When it comes to the screens you encounter when you log onto a Windows computer, your mileage may vary. What you see depends on how your PC has been set up. For example:
This is what people on standalone or workgroup computers see most of the time (Figure 24-13).
To sign in, click your account icon. If no password is required for your account, then you proceed to your Start screen with no further interruption.
If there is a password associated with your account, you see a place for it. Type your password and then press Enter.
There’s no limit to the number of times you can try to type in a password. With each incorrect guess, you’re told, “The user name or password is incorrect,” and an OK button appears to let you try again. The second time you try, your password hint appears, too.
Tip
If your Caps Lock key is pressed, another balloon lets you know. Otherwise, because you can’t see anything on the screen as you type except dots, you might be trying to type a lowercase password with all capital letters.
Figure 24-13. If you click the 
button (lower-right corner of the screen),
you can make the computer turn off, restart, sleep, and so
on—maybe because you’re in a sudden panic over the amount of work
you have to do. Or you can just log in. If you click the
lower-left button, you access Narrator, Magnifier, and other
accessibility tools.
If you’re the only account holder, and you’ve set up no password for yourself, you can cruise all the way to the desktop or the Start screen without any stops. The setup steps appear in the box on The Secret, Fully Automatic Logon Trick.
This password-free scenario, of course, is not very secure; any evildoer who walks by your machine when you’re in the bathroom has complete access to all your files (and protected Web sites). But if you work in a home office, for example, where the threat of privacy invasion isn’t very great, it’s by far the most convenient arrangement.