The Disappearing Passwords Panel

In the September 2002 issue, I explained how to make Windows stop showing a password prompt each time you log on. Quick review: Begin by opening the Network control panel, and then set the Primary Network Logon to Windows Logon. Now open the Passwords control panel and use the Change Windows Password button under the Change Passwords tab to set your new password to nothing at all (in other words, don't type anything in either the 'New password' text box or the 'Confirm new password' text box).

Unfortunately, a great many readers wrote to say that when they double-clicked the Passwords icon in Control Panel, they discovered to their frustration that the Passwords Properties dialog box had no Change Passwords tab at all--where oh where had that little tab gone? Though the tab's disappearance can be the result of restrictions set by an administrator using the System Policy Editor utility, reader Alethia Mongerie of Jamaica, New York, points to a more likely culprit: If you are in the habit of pressing Esc or clicking Cancel when you see the Enter Windows Password prompt on the screen, you are entering a configuration of Windows that will not let you change the Windows password. The solution is simple: All you need to do is log off, enter your password and log on normally, then return to the Control Panel and open the Passwords Properties dialog box. Just like that, you'll find the restored Change Passwords panel (see FIGURE 2).

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