Windows 8 now has two ways to log into your computer: through a Microsoft account, which syncs your settings and apps across your Windows 8 PC, and through a local account, which has been the standard since the beginning. For my home computer, I have always removed all passwords and configured it so that the computer logs in automatically.
When I started using Windows 8, I realized that I like using a Microsoft account so that I can easily transfer applications and settings between different Windows 8 computers.
However, to do this, you need to log in using my email address and password. I was not so sure that I would be able to set up automatic login since it was an online account.
Fortunately, even with a Microsoft account, you can set Windows 8 to sign in automatically. In this article, I’ll show you how to do this. If you are using a different version of Windows, read my post on how to set up automatic login to Windows 7/10.
Sign in to Windows 8 automatically
To get started, go to the Start screen and then open the charms bar by moving your mouse to the upper-right corner of the screen or by pressing Windows + C. Then click Search.
Now type “netplwiz” in the search box and you should see a popup with the results of one application in the left pane.
Then click on the username in the bottom window, which should be your email address if you are using a Microsoft account to sign in to your Windows 8 computer.
Now you need to uncheck “Users must enter a username and password to use this computer”. After that click “OK” and a pop-up dialog will appear asking you to enter your login credentials.
For some reason, it uses some weird username that doesn’t match your email address, so don’t change it. It must be some kind of internal representation of your email address that Windows 8 actually uses to log into Windows. Just enter your Microsoft account password twice and click OK.
Now restart your computer and Windows 8 should automatically boot to the Start screen, bypassing the login screen entirely.
This is it! Hope this worked for you. If you have any problems, please leave a comment here and I will try to help you. Enjoy!
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