Turn on Automatic logon in Windows 7

If there are multiple user accounts and you need to have a particular user account logon automatically (meaning that a particular user will login into the computer without having to type the user name and password). To turn on automatic logon, perform the following steps:
1. Click Start button . In the Search programs and files field, type netplwiz and press the Enter key from the keyboard. (If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation).
2. From the User Accounts dialog box, under Users for this computer: click to select the user account that needs to be logged on automatically and then click to remove the checkmark beside Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer. Now, other user names will be grayed out.
3. Click Apply. Now, Automatically Log On dialog box appears. Enter and confirm the password (If no password is set for a user then leave the Password: and Confirm Password: boxes blank).
4. Click OK to close the Automatically Log On dialog box.
5. Click OK again to close the User Accounts dialog box.

Remove the Ctrl + Alt + Delete screen in Windows 7

Enabling the secure logon feature will make the Press CTRL + ALT + DELETE to log on screen to appear when you start your computer or when you perform the Switch user operation or when you log off. Also, you will see the Press CTRL + ALT + DELETE to unlock this computer screen when you lock your computer. Perform the following steps to disable the secure logon feature:
1. Click Start button . In the Search programs and files field, type netplwiz and press the Enter key from the keyboard (If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation).
2. Click Advanced tab. Under Secure logon, click to remove the check mark beside Require users to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
3. Click Apply and then click OK.

Delete a user account in Windows 7

If you have a user account that is no longer used on your computer then you may delete the user account. Perform the following steps to delete a user account:
1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click User Accounts and Family Safety if the View by: is Category and then click on User Accounts or click on User Accounts if the View by: is Small icons or Large icons.
3. Click Manage another account (If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation).
4. In the Choose the account you would like to change window, click on the user account that you need to delete.
5. Click Delete the account.
6. Choose to keep or delete the files created under the account by clicking on Delete Files or Keep Files.
7. Click Delete Account in the Confirm Deletion window.

Create a password reset disk in Windows 7

When you assign a password to your user account, you have the option of creating a password hint. If you enter an incorrect password then Windows 7 will display the password hint. As a good practice, create password reset disk to retrieve the password in case you are unable to make use of the password hint or you had not entered the password hint. You can create a password reset disk on a floppy disk or on a USB flash drive. Perform the following steps to create the password reset disk:
1. Click the Start button and then click Control Panel.
2. If the View by: is Category then click on User Accounts and Family Safety and then click User Accounts. If the View by: is Large icons or Small icons then click on User Accounts.
3. From the left pane, click Create a password reset disk to open the Forgotten Password Wizard.
4. On the Welcome to the Forgotten Password Wizard page, click Next, specify the location of the floppy disk or USB flash disk, click Next.
5. On the Current User Account Password page, enter the password that you use to login to your computer and then click Next.
6. Once you see 100% complete in the progress bar, click Next. On the Completing the Forgotten Password Wizard page, click Finish.

Change the user account picture in Windows 7

When you click on the Start button, the user account picture appears at the top right part of the Start menu. You may change the picture that is associated with your user account. To do so, perform the following:
1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click User Accounts and Family Safety if the View by: is Category or click on User Accounts if the View by: is Small icons or Large icons.
3. Click Change your picture.
4. Choose from the list of pictures that you see or make the picture of your choice to appear by clicking on Browse for more pictures... and then navigating to the location, then clicking on Open.
You may use a picture of any size and of the following file formats (.jpg, .png, .bmp, or .gif).
5. Click Change Picture.

Change a user's account type in Windows 7

You can change the user type from Standard user to Administrator or from Administrator to Standard user. Windows requires at least one administrator account on a computer. If you have only one account on your computer, you can't change it to a standard account. Perform the following to change the account type:
1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click User Accounts and Family Safety if the View by: is Category and then click User Accounts.
Or
Click User Accounts if the View by: is Large icons or Small icons.
3. Click Change your account type (If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation).
4. Select your new account type and then click Change Account Type.

Disable a user account in Windows 7

Disabling a user account is different from deleting a user account. If you disable a user account, you can enable it but if you delete a user account, you cannot restore it. You cannot disable a user account if you are using Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Basic, and Windows 7 Home Premium. Perform the following to disable a user account:
1. Click Start button . In the Search programs and files field, type mmc and press the Enter key from the keyboard. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. In the left pane, click Local Users and Groups. If you do not see Local Users and Groups then perform the following steps to add this snap-in to Microsoft Management Console.

• In the Microsoft Management Console window, click File menu, and then click Add/Remove Snap-in.
• From the Available snap-ins: box, click Local Users and Groups, and then click Add.
• Click Local computer: (the computer on which this console is running), click Finish.
• Click OK.

3. From the left pane, click Local Users and Groups (Local). Now, double-click the Users folder.
4. Right-click on the user account that needs to be disabled. Click Properties.
5. Click to place a check mark beside Account is disabled.
6. Click Apply and then click OK.

Turn off automatic logon in Windows 7

If there are multiple user accounts and upon starting your computer, if you do not see the screen to select a user account to login, this means the automatic logon feature is turned on. Once you turn off this, you will have all the user account names displayed in the welcome screen. To turn off automatic logon, perform the following steps:
1. Click Start button. In the Search programs and files field, type netplwiz and press the Enter key from the keyboard. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. Under Users tab, click to place the checkmark beside Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer.
3. Click Apply and then click OK.

