Sign in automatically with Microsoft's Autologon tool — via Mark Russinovich, Microsoft Sysinternals
Trickhigh riskNeeds adminWindows 11Windows 10
For a kiosk, media PC or test machine that should boot straight to the desktop, Sysinternals Autologon sets up Windows' built-in automatic sign-in and stores the password encrypted, rather than in plain text in the registry as old guides do.
Restart the computer
How to do it
- Download Autologon from Microsoft Sysinternals (
https://learn.microsoft.com/sysinternals/downloads/autologon) and runAutologon64.exeas administrator. - Enter the user name, domain (the PC name for a local account) and password, then select Enable.
- Hold Shift during startup to skip the automatic sign-in once. To turn it off for good, run Autologon again and select Disable.
Anyone who can switch the PC on gets your desktop, and Microsoft warns that any administrator can recover the stored password. Don't use it on a laptop that leaves the house or on an account with a password you use elsewhere. Autologon doesn't check that the password is correct. It won't work while Exchange ActiveSync password restrictions are in place.
Sources
- Autologon — by Mark Russinovich, Microsoft Sysinternals
- Protecting the Automatic Logon Password — by Microsoft Learn
- Source reviewed
- 2026-11-02
- Link checked
- 2026-11-02
- Tested hands-on
- Not by Oddbyte.Me
Oddbyte.Me hasn't tried this on every Windows build, so keep the undo handy.