How to switch between users



How to switch between users

Published: September 7, 2006

Once you add a computer to your household, you might feel like one PC is not enough. Your kids might change the desktop to a wild color, and your Internet Explorer Favorites might get confused with everyone else's. You might even have some personal or financial files that you don't want others in the house to access.

Good news—you don't necessarily need to buy a new computer. Just set up user accounts for everyone in your home and log on with your own user account each time you use the computer. When you log on to your account, Microsoft Windows XP will look the way you want it to look. And Windows XP will keep your files in a location that is separate from files in other user accounts.

Note: If your computer is joined to an Active Directory directory service, the Fast Users Switching feature will be disabled. This change is commonly made to computers used for business. In fact, the change happens automatically when a computer joins an Active Directory domain. However, disabling the Fast Users Switching feature is not the default setting. Almost all computers in home environments will have Fast User Switching enabled.

To switch between user accounts

|1. |Click Start, and then click Log Off. |

| |Note: You can leave programs running, and they will still be open the next time someone uses this account. |

| |[pic] |

|2. |On the Log Off Windows dialog box, click Switch User. |

| |[pic] |

|3. |Click your account name. If you set up your account with a password, type the password, and then click the green arrow|

| |button. |

| |[pic] |

When you log on, Windows XP displays your desktop and any programs you left running. Spend a few minutes showing everyone in your household how to switch to their own accounts, and sharing a computer will be much easier on everyone. Having multiple users might not stop your kids from fighting over whose turn it is to use the computer, but at least they can each have their own settings and separate locations for their files. This feature can help them at least feel like they have their own PCs

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