Yeah, as the heir of NT throne, 2000 won't let you bypass the login without you implicitly telling it to do so. That requires admin priveleges. Or a quick trip to http://ultimatebootcd.com/ which will give you a password changer/registry editor which will THEN give you admin priveleges. But still that's a good question. What are the fundamental differences between 2000 and XP? Never-minding the obvious (and gaudy interface), 2000 and XP are pretty similar. XP has roll-backs and fast user-switching, Product Activation, an easy-to-use firewall, a warm-huggable face, and a 64-bit distro. And it logs time-restricted events. Honestly, x86_64 firepower is the ONLY thing that interests me. And I think I'll wait 'til copies of Vista x64 OEM are available at my preferred retailer (OEM translates into "half the [...]ing price when bought with hardware."). After that, I can smile at the pretty interface and then have BlackBoxLean to tell it to take a hike. XD