Could someone please explain the several login screens?

[Tõnis]

When I start my ThinkPad, I normally get the usual blue Windows login screen in which I can click either my own or a guest account and start using Windows. I have noticed that when I go into the Global Configuration settings of Access Connections and select "Allow wireless connection at Windows logon (requires system restart)," the normal Windows login screen no longer appears when I restart. Instead, I get a different blue login screen which doesn't display the various users, rather it only has one option for loging in. Why does the machine use this different screen when I select that Access Conections option? Is there a benefit to this different way of loging in?

Tõnis

[Marin85]

Windows has a few options for the login screen depending on the amount of user accounts and their type. The idea is to chose that login screen that fits your needs best, e.g. if you are the only user on your ThinkPad and always log in as admin, you don´t really need the screen with different accounts as there aren´t really any other accounts. So you just would choose the option to boot directly into OS (skip account menu). I believe what you have observed with AC is a design flaw of AC and not intention. For some reason selecting this option overwrites your settings for the login screen. I believe it´s not really supposed to do that.

Marin

[yak]

Just to complement Marin's post. Even with a single user account you may still want the login screen, for the password protection.

[Tõnis]

Thank you both for your prompt, informative replies. I did locate the "Use the Welcome Screen" option under User Accounts, and it seems that that's where I can choose which method to use. Well, unless Access Connections chooses for me!

Tõnis

[Marin85]

Yeah, that will be definitely interesting to see if you can overwrite this setting and yet retain that specific AC setting.

[Tõnis]

Nah, I already know that I can't. I'm using the Welcome screen with it's clickable account option (password for my account, no password for the guest account), and, when I select that AC Global Configuration option the ThinkPad starts using the other style log in screen.

[Marin85]

Nah, I already know that I can't. I'm using the Welcome screen with it's clickable account option (password for my account, no password for the guest account), and, when I select that AC Global Configuration option the ThinkPad starts using the other style log in screen.

I meant it the other way around If you have already applied that setting in AC, then try to change the login screen setting within control panel. Then my question is whether the AC setting will stay the same.

[Tõnis]

Ah, yes, I'll have to try that. When AC made the change I never did try to change it back. What I did do is change the AC setting back, and my welcome screen magically reverted back to the clickable welcome screen I was originally using.

[Marin85]

Ah, yes, I'll have to try that. When AC made the change I never did try to change it back. What I did do is change the AC setting back, and my welcome screen magically reverted back to the clickable welcome screen I was originally using.

Hm, that´s interesting. Maybe the "normal" login screen and that specific setting of AC are indeed incompatible.

[GomJabbar]

Just ask Gina

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=8197

[Marin85]

Just ask Gina

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=8197

Thanks for the reference! So, having the MSDN article and this thread from 2005 in mind, AC seems to put its own gina.dll, If I understand you correctly. What I don´t understand from the thread you provided is whether it´s possible to keep both that particular AC setting checked and the Welcome Screen during startup.

[GomJabbar]

I really don't know. I have not used anything but the Windows login.

[Tõnis]

Thanks, GomJabbar, for the helpful links, especially the forum link from 2005.

You can also check in Access Connections for the following. Click on the Manage Location Profiles..., highlight your normal wireless connection and choose Edit, click on the Wireless tab and verify that you have chosen 'No' for Use this profile to connect during Windows logon? You can change by choosing Edit wireless LAN settings. You can also try leaving your wireless radio in the off state before shutdown, by pressing the Fn + F5 key combination.

That's exactly how I'm using AC (except, for me, this option is in AC's Global settings). With that set to "No" (i.e. unchecked), I am able to use the welcome screen which (as I understand now) allows "fast user switching," whereas the other classic welcome screen does not. I like the fast user switching feature, and the only way it will work with AC is if I leave the box unchecked, or so it seems. BUT, I'm starting to suspect that this might also have something to do with ThinkVantage software acting up when I switch users; perhaps TV applications just don't "like" the fast user switching option and may simply prefer the classic log-in protocol. I dunno ... my experimentation will continue.

Tõnis