Password on Resume

I'm a home user, Windows 7/Home 64-bit, the only user of this Laptop, and do not need or desire password protection. When I initialized the system two weeks ago, I left the password fields blank. However, when I boot up (cold start), return from "sleep" mode, or return from "hibernate" mode, I get a Windows 7 splash screen with my account logo and an indication that the machine is "Locked" ... and to proceed, I must click on the account logo. That is a step I would like to avoid.

I went Control Panel>Power Options>Advanced Power Options and made sure the Password on Resume option checkbox was not checked.

I've read dozens of threads on this forum with problems that seem to parallel this issue; however, I'm still confused as to how to turn this behavior off.

So, what's next?

Bare Foot Kid said:

See if the tutorial at the link below is what you want, if not have a look at the "related tutorials" links at the bottom on the page; be sure to keep us informed.

How to Automatically Log On a User Account

Well, the linked tutorial didn't help. I reviewed all the referenced tutorials, and it seemed like "How to Enable or Disable Require Password on Wakeup in Windows 7" was the one that was closest to solving my problems. I used Option 2. It didn't help ... was still prompted for a password when restoring from hibernation. I also tried "Log on Automatically at Startup" -- alas, password still required.

Any ideas?

Option 1 worked .... this time. I had tried it in the past without success. What I did differently this time was do a full boot after making the change. Now, from all three states (cold boot, wake from hibernation, wake from sleep/standby), it goes directly to my desktop without having to click on the welcome screen icon.

Thanks for your help!