Any way to logoff and re-logon without rebooting?

[wallywalters]

I know how to use shutdown.exe to do a complete reboot, but is there any command-line way just to log off and log right back in to Windows XP without fully rebooting?

Edited August 18, 2008 by wallywalters

[ricktendo]

If you configure your pc with only one user or it is set to auto login or has no password I suppose you could use /L and it will logoff and logon automatically

C:\Users\Ricardo>shutdown /?
Usage: shutdown [/i | /l | /s | /r | /g | /a | /p | /h | /e] [/f]
    [/m \\computer][/t xxx][/d [p|u:]xx:yy [/c "comment"]]

    No args    Display help. This is the same as typing /?.
    /?         Display help. This is the same as not typing any options.
    /i         Display the graphical user interface (GUI).
               This must be the first option.
    /l         Log off. This cannot be used with /m or /d options.
    /s         Shutdown the computer.
    /r         Shutdown and restart the computer.
    /g         Shutdown and restart the computer. After the system is
               rebooted, restart any registered applications.
    /a         Abort a system shutdown.
               This can only be used during the time-out period.
    /p         Turn off the local computer with no time-out or warning.
               Can be used with /d and /f options.
    /h         Hibernate the local computer.
               Can be used with the /f option.
    /e         Document the reason for an unexpected shutdown of a computer.
    /m \\computer Specify the target computer.
    /t xxx     Set the time-out period before shutdown to xxx seconds.
               The valid range is 0-600, with a default of 30.
               Using /t xxx implies the /f option.
    /c "comment" Comment on the reason for the restart or shutdown.
               Maximum of 512 characters allowed.
    /f         Force running applications to close without forewarning users.
               /f is automatically set when used in conjunction with /t xxx.
    /d [p|u:]xx:yy  Provide the reason for the restart or shutdown.
               p indicates that the restart or shutdown is planned.
               u indicates that the reason is user defined.
                 if neither p nor u is specified the restart or shutdown is unpl
anned.
               xx is the major reason number (positive integer less than 256).
               yy is the minor reason number (positive integer less than 65536).

Edited August 18, 2008 by ricktendo64

[wallywalters]

I thought so too, but "shutdown /l" merely logs me off and sticks me at the logon screen. I don't have to enter a new password, but it won't auto-logon, either.

[PC_LOAD_LETTER]

you could add your login to the registry so the PC always auto logs in like so:

save in a .reg file

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]

"DefaultUserName"="username"

"DefaultPassword"="password"

"AutoAdminLogon"="1"

"ForceAutoLogon"="1"

if you dont want you PC to logon automatically but are still ok with storing your UN/PW in plain text, you could use something like this:

save in a .bat file and run when you want to logoff/on

@echo off

::create .bat file to delete settings from registry after login

echo @echo off >> "c:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\cleanup.bat"

ECHO reg DELETE "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v DefaultUserName /f >> c:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\cleanup.bat

ECHO reg DELETE "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v DefaultPassWord /f >> c:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\cleanup.bat

ECHO reg DELETE "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v AutoAdminLogon /f >> c:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\cleanup.bat

ECHO reg DELETE "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v ForceAutoLogon /f >> c:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\cleanup.bat

ECHO del c:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\cleanup.bat /Q >> c:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\cleanup.bat

::add auto logon settings to registry

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v DefaultUserName /t REG_DWORD /d "username" /f

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v DefaultPassWord /t REG_DWORD /d "password" /f

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v AutoAdminLogon /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" /v ForceAutoLogon /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

::logout

shutdown /l