The security on Windows XP (as on most modern operating systems) is based on
user accounts. When Windows XP is installed, some user accounts are
automatically created (e.g. Administrator, SYSTEM etc.). Some of these
(e.g. SYSTEM) are used by operating system processes and are "special"
rather than "user" accounts, but each one has a "security context"
associated with it.
It is possible to configure Windows XP to logon a particular user account
automatically when the OS starts, but you can not do anything on the
computer with "logging on", either automatically or deliberately.
So, no, you can not have "no user accounts".
When you Delete a user account, this does not remove all references to that
account. If a user account has been added to an "Access Control List" (e.g.
a Permisssions list), that entry will show up as "Account Unknown".
For a user to be able to use the printer attached to your computer, the
printer must be shared and the other people must be granted permission to
print (i.e. their user account must have Print permission for the printer).
There is a "special" user account called "Guest". Generally, this is
Disabled, however, if it is set to Enabled and granted permission to Print,
then anyone can print. Anyone can also access other items on the computer
that are "shared" that Guest has been granted access to. Enabling the Guest
account is considered insecure, but the corresponding risks may be
acceptable in a small, contained environment.
If your computer is a member of a Domain (Start, right click My Computer,
select Properties, select the Computer Name tab, click Change - if the
"Domain" radio button is selected, your computer is in a Domain). Generally
speaking, it is not a good idea to enable the Guest account in a Domain, but
you can grant all Domain users Print permission.
So, the here's some things to check
1. ensure that the printer is actually shared (Printers and Faxes, right
click on the printer, select Sharing).
2. find out what user accounts have been granted Print permission to the
printer
- Printers and Faxes, right click on the Printer, select Properties
- select the Security tab
- select each user or group in the list and see which ones have a check
mark beside "Print"
If there is no Security tab, this means that "Simple file and print
sharing" is enabled on your computer. In this case, Guest automatically has
Print permission on local printers. If this is the case and others can not
print, we need to look elsewhere - post again.
If your computer is in a Domain, stop here and post again.
3. You may find that "Everyone" has the Print permission. The Guest
account is (automatically) a member of the Everyone group, so this means
that the Guest user account can be used to print and that the other people
don't actually need a user account on your computer in order to use the
printer. However, if the Guest account is disabled, then each person will
require a user account on your computer.
4. check if the Guest Account is Enabled or not
- open Computer Management (in All Programs, Administrative Tools)
- click the + sign beside Local Users and Groups
- click the Users folder
a list of users will appear in the right pane. If Guest has a red circle
with a white x, it is disabled. Right click on Guest and select
"Properties"; remove the check mark from "Account is disabled"; click OK.
