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The Tsdiscon tool which is built-in to Windows can be used to quickly switch user accounts in Windows XP and Windows Vista. This utility disconnects the current session (does not logoff the account) when no command-line arguments are supplied. If you are a frequent user of the Switch User feature in Windows, you can create a shortcut to tsdiscon.exe and place it in the Desktop or Quick Launch folder for easy access.
Create a Desktop Shortcut to TSdiscon.exe
1. Open the C:\Windows\System32 folder using Windows Explorer.
2. Right-click on the file tsdiscon.exe and choose Copy
3. Minimize all windows. Right-click on the Desktop and choose Paste Shortcut
4. Rename the shortcut as Switch User
5. Right-click on the shortcut, and choose Properties
6. Click the Change Icon button.
7. There are no icons embedded in tsdiscon.exe. So, choose the following resource DLL:
Clicking this icon will take you directly to the log in screen where you can select another account to switch users.
Credits: Ronnie Vernon Microsoft MVP
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[...] The first option is free, and it comes courtesy of Quinn Lewis: Quinn pointed me to a hack using a utility that comes with Vista called TsDiscon.exe. Creating a shortcut to this utility and adding a custom keyboard shortcut will allow you to automatically jump to the welcome screen. Apparently this trick doesn’t work for everyone, but it worked perfectly for me. If you want to give it a try there is a tutorial on how to do it over at The Winhelponline Blog. [...]
I don’t have the tsdiscon.exe in the System32 folder…what should I do?
thanks for the info, this was very helpful
Been looking for a solution like this for a while now! Thank you very much! Works perfectly
This file is not there in my version (Vista Home Premium) of windows. Is it a business only feature?
Hi Gerard, In Windows Vista, tsdiscon.exe certainly saves a mouse click. You don’t have to click the “Switch User” (which you need to click when using Winkey + L)
Tsdiscon.exe goes directly to the screen where the list of users are displayed.
If you are a frequent user of the Switch User feature in Windows, you should know “Windows key”+”L”. for each access.