Friday, January 01, 2021

Windows 10: Automatic login issues

Today I was scratching my head as to why I couldn't set my newly installed Windows 10 Pro system to automatically login (which is a requirement for some of the software that I'm running as this will be a home server). Due to the fact this is a new clean system, I decided to set it up with the latest version of Windows 10 at the time (20H2), instead of just using the previous USB stick I had created. I then installed using my Microsoft account as the main administrator user and setup a login pin, instead of a local account (which is the important point here).

Now going back to the original title of the post, if you're not sure how to setup Windows 10 to automatically login, there are endless tutorials online (here is a example from TechJunkie). Unfortunately all of these tutorials run into the same issue, they assume that the 'Users must enter a username and password to use this computer.' option is visible. However, if you install and setup Windows the way I had above, the option won't be visible, and therefore you won't be able to select it.

After much confusion and cross checking my other systems, I finally worked out what the issue was. By default the option 'Require Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts' was enabled when I installed the OS (this can be found under Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options), which normally wouldn't be an issue... But because I'm trying to get the system to login automatically by providing my password this won't work. This is due to the fact that Microsoft's remote online login system will now be enabled and your password will never be entered into the local system. Noting that that I also use 2 factor authentication and the authenticator app which meant that I didn't actually login with my password to begin with.

So to make a long story short, just disable the 'Require Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts' option and the 'Users must enter a username and password to use this computer.' checkbox will magically reappear.


An additional note, if you are trying to access your Windows 10 computer via a Remote Desktop connection from another device and you are receiving a login error when using your Microsoft account and your password, it could be related to this same issue. So again, just disable the option an try again.

Lastly, just to make sure my password was stored within my local user profile, I locked the desktop (Win Key + L) and then used the 'Sign-in options' button and provided my password (as you can still keep your pin active to make manual logins easier).

Monday, March 22, 2010

Corel Video Studio Pro X3

I recently upgrade from Corel Video Studio Pro X2 (12) to X3 (13) for my basic video editing needs (I still use Premiere Pro / Encore CS4 for advanced projects). So far I've seen big improvements in program stability (I'm running Windows 7 x64) and refinements to the user interface (e.g. the location of mark in/out buttons when multi-trimming a video). Another bonus is the hardware encoder acceleration support, although you will need a CUDA enabled video card for that so I'm unable to test it's performance (I'm running an ATI 4890). But it's not all good news.

When upgrading a software package I can understand the need to refine the user experience through simplifying the interface and either hiding or removing unnecessary options. The only problem with this is when developers take it to far, which is what I believe has happened in Corel DVD Factory Pro 2010 (which is the Blu-ray / DVD authoring program within the Corel Video Studio Pro X3 package).

Instead of improving on the previous authoring tool found in X2, they have managed to make it so frustrating to use that I now...
  • Edit my video in Corel Video Studio Pro X3
  • Save to a version 12 project file
  • Open in X2 and create the DVD using the old authoring program

And it's not just one problem that is causing me to resort to this, it's many. Here is an example of the biggest problems I see at the moment...
  • Can no longer create DVD's with no menu (I used this feature a lot in X2)
  • Forced to used the new media library (which by default imports all the video, sound and photo's it can find on your system)
  • Limited DVD menu styles (when compared to X2)
  • Reduced DVD menu style editing options (e.g. set the section of video to show for menu thumbnails)

When you get down to it, I only really have issues with the DVD authoring program bundled in X3. So if that is something you don't really use, or only use at a very basic level (so much for the “Pro” tag) then Corel Video Studio Pro X3 is a worth while upgrade from X2, if only for the bug fixes. ;-)

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

VT Racing - Rally SA 2009

Footage from Friday & Saturday

Friday, March 13, 2009

G1 Round 1 - 7 March 2009

Some video I shot at the first round of G1 Extreme Drift (Mallala). Filmed on a Canon HV30 + 1.7x Tele Lens (no tripod and sorry for the shaky cam).

Friday, July 18, 2008

Flash video player for Director 10 & 11

I've just finished a very basic flash video player that can be used in Director 10 & 11. This player is designed to get around the video start-up delay (or flash) you encounter when using the default FLV playback component.

Resources...


As always feel free to ask for help if you get stuck or have a question :-)

Friday, June 13, 2008

FishMark 08 Released

FishMark 08 is a benchmark designed to see how well your computer renders 2D animations in Director MX 2004 (10.1). It's currently still in Beta testing but don't let that scare you, it's quite stable.

BRAINtastic!


To download FishMark 08 click here. FishMark 08 is compatible with Windows 2000, XP & Vista.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Windows Vista, Sleep to Shut Down

Ever wondered how to change the default behaviour of the Sleep button found in the Windows Start Menu to a Shut Down button? If so just follow these instructions...
  • Press the Windows key then type in 'pow' and press enter (this should open the power options control panel)
  • Click 'Change plan settings' on the power plan you currently have selected
  • Click 'Change advanced power settings'
  • Expand 'Power buttons and lid'
  • Expand 'Start menu power button'
  • Now change the setting 'sleep' to 'shut down'
  • Click 'Apply' and 'OK'

Now the yellowish sleep button in the start menu has become a red shut down button.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

CA Anti-virus + Windows Vista = Poor Performance

I've been meaning to post this information, but just haven't gotten around to it until now (slack I know). Anyway my point to this post is, don't run CA Anti-virus (formally Vet for some users) if you're running any version of Windows Vista (including SP1).

I've personally run into problems on both AMD and Intel based computers where the explorer process will start using 100% of the available CPU power (on the active core), which can last a few minutes at a time. I found this was caused by the CA Anti-virus real-time scanner and the only way to get around the problem is to disable it. BUT if you do disable the real-time scanner then you have to remember to manually scan every download and email attachment otherwise you could get infected (because nothing is being scanned automatically any more). Some good news is that CA Anti-virus still works perfectly fine if you are running 2000 or XP.

As an alternative to CA Anti-virus I'm now testing Avast! and I'm impressed (apart from the voice alerts). Some other anti-virus packages that I haven't yet tested on Windows Vista but I would still recommend are NOD32 and Kaspersky.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Scrollbar Behaviour for Director 10 & 11

I posted this on the Director Mailing List the other day but thought I should also get it online elsewhere so that everyone has access. What I've created is a scrollbar behaviour that emulates the scrollbar object found in the now dead OSControls Xtra. So all properties, methods and events from the old #OSscrollbar object are now supported by this new scrollbar behaviour. For more information see the following links...

View example movie (Shockwave 11 required)
Download example source code (Director 11 only)

Download the Scrollbar Behaviour for Director 10
Download the Scrollbar Behaviour for Director 11
Download the Scrollbar photoshop CS3 template

Current Version: 1.0b8-19Jun08

If you need help with the Scrollbar Behaviour just leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.