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After deploying a Windows 7 image to Stand alone machines we run into the following problem.

If we set autologon to off then we have to log in manually and activate Windows and Office - the Keys are installed but the products are not activated. (These laptops are set as loan laptops so may not be used for months after they are imaged - grace period expired)

If we do set Autologon to on and run a script to activate the products on first logon - when they are network connected, then the machine will always log on to the account we have specified in the autologon.

I was wondering, is there a way to turn off autologon via a script?
It can be done manually by following the instructions in this post or via a registry key(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\AutoAdminLogon)

I'm not sure how to manage this from the command line or a script if anyone could point me in the right direction it would be much appreicated.

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3 Answers 3

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+100

One can change the registry via a .reg file.

For example, create an autologin.reg file containing :

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
"AutoAdminLogon"="1"
"DefaultUserName"="Administrator"
"DefaultPassword"="Pa$$w0rd"

Add DefaultDomainName if required, then just execute the file to get the values into the registry.

Or in a cmd script :

REG ADD "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v AutoAdminLogon /t REG_SZ /d 1 /f
REG ADD "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v DefaultDomainName /t REG_SZ /d domainname /f
REG ADD "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v DefaultUserName /t REG_SZ /d Administrator /f
REG ADD "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v DefaultPassword /t REG_SZ /d Pa$$w0rd /f

(Warning: I didn't test the above.)

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  • Just execute it from a bat file?
    – Joe Taylor
    Sep 30, 2011 at 10:10
  • Yes for the 2nd one, run as administrator.
    – harrymc
    Sep 30, 2011 at 10:17
  • Calling a reg file from a bat file to run at first logon worked for me.
    – Joe Taylor
    Oct 4, 2011 at 10:17
  • The data type for AutoAdminLogon should be REG_SZ and not REG_BINARY.
    – Irukandji
    Jul 24, 2012 at 11:57
  • @baijiu: Well, I did warn that it was untested... Fixed now.
    – harrymc
    Jul 24, 2012 at 13:16
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Can't you just use sysprep /oobe? It will finalize your install and show the welcome screen on reboot.

Read what sysprep is and how sysprep works for more information.

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  • I use sysprep /oobe to prepare the image, we then deploy the image using WDS. When we do this with machines we join to the domain we never have this problem but when the machine is a stand alone machine it keeps the auto logon for some reason.
    – Joe Taylor
    Sep 30, 2011 at 22:18
  • @JoeTaylor: That's generalization. What I meant was to run sysprep /oobe after deployment, so it'll leave the audit mode which WDS has put it in. This should get rid of the auto login settings, which are only intended to be present during the audit... Sep 30, 2011 at 22:21
  • Will you still be able to specify the OOBE arguments - region, usernames, etc?
    – Joe Taylor
    Oct 1, 2011 at 10:59
  • @JoeTaylor: Sorry, I don't know what you mean by that. I have seen the thing I describe as working, but don't know about customizing what you describe. I think region is configured as part of the unattended installation (it was like that when I used MDT, I don't know how to do this by command), the users can be added using something like net user /?. Oct 1, 2011 at 16:57
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Sysinternal's Autologon should be able to auto logon only once. That was a function when I've used it a while ago but I'm not seeing any details on whether it does that now.

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  • I was hoping for something native to Windows 7 but thanks for the advice.
    – Joe Taylor
    Sep 30, 2011 at 22:20
  • Does Autologon have command line options that I'm unaware of? Sep 30, 2011 at 22:24
  • @JoeTaylor: It takes a simple net start webclient && copy \\live.sysinternals.com\Tools\Autologon.exe . to obtain it if you have an internet connection... :) Sep 30, 2011 at 22:24

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