Dell laptop won't stay logged on

[Rick Barnhart]

I just got a new Dell laptop and it uses Windows 8. It's nice but there's a learning curve because I'm a caveman. I can't find the setting to keep it logged on. If I put it to sleep and return later...I have to log on again. If I walk away from it while it's running, it goes to sleep by itself, which is fine, but again I have to log on again. I'm starting to see the log on screen in my dreams! Can anyone direct me to the right setting so I can tell this thing to stay logged on? Thanks

[Wiz Feinberg]

This is now a Control Panel adjustment, found under Power Options > System Settings.

Previously, on Win XP, you could right-click on the desktop and choose Properties and the option to require a password or not was right there.

Note, if you operate as a W8 Standard User, the ability to change the settings for "Password protection on wakeup" is grayed out. But, there is a link above it labeled: "Change settings that are currently unavailable" - which opens a UAC dialog box where you can type in your administrator password to continue and change that setting to "don't require a password" (upon wakeup).

You can protect your desktop from guests and kids by "locking" the computer, which will require your user account password to get to the Windows desktop.

[Rick Barnhart]

Thank you, Wiz. Your instructions worked perfectly.