CompTIA A_ Certification All-In-One Exam Guide, Seventh Edition - Michael Meyers [263]
Figure 16-8 Windows XP Welcome screen
Windows XP requires you to create a second account that is a member of the administrators group during the initial Windows installation. This is for simple redundancy—if one administrator is not available or is not able to log on to the computer, another one can.
Creating users is a straightforward process. You need to provide a user name (a password can be added later), and you need to know which type of account to create: computer administrator or limited. To create a new user in Windows XP, open the User Accounts applet from the Control Panel and click Create a new account. On the Pick an
Figure 16-9 User Accounts dialog box showing a computer administrator, a couple of limited accounts, and the guest account (disabled)
account type page, you can create either type of account (Figure 16-10). Simply follow the prompts on the screen. After you create your local accounts, you’ll see them listed when you open the User Accounts applet.
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NOTE The old Users and Passwords Control Panel applet is still in every version of Windows XP. If you’re on a Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition system and your system is part of a domain, the old program comes up automatically when you click the User Accounts applet. If you’re running Window XP Professional or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition but not on a domain, or if you’re running XP Home or Media Center, go to Start | Run and type the following:
control userpasswords2
This brings up the old applet, which is the best way to change the administrator password on a system.
Head back to the User Accounts applet and look at the Change the way users log on and off option. Select it to see two checkboxes (Figure 16-11). If you select the Use the
Figure 16-10 The Pick an account type page showing both options available
Figure 16-11 Select logon and logoff options
Welcome screen checkbox, Windows brings up the friendly Welcome screen shown in Figure 16-12 each time users log in. If this box is unchecked, you’ll get the classic login sreen (Figure 16-13).
Figure 16-12 Welcome screen with three accounts
Figure 16-13 Classic Logon screen, XP style
The second option, Use Fast User Switching, enables you to switch to another user without logging off of the currently running user, a feature appropriately called Fast User Switching. This option is handy when two people actively share a system, or when someone wants to borrow your system for a moment but you don’t want to close all of your programs. This option is only active if you have the Use the Welcome screen checkbox enabled. If Fast User Switching is enabled, when you click the Log Off button on the Start menu, you get the option to switch users, as shown in Figure 16-14.
Figure 16-14 Switching Users on the Welcome screen
Managing Users in Windows Vista
Microsoft made some major changes in the transition to Windows Vista, including to the user accounts and the applet used to create and modify them. Just as with Windows XP, you create three accounts when you set up a computer: guest, administrator, and a local account that’s a member of the Administrators group. That’s about where the similarities end.
To add or modify a user account, you have numerous options depending on which Control Panel view you select and which version and update of Vista you have installed. Windows Vista Business and Ultimate, for example, in the default Control Panel Home view, offer the User Accounts applet (Figure 16-15). Windows Home Premium, in contrast, gives you the User Accounts and Family Safety applet (Figure 16-16). The options under each applet differ as well, as you can see in the screenshots.
Figure 16-15 User Accounts applet in the Control Panel Home in Windows Vista Ultimate
Figure 16-16 User Accounts and Family Safety applet in the Control Panel Home in Windows Vista Home Premium
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