How to Disable Lock Screen in Windows 8

Windows 8 RTM has been released and everybody is talking about the new version of the most popular operating system in the world. Windows 8 runs faster, boots faster and comes with a sleek new interface called Metro UI (Microsoft has started to call it Modern UI). Windows 8 has many new security features like the lockscreen (like in your Android mobile phones) that you have to slide up to unlock. You can also press the spacebar key on your keyboard or drag it near the upper edge of your screen using your mouse to unlock it. But if you intend to use Windows 8 in your home PC, then this lockscreen is unnecessary and adds only to annoyance and frustration over time. Good news is that Windows 8 allows you to disable the lockscreen. Here is how :

Method 1

1. Press keyboard shortcut Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog.
2. In the Run dialog, type gpedit.msc and press Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.

   

3. In the Group Policy Editor, navigate to Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Control Panel → Personalization. On the right-hand side pane, you would see a setting labeled Do not display the lock screen as shown in the following picture :

   

4. Double-click on the Do not display the lock screen setting to open its options window. Select Enabled option in this window and click on the OK button.

   

5. This would disable the lockscreen. Now if you restart your computer, you would not see any lockscreen.

Method 2

1. Press keyboard shortcut Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog.
2. In the Run dialog, type regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.

   

3. In the Registry Editor Editor, navigate to following registry key (if the key does not exist, then create it) :
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization

   

4. While Personlization key is selected, right-click on the right side pane and select New → Dword (32-bit) Value to create a new dword value. Give the newly created dword value a name NoLockScreen and set its value to 1.
5. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.