XP Pro Start up

A few days ago I inquired as to why my XP pro, on a stand alone computer, was so painfully slow to start up from the Welcome screen to the Desktop. The lapse time from Welcome to Desktop was approximately 2 minutes and the time was getting longer!!! During this period of time I kept receiving Window messages warning me to update my password.
I ignored the messages because when I installed XP I chose the default log in mode. Today, my computer waited almost 30 minutes, then issued a warning that the time for entering a password was now passed and instructed me to establish an account. So, I established a new account and included a password with which to log on. Now, the lapse time from the Welcome screen to the Desktop is less than three seconds. My question is, why? Again, why did establishing a password change the start up time from 2-3 minutes to 10 seconds? Is this a fluke? Is Windows playing cruel games with me?

If enabled, the startup key protects the following sensitive information:

Master keys that are used to protect private keys.
Protection keys for user account passwords stored in Active Directory.
Protection keys for passwords stored in the registry in the local Security Accounts Manager (SAM) registry key.
Protection keys for LSA secrets.
The protection key for the administrator account password that is used for system recovery startup in safe mode.

I dunt know why it would require you to have a key installed, or for that matter why it would take longer with or without a key. Seems very strange to me. Have you tried contacting MS about it?

Below is an article on how to long in now, without your key, "automatic login" I do it this way.
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;EN-US;q282866
BB