This comes up a lot, especially with new or recently upgraded computers. If it's your computer and you're the only who uses it then you just want it to start up for you. There's no point in having it wait for you to logon before it finishes the "loading your preferences" part of the boot up.

So: I found this at the swell....

and happily pass it along with credit and thanks.

How to Enable Automatic Logon in Windows XP

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
For a home PC, needing to log on every time your PC starts up may not be necessary. This hack will describe how to have your PC log on to Windows automatically. If you are concerned about security, you should NOT apply this hack.

Steps

1. Click the Start button and then click Run.
2. In the Run box, type 'control userpasswords2' (without quotes) then click OK.
3. Clear the "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" check box, and then click Apply.
4. In the Automatically Log On window, type the password in the Password box of the user account you will use for auto logon, then retype the password in the Confirm Password box.
5. Click OK to close the Automatically Log On window, and then click OK to close the User Accounts window.
6. Restart your Computer to test auto log on.

Tips

• Using the command 'control userpasswords2' will only work for Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional on computers that are not joined to a Windows Domain network.

Credit where credit is due:
Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Enable Automatic Logon in Windows XP. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.