Hiding the Last Logged On Username in the Logon Dialog

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The information in this article applies to:

 

SYMPTOMS

After you upgrade your computer running Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 to Windows 2000, the last logged on user name may be visible in the logon dialog box, and this occurs even if you previously configured Windows NT to hide the last logged on user name.

CAUSE

This issue occurs because Windows 2000 stores this information in a different registry location than Windows NT 4.0. Because of this, the last logged on user name may be visible in the logon dialog box. In Windows 2000, this registry key is located at:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

   Value Name: DontDisplayLastUserName
   Data Type:  REG_DWORD
   Value:      0 = Display last logged on user name
               1 = Don't display last logged on user

 

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use Group Policy Editor to apply a policy to not display the name of the last user to log on:

  1. Click Start, click Run, type mmc, and then click OK.
  2. Click Add/Remove Snap-in on the Console menu.
  3. Click Add, click Group Policy, and then click Add.
  4. Leave the Group Policy Object set to "default (Local Computer)", click Finish, click Close, and then click OK.
  5. From the Console, double-click Local Computer Policy, double-click Computer Configuration, double-click Windows Settings, double-click Security Settings, double-click Local Policies, and then click Security Options.
  6. In the right pane, double-click Do not display last user name in logon screen.
  7. Under local policy setting, click Enable, and then click OK.
  8. Quit the Console, and Save when you are prompted to do so.
  9. Restart your computer.

MORE INFORMATION

NOTE: The Windows 2000 Online Resource Kit incorrectly states that Windows 2000 uses the same registry value as Windows NT 4.0. This is an error in the Resource Kit.

For related information, please click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q114463 Hiding the Last Logged On Username in the Logon Dialog
Q135586 Hiding the Last Logged On User Name in Windows 95
Q159969 AutoLogon Fails If DontDisplayLastUserName Is Also Enabled
Q186501 Enabling Auto Admin Logon on the Terminal Server Console