The notes in this section provide a brief overview of the logon process in Windows 95.
If user profiles are enabled (using the Passwords option in Control Panel or by setting the related system policy), then a logon dialog box will always appear at system startup (even if the user's password is blank) because the user must be identified so the operating system can load the correct profile.
If user profiles are not enabled, then what happens in the logon process depends on the setting specified in the Primary Network Logon box in the Network option in Control Panel. If the Primary Network Logon setting is for a network provider such as Client for NetWare Networks or Client for Microsoft Networks, then an Enter Network Password dialog box will always appear at system startup if the network is active. These network providers cannot allow automatic logon without the user entering a password because the provider does not know which network password the user wants to use.
On a portable computer that has a network adapter that can be changed (for example, using the adapter on a docking station versus using a PCMCIA card), the logon dialog box appears when there is an active network. Only the Windows 95 system logon dialog box appears when the network is not active.
If the user selects Windows Logon as the value in the Primary Network Logon box in the Network option in Control Panel, then the Windows logon dialog box will appear first, followed by logon dialog boxes for any other network providers. In this case, if the Windows password and the passwords for any other network providers are all blank, then Windows 95 can attempt an automatic or "silent" logon (opening the user's password file with a blank password).
You might choose this configuration, for example, for peer servers that are physically secure from user access when you want such servers to be able to automatically recover from power outages or other failures without user intervention.
Note
The administrator can use system policies to restrict users' access to the Passwords option in Control Panel or to require a minimum password length to prevent automatic logon using blank passwords.