- What is the difference between Windows XP Professional Edition and Windows XP Home Edition?
- With Windows XP, the system doesn't display the Security dialog box when I press Ctrl+Alt+Del. Where did the dialog box go?
- With Windows XP, how do I set a password hint?
- What is Windows 2002?
- How can I determine which product key I used to activate Windows XP?
3.2 With Windows XP, the system doesn't display the Security dialog box when I press Ctrl+Alt+Del. Where did the dialog box go?
You can get the Security dialog box back by disabling the welcome screen. Select Control Panel > User accounts > Change the way users log on or off, and then clear the Use the Welcome screen checkbox.
If you want only the Lock Computer option on the Task Manager Shut Down menu, you can disable fast user switching. Select Control Panel > User accounts > Change the way users log on or off, and then clear the Fast User Switching checkbox.
If the welcome screen and fast user switching are both enabled, Switch User (Winkey+L) returns you to the welcome screen (essentially locking the computer). Someone else can log on to his or her session, but your session remains safely locked.
3.3 How do I control the welcome screen display and also whether fast user switching is allowed?
Under Control Panel > User Accounts > Change the way users log on or off is a simple dialog box that gives you two options (if you're in a domain, the Change the way users log on or off option is not available):
Use the welcome screenWith this option enabled, when you first boot the machine, log off, or switch users, the system displays a screen that lists the local accounts and displays user pictures (if you configured the picture option). Also new to the welcome screen is the ability to have a user password hint.
Use fast user switchingFast user switching (see Figure 3-1), which works similarly to Terminal Services sessions, lets you log on as another user without having to log off the current session first.
Figure 3-1 Option to use the new Windows XP logon screen
You can also set these two options from the Registry under the HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon key:
LogonTypeSet to 0 to display the Security dialog box; set to 1 to display the new welcome screen.
AllowMultipleTSSessionsSet to 0 to prohibit fast user switching; set to 1 to allow switching.
3.4 How do I use the new Windows XP welcome screen?
The new XP welcome screen is actually as simple as it looks. When you first boot the machine, log off, or use fast user switching, the system displays a screen with the computer's local accounts. To log on as one of these accounts, click the appropriate user name or picture. If you have a password, the system will display an area for your password (if you don't need a password, you'll be logged on). See Figure 3-2.
Figure 3-2 The new Windows XP "friendly" workgroup logon screen
Type your password and click the right arrow or press Enter. If you forget your password and you have configured a password hint, you can click the question mark (?) next to the right arrow to display your hint. Note that these password hints aren't secure; anyone can see them by clicking the question mark, so don't make them too obvious.
3.5 How do I change my picture for the welcome screen?
If you don't enjoy appearing as a cat, an astronaut, or a fish (the default picture choices for the welcome screen), you can configure your own picture by performing the following steps:
Start the User Accounts Control Panel applet (Start > Control Panel > User Accounts).
Select the account of the picture you want to change.
Click Change my picture (see Figure 3-3).
Figure 3-3 Modifying user accounts
The system will display a list of default pictures. Click Browse for More Pictures.
By default, the system will open your My Pictures folder. Browse to your picture. (It should be 48 pixels x 48 pixelsif it's a different size, the system will force it into a 48x48 formatand it can be a BMP, JPG, or GIF file.) Select the picture you want and click Open.
The system will display all the pictures again, highlighting the one you added. Click Change Picture (see Figure 3-4).
Figure 3-4 Selecting a new picture to be displayed for the welcome screen
This picture selection is actually stored in the Registry under the HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Hints\[username]\ PictureSource key, and you can change it there. By default, the pictures are stored in %systemdrive%:\Documents and Settings\All UsersApplication Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\Default Pictures.