How to Change the Windows XP Welcome Screen
There are many users’ out there that don’t know much about computers but would like 
to know enough about them to customize their computer to fit their needs. One of these customizations is the ability to turn the Welcome screen on/off in the Windows XP operating system. This customization can add better security by requiring a username for logging in. Turning it on can add convenience for multiple users.
- Locate and click the “Start” button, choose “Settings” from the start menu, choose “Control Panel” from the pop over menu.
- Locate the logon settings. To do this, double click the “User accounts” icon. In the user accounts screen, click the link that says “Change the way users log on and off”.
- Turn the Welcome screen on or off. To turn it off, uncheck the box next to “Use the Welcome screen.” This reverts to the classic login prompt, requiring a username to log in. Turning the Welcome screen on, make sure this box is checked. Once you change the settings to your liking, click “Apply Options”.
- If you’ve turned the Welcome screen on, you can go back to the logon options page and check the box next to “Use Fast User Switching.” This will allow users to switch access to another user without closing any programs.
- If you’d like to turn the Welcome screen off without using the classic prompt, you can disable both and set a user to automatically log in. Go to the “Start” menu, choose “Run,” type “control userpasswords” and click “OK.” Highlight the username you’d like to have automatically logged in, uncheck the box that says “Users must enter a username and password to use this computer.” Click “Apply,” enter the username/password for the account and click “OK.”
- Restart your computer. The changed settings have been applied.
