Eliminating the Win9x Logon Dialog

Q: On bootup, Windows Me asks for a user name and password. The user name comes up automatically as administrator but the Password is left for me to enter. I have no password and don't know what it used to be, but I finally discovered the dialog box goes away if I press Escape. However, since it interrupts my reboot, it's annoying. I also discovered that replacing the administrator username with my name (I changed the owner name in the registry) will work without a password - I don't want one - when I press the dialog's OK button.

But how can I get rid of the dialog altogether?

A: About 10 people asked us this question this week, so it must be time to do a recap.

Unlike the tight security you'll find on Win2k or WinXP, password 'security' on Windows 9x or Me is a snap to bypass. To get rid of that annoying logon screen, do this:

1. Click Start, Settings Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Network applet.
3. On the Configuration tab, select Windows Logon as the Primary Network Logon, then close the dialog box.
4. Delete any file in the \Windows folder with the extension .pwl.
5. Reboot.
6. The password prompt will appear one last time. Press Enter (don't press Escape) and you'll never see it again.