Windows 10 autologin - kind of?


  1. Posts : 50
    Microsoft Windows 10 Professional X64
       #1

    Windows 10 autologin - kind of?


    Hello once again!

    Now, first of all, this isn't the usual "I want to log in without password".

    I've had some clean install of Win10 (On an external drive, as an "Win10-To-Go") with only one local account, password & pin set-up... But I noticed something interesting. Whenever I booted that system it seemed to behave interestingly.... "preloaded / fast / responsive". I found out, that even though it always booted to lock screen, when I logged in, some of my applications were fully loaded already! This is not usual behoviour that I've seen in my other Win10 installs, where no matter how long I keep it booted on the lock screen, the desktop & programs start loading only after I actually log-in...

    But I've never set-up autologin or anything... It has worked like so from the day I installed it.

    It's possible to kind-of recreate this by using the commonly found method to autologin using netplwiz / registry, and then putting command to lock the computer as the startup task, so that it'll auto-login to my desktop but shortly after locks the PC anyway. But if that was the case here, I'd noticed at least a brief flash of desktop or something, but it just chills on the lock screen as if nothing was the matter....

    Other method to recreate this would be to just hibernate the system, and then, after resuming from hibernation, the system would boot (at least looking from an outside "common user" perspective) completly same way: A bit of uefi boot animation, then lock screen, and when the password is input, it unlocks straight to the ready desktop and running programs!
    But this system is absolutely incapable of hibernation (Win10-To-Go. Remeber?)!

    At the present time, I'm writing this post, because I was making updates to the OTG system. ( Currently at version 21H1 ) And it has been periodically working (It has survived all the windows updates) up until I installed some programs (VS code, Teams, Office 2021 LTSC) and added some optional features (Support for virtualized systems, Windows sandbox, WSL...), and also changed user account password (?!). After reboot, it no longer works as before. Instead it just sits on the login screen, until I log in, and only after that starts loading all the things - same as all the other systems...



    Now my questions are: What is this? (Fast boot?) Why can't I find a thing about this on the internet? (Undocumented? Extremely uncommon?) And how do I manage (enable/disable?) this behaviour?


    Please, somebody tell me that you know about this
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 4,173
    Windows 11 Pro, 22H2
       #2

    I'm just taking a guess here, but is it possible that you have "Restart apps" enabled in settings? This feature allows so-called "Restartable apps" to restart after a reboot, putting you exactly where you were before restart. Notepad is an example of such an app. If you have notepad open and you restart with this option on, then Notepad will be sitting there when you logon, right where you left off.

    The setting for this is located here:

    Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Restart apps
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 50
    Microsoft Windows 10 Professional X64
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Thank you for the suggestion!

    I will take a look at the appropiate setting! I've also noticed another setting in the same location: "Use my Windows credentials to automacially finish setting up my device after updates or restart" (I don't have WIN display lang set to english, so the name of the setting is translated by me - may be different from the original name.)

    - - - Updated - - -

    hsehestedt said:
    I'm just taking a guess here, but is it possible that you have "Restart apps" enabled in settings? This feature allows so-called "Restartable apps" to restart after a reboot, putting you exactly where you were before restart.

    Notepad is an example of such an app. If you have notepad open and you restart with this option on, then Notepad will be sitting there when you logon, right where you left off.The setting for this is located here:

    Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Restart apps
    Msprg said:
    I've also noticed another setting in the same location: "Use my Windows credentials to automatically finish setting up my device after updates or restart"

    Yes! It seems like it works, but in a kind of broken / convoluted way...

    But, it seems, I've got it working again! Here's how:

    When I turned both settings on at the same time, only restarting the apps after login has been working correctly. Not the pre-login / autologin thingy (I'll be calling it pre-login).

    So, I turned both settings OFF, restarted, waited a minute on the lock screen, then logged in normally. Go into Settings, and turn on ONLY the second setting, I've mentioned.

    Restart a few times, and every time wait a bit on the lock screen. When you'll be getting a "fast login" - that is - very little delay (significantly-faster-than-before), between entering the password (pressing return key / last digit of the pin, etc...) and getting into Win explorer, onto the desktop.

    After that works, you're kind of done, but only after this is working, it's a good idea, to turn on the second setting about restarting apps on startup/login, since you'll be logging in into even more-ready state, than with just the second setting. But that's just about preference at this point...


    Thank you, hsehestedt! I can't actually believe I've got this one solved so fast!
      My Computer


 

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