Why can’t I login with Autologon?

Q  I am having trouble with the Microsoft Autologon program, recommended in an article in Computeractive issue 352. As I’m the only user of my Windows 7 PC I thought the ability to log on without typing a username or password would suit me down to the ground.

That was a great mistake. I installed Autologon, as instructed, and all seemed fine. The program said that the changes would take effect after restarting my PC. However, I’m now unable to get past the Windows login screen, as the computer tells me that the password is not recognised and tells me to try again.

I have had only one password in use since buying the PC and it has always worked without trouble. As a result, I’m now unable to use my computer. Do you know why this has happened and can you help?
Len Jeffers

A  We think you may have inadvertently supplied the incorrect password to Autologon when first setting it up – this would lead to the described symptoms. This can happen, for example, if the Caps Lock key is enabled when typing the password. Regardless, we’d advise disabling Autologon and either trying again or leaving it disabled.

Obviously, you can’t currently log into your computer, so this might seem impossible. However, Autologin can be temporarily disabled by holding down the Shift key on the keyboard after switching on your computer – keep it held down until the Windows login screen appears.

Now log into your PC as usual (checking that the Caps Lock key is disabled, if your password is all in lowercase), launch Autologon again and click the Disable button. If you can’t find the Autologon program file, download it again here. Now restart your PC and your login experience should be back to how it was before.