Internet Explorer "Remember my password" Checkbox Missing

On my office laptop, I discovered the Internet Explorer "Remember my password" checkbox option was missing. This was quite annoying, as I started using Eclipse's internal browser to test my development work on the staging server I setup at home. The staging server is protected by a simple .htaccess file, which prompts you for a username/password with a dialog box like the one below:

As you can see, its missing the "Remember my password" option, which means I have to reenter the credentials every time I want to login. After a lot of research on Google, I finally figured out the problem: the Protected Storage service needs to be running. Either I disabled the Protected Storage service or a Windows security update did. Either way, after changing the "Startup type" to Automatic and restarting all IE browsers, here's how the password dialog looked:

I have a feeling that a Windows, or an Internet Explorer, security update changed the way IE stores passwords. For most users, the update had no effect since the Protected Storage service is set to Automatic by default. But not for me; I love tinkering with stuff. I disabled a lot of unnecessary Windows XP services on my laptop last year to help keep it secure while I'm on the move.

Update:
In the comments, Haiman posted the following alternate fix. Several users reported his fix worked for them, so I'm including it here. (You'll need to use the registry editor to make this change, Start->Run->regedit.exe, but be sure to make a backup of your registry before fooling around with it!)

Your office pushes out a GPO or registry change to disable users from caching passwords.

User Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion
Internet Settings]
Value Name: DisablePasswordCaching
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (0 = default, 1 = disable password cache)

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22 Comments

  1. Did you try the following?

    1) Click Start -> Run
    2) Type in services.msc and press Enter
    3) Look for ‘Protected Storage’ and double click on it
    4) Make sure the start-up type is set to Automatic
    5) Restart your computer

    If that doesn’t work, then I’m afraid I don’t know what else could be wrong.
    Let me know how it goes!

  2. Your office pushes out a GPO or registry change to disable users from caching passwords.
    User Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion
    Internet Settings]
    Value Name: DisablePasswordCaching
    Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
    Value Data: (0 = default, 1 = disable password cache)

  3. Also could be security policy

    Computer Configuration->Windows Settings->Security Settings->Local Policies/Security Options

    Network access: Do not allow storage of credentials or .NET Passports for network authentication.

    Set this to Disabled if you want the tick box, this setting can be set by Group Policy.

    • this worked for me. thanks!!
      had a hard time finding local policies though – for those who don’t know where it is – Start – control panel – administrative tools – local security policy –

    • I always though am an expert in Win, but there was nothing I didn’t try to get this bloody checkup to show up.

      You are great Jimmy.

      C

      • After my company refresh my laptop. “remember my passowrd” stop working. After trying your
        suggestion, it works for me too now. Thanks a lot.

  4. =======================================================
    User Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion
    Internet Settings]
    Value Name: DisablePasswordCaching
    Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
    Value Data: (0 = default, 1 = disable password cache)
    =======================================================

    The above fix by HAIMAN fixed my problem

    • Hey Aries,

      I’m not sure if this work for XP Home, but I’m guessing it will. Maybe someone else who stops by here can answer that question better.

      Thanks for stopping by!