1 Open your Control Panel. To do this, locate and click the "Start" button, choose "Settings" from the start menu, and choose "Control Panel" from the pop over menu.
2 Locate the logon settings. To do this, double click the "User accounts" icon. In the user accounts screen, click the link that says "Change the way users log on and off."
3 Turn the Welcome screen on or off, depending on your needs. To turn it off, uncheck the box next to "Use the Welcome screen." This reverts to the classic login prompt, requiring a username to log in. To turn the Welcome screen on, make sure this box is checked. Once you change the settings to your liking, click "Apply Options."
4 Take advantage of additional settings. If you've turned the Welcome screen on, you can go back to the logon options page and check the box next to "Use Fast User Switching." This will allow users to switch access to another user without closing any programs.
5 Use an alternative method, if needed. If you'd like to turn the Welcome screen off without using the classic prompt, you can disable both and set a user to automatically log in. Go to the "Start" menu, choose "Run," type "control userpasswords" and click "OK." Highlight the username you'd like to have automatically logged in, uncheck the box that says "Users must enter a username and password to use this computer." Click "Apply," enter the username and password for the account and click "OK."
6 Restart your computer. The changed settings have been applied, but won't come into play until you've restarted your computer.