When you configure autologon on machines that use wireless networks, you might end up with machines that can’t connect to your network. The reason is that autologon usually happens faster than a manual logon, while the extra few seconds spent typing in a password manually provides enough time for the Wireless Zero Config service to locate your wireless base station so when you press Enter the connection is present and can authenticate you. But autologon happens so fast that when the machine tries to validate your password it can’t do so because it can’t see the network. To work around this issue, try enabling the following Group Policy setting: Always wait for the network at computer startup or logon.
***
Mitch Tulloch is lead author for the Windows Vista Resource Kit from Microsoft Press, which is THE book for IT pros who want to deploy, maintain and support Windows Vista in mid- and large-sized network environments. Mitch is also the author of Introducing Windows Server 2008, the first book from Microsoft Press about the exciting new server platform. For more information on these and other books written by Mitch, see www.mtit.com.
