the one stage logon like my wife's laptop.

I did some work in safe mode and then unticked safe mode in msconfig and rebooted again. It booted into normal windows with the one stage logon and I was thinking to myself that it has resolved itself. Hoever, after rebooting again, it was back to a two-stage logon.

I might have to do a registry export in safe mode with the single stage logon and compare with the normal two-stage logon.

 

[vladguan]

Hi All,

Sort of got there. But does not survive a reboot.

I noticed a difference between the normal boot and safe mode boot in the
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI]

and

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\SessionData\1]

keys.

Normal one had the lastloggedonprovider in both keys set to AdsmCredentialProvider where as the safe boot one was set to passowordprovider.

I modified both to passwordprovider ({6F45DC1E-5384-457A-BC13-2CD81B0D28ED}) and rebooted and it booted to the single-stage logon. However, after login in and rebooting, it reverted to the two-stage login and the lastologgedonprovider value in both keys reverted back to AdsmCredentialProvider ({455BD3EC-20A5-44C3-8D77-396909825B5E}).

Anyone know how to make this permenant?

Cheers,
Vlad

 

[vladguan]

Hi All,
Problem solved for now. Noticed the wife's laptop does not have the {455BD3EC-20A5-44C3-8D77-396909825B5E} AdsmCredentialProvider at all in [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\Credential Providers].
I also found a post where someone showed how to use the fingerprint scanner as the default login provider, which basically used a scheduled task to modify the registry.
I thus created a vbscript to import the registry settings and added as a logged on scheduled task.
It all works fine now. I wonder what will happend if I remove the AdsmCredentialProvider from Credential Providers and then disable the scheduled task.