Know the user account type in Windows 7

If multiple user accounts are present on your computer and you want to know the user account type (i.e., whether Standard user or Administrator). Perform the following steps to know the user account type:
1. Click the Start button and then click Control Panel.
2. If the View by: is Category then click on User Accounts and Family Safety and then click User Accounts. If the View by: is Large icons or Small icons then click on User Accounts.
3. Click Manage another account (If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation).
4. Under the user account name, you will see the user account type.

Turn on the guest account in Windows 7

To have someone temporary access to your computer, you have to turn on the guest account. People using the guest account can't install software or hardware, change settings, or create a password. Perform the following to turn on the guest account:
1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click User Accounts and Family Safety if the View by: is Category and then click on User Accounts or click on User Accounts if the View by: is Small icons or Large icons.

3. Click Manage another account (If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation).
4. Click Guest and then click on Turn on.
Now, the guest account is turned on.

Create a user account in Windows 7

Sharing a single computer with other people is very easy. Just create a user account for each user. Perform the following steps to create a user account:
1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. If the View by: is Category then click on User Accounts and Family Safety and then click User Accounts. If the View by: is Large icons or Small icons then click on User Accounts.
3. Click Manage another account (If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation).
4. Click Create a new account.
5. Type a name for the account and select the account type (either Standard user or Administrator). It is recommended that you choose Standard user.
5. Click Create Account.

Rename a user account in Windows 7

If you are not satisfied with the user account name then you may change it easily. To rename a user account, perform the following steps:
1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. If the View by: is Category then click on User Accounts and Family Safety and then click User Accounts. If the View by: is Large icons or Small icons then click on User Accounts.
3. Click Manage another account (If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation).
5. Click on the user account that needs to be renamed.
6. Click Change the account name.
7. In the New account name field, type the name and then click Change Name.

Create or assign password for your user account in Windows 7

You create a password to deny other people from logging into your user account. To create a password, perform the following steps:
1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click User Accounts and Family Safety if the View by: is Category and then click on User Accounts or click on User Accounts if the View by: is Small icons or Large icons.
3. Click Create a password for your account.4. Type the password in the New password box. Type the password again in the Confirm new password box.
5. To have a hint for your password, type the hint in the Type a password hint box.
6. Click Create password.

Change the password for a user account in Windows 7

You may change the password for your user account or other user accounts. To change the password for other user accounts, you must be logged in as administrator. If you are logged in as a standard user account then to change the password for other user accounts, you must type the administrator account or you may provide confirmation. To change the password, perform the following:
1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click User Accounts and Family Safety if the View by: is Category and then click on User Accounts or click on User Accounts if the View by: is Small icons or Large icons.
3. Do the following:

• To change your user account password : Click Change your password. Type the current password in the Current password box. Type the new password in the New password box. Type the new password again in the Confirm new password box.
  To have a hint for your new password, type the hint in the Type a password hint box.
  Click Change password.
• To change the password for another user account : Click Manage another account (If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation).
  Click and select the user account that needs the password change.
  Click Change the password.
  Enter the new password and confirm it.
  Click Change password.

Turn off the guest account in Windows 7

If a guest account is not in use then you may turn off the guest account. Perform the following to turn off the guest account:
1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click User Accounts and Family Safety if the View by: is Category and then click on User Accounts or click on User Accounts if the View by: is Small icons or Large icons.

3. Click Manage another account (If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation).
4. Click Guest and then click on Turn off the guest account.

Now, the guest account is turned off.

Remove the password for your user account in Windows 7

To remove the password for your user account, perform the following:
1. Click the Start button and then click Control Panel.
2. If the View by: is Category then click on User Accounts and Family Safety and then click User Accounts. If the View by: is Large icons or Small icons then click on User Accounts.
3. Click Remove your password.
4. Enter the password of your user account in the Current password box and then click Remove Password.

Please note that if the password that you entered is not correct then you will receive the message saying The password you typed is incorrect. Please retype your current password.

Enable secure logon in Windows 7

You can add an additional layer of security by enabling secure logon. Once you enable secure logon, users have to press Ctrl + Alt + Del in order to login to the computer. Perform the following steps to enable secure logon:
1. Click Start button . In the Search programs and files field, type netplwiz and press the Enter key from the keyboard (If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation).
2. Click Advanced tab. Under Secure logon, click to place a check mark beside Require users to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
3. Click Apply and then click OK.

Switch users without logging off in Windows 7

For switching users without restarting your computer, use Fast User Switching. Fast User Switching feature allows other users to use your computer without logging you off or closing your files or programs. To switch users, perform the following steps:
1. Click Start button . Click the arrow button to the right of Shut down and then click Switch user.
2. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete (If secure logon is enabled).
3. Click on the user account that you want to switch to.

Know whether a user account is password protected or not in Windows 7

If multiple user accounts are present on your computer and want to know which user accounts are password protected then you may perform the following steps to know:
1. Click the Start button and then click Control Panel.
2. If the View by: is Category then click on User Accounts and Family Safety and then click User Accounts. If the View by: is Large icons or Small icons then click on User Accounts.
3. Click Manage another account (If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation).
4. Under the user account name, just below the user account type, if you see Password protected then those user accounts are password protected.