Windows 8: how to stop auto login

Solution 1:

I got it working, but in an less than perfect way. This way Windows would ask you to type the username every time. Would still like it to show a welcome screen with icons you can click on every boot though.

Run secpol.msc > Local Policies > Security Options > Interactive logon: Do not display last user name > Enabled

Solution 2:

How to Disable automatic Last User Login and always provide Select a User to Login in Windows 8 without downloading software or using any autorun scripts.

1. open command prompt and enter/run netplwiz
2. make sure the "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" has a check mark. If not put a check mark in the box and hit apply
3. in command prompt enter/run regedit
4. goto: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\UserSwitch
5. on the right side select the "Enabled" in the list and change the value data to 1 and then click OK
6. right click on the "UserSwitch" on the left side and select "permissions"
7. click on Advanced button
8. in the Permission entries list highlight the one named "SYSTEM"
9. click "Disable inheritance", and in the dialog box that appears, select "Convert inherited permissions into explicit permissions on this object"
10. now double click on each Permission entries one at a time and un check "Full Control" and then click OK. You will not be able to do this for "Authenticated Users" and that is ok
11. All permission entries should now be listed as "Read" under the Access category except the Authenticated Users
12. click Apply
13. click OK
14. click OK
15. restart Windows 8 and your done !

Solution 3:

Shutdown in W8 is not really a full shutdown, its a form of hibernation...make a command shortcut to do a full shutdown should solve it...

Open notepad and copy this into it

shutdown /s /t 0

you can change the zero to 5 if you want a 5 second delay after you launch the command, zero is immediate shutdown.

save it to your desktop as "Windows full shutdown.cmd" (change the file extension from txt to cmd)

Use this command shortcut to shutdown the PC, hopefully this will allow you to pick a user on next boot.

Solution 4:

The only way to make it work is to set a password on all the accounts. You can choose a normal or picture password which may help the transition.

I have looked for a long time on this and went through many articles on how to bypass the lock screen hoping it would lead me to a way, as I could find only a few articles on forcing the lock screen none of which worked. But there is not. Windows attempts to bring up the last logged in account. If that account doesn't have a password it will log it in. So, if you have multiple users and you do not want them to login automatically then they have to set a password.

I don't like the answer either, but it is true. I have 4 users, (wife, 2 kids and myself). I set a password on mine, but the others do not.

A waste of time since the other 3 are locked down and can't do anything. It is like asking for a password at a kiosk.

Solution 5:

There is a DWORD key in the registry to set this, it worked perfectly for me: I have two users with no password, Lock Screen is disabled. Upon restart it doesn't auto-logon (that's what I wanted...) check it out: How to prevent Windows 8 from automatically logging in the last user

Also, you need to prevent Windows 8 to reset the key to 0 at every restart, this is how: Help with multiple users login screen!