I built a Windows 11 Pro VM in Parallels using the Installation Assistant. Parallels automatically created a user name that matches my Mac user name and auto logs in. The problem is, I don't want it to auto login as I'm going to join it to a domain and use a domain login. How can I disable the auto login? I already changed the password on the account so now every time I start the VM, it tries to auto login an fails.
Windows auto account creation and logging in
- Thread starter NickK12
- Start date
-
- Tags
- windows 11
Ashley Chumun
Staff member
Greetings,
To disable auto-login, please follow the steps below:
1. Open Parallels Desktop and Launch your Windows Virtual Machine.
2. Click on the Windows Start Icon > Type Regedit and press enter.
3. Navigate to the following Path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
4. Make sure you selected the Winlogon folder and on the right panel, please search for DefaultUserName and delete it (Right-click select delete)
5. Restart your Virtual Machine and it should no more auto-login to the windows profile.
Best regards!
alev
Parallels Team
There is also an app that should do this: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autologon
This is not serious.
Is should be an option when installing a VM to ask whether you want autologon or not.
Same for letting you chose the account creation. Mine was imposed from the main user Mac folder. I never was asked to create the default account during Windows install.
Only solution offered by Parallels: change the name in the account in Windows, then change all the links to c:\Users\[account name] everywhere on the disk and in the registry... Yeah sure.
Is should be an option when installing a VM to ask whether you want autologon or not.
Same for letting you chose the account creation. Mine was imposed from the main user Mac folder. I never was asked to create the default account during Windows install.
Only solution offered by Parallels: change the name in the account in Windows, then change all the links to c:\Users\[account name] everywhere on the disk and in the registry... Yeah sure.
alev
Parallels Team
Hi Sjordi,
The overwhelming majority prefer this experience and in these cases we don't offer an option directly.
However there is an option we provide for your scenario to install Windows and name the user manually: https://kb.parallels.com/en/129607 there will be no autologin as well.
I hope it helps and thank you for feedback!
The overwhelming majority prefer this experience and in these cases we don't offer an option directly.
However there is an option we provide for your scenario to install Windows and name the user manually: https://kb.parallels.com/en/129607 there will be no autologin as well.
I hope it helps and thank you for feedback!
I did install it through the manual configuration via an ISO image but never was asked anything regarding user account creation.
It was not the ARM version though, so it may be different.
But it's not important anymore as I gave up using Parallels (poor performances, shared folders not seen by some 3rd party software during their install processes, etc...)
Thanks anyway for taking the time to comment my previous post.
It was not the ARM version though, so it may be different.
But it's not important anymore as I gave up using Parallels (poor performances, shared folders not seen by some 3rd party software during their install processes, etc...)
Thanks anyway for taking the time to comment my previous post.
hi,
seems meanwhile there is no way anymore to create an independent second windows 11 vm without autologon?
my setup is this: parallels desktop 20 pro edition with a win11 pro vm i set up with a local windows account in 2023 on a macbook pro m1, and it works perfectly fine (let's call it win11-original).
for testing reasons i wanted to set up a second win11 pro vm (let's call it win11-test), and i also ran into the autologon problem: windows would login automatically with my username (without asking for a password).
question 1: is it using my mac's username or is it using my win11-original's username (which is actually the same, so i don't know which one is used)?
after setting a (different) password for win11-test and with the other password still working for win11-original i guess it's the mac's username, but i'm still not sure.
then i found this thread, erased the first win11-test and tried it via the suggested kb article here in the thread: https://kb.parallels.com/en/129607
i downloaded an win11 iso, followed the steps, but OOBE process appeared and autologon happened anyways.
within this new win11-test i then tried the editing of the registry deleting DefaultUserName and in a second try also LastUsedUserName, but the autologon still happens (this was before i set a password).
question 2: is there (still) a working way to install a second windows 11 vm (without having to create a second mac user) in addition to an existing one which enables me to get the OOBE process and create a local username/account of my choice?
thx,
claudia
seems meanwhile there is no way anymore to create an independent second windows 11 vm without autologon?
my setup is this: parallels desktop 20 pro edition with a win11 pro vm i set up with a local windows account in 2023 on a macbook pro m1, and it works perfectly fine (let's call it win11-original).
for testing reasons i wanted to set up a second win11 pro vm (let's call it win11-test), and i also ran into the autologon problem: windows would login automatically with my username (without asking for a password).
question 1: is it using my mac's username or is it using my win11-original's username (which is actually the same, so i don't know which one is used)?
after setting a (different) password for win11-test and with the other password still working for win11-original i guess it's the mac's username, but i'm still not sure.
then i found this thread, erased the first win11-test and tried it via the suggested kb article here in the thread: https://kb.parallels.com/en/129607
i downloaded an win11 iso, followed the steps, but OOBE process appeared and autologon happened anyways.
within this new win11-test i then tried the editing of the registry deleting DefaultUserName and in a second try also LastUsedUserName, but the autologon still happens (this was before i set a password).
question 2: is there (still) a working way to install a second windows 11 vm (without having to create a second mac user) in addition to an existing one which enables me to get the OOBE process and create a local username/account of my choice?
thx,
claudia