I have a server application running on my Windows XP machine which is left on, so my server is always on. So far so good.

I have a problem though if my PC needs to be reboots/crashes. The server application runs when my user account is logged in. I would like to create an account which would always login when the machine is turned on. I would then run the server from this user account.

How can I setup a new user account which will automatically login when the machine is started, but will allow the other users to login and use the machine unaffected by the account which is running?

Ian Davs, July 2004

I have exactly this setup on Windows XP Pro.

Microsoft make a free utility called Tweak UI. This utility enables you to change the login settings and pick an account which will auto login. (You could make these changes directly in the Registry, but using Tweak UI is safer.)

I wanted the account, which I set to auto login, to then revert to the login screen once the computer has started and done the login. (The result is that the computer logs in, but then presents the Welcome Screen so that users still have to login.)

To do this I set up a shortcut in the Programs > Startup group to trigger the Welcome Screen to appear. (Same effect as pressing the Windows Key and "L".)
To make the shortcut....
Set Target to "%windir%\System32\rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation"
Set Start In to "%windir%"

Dave, July 2004