Possible to start programs before Windows logs in?

[kingmustard]

I have a 'server', which is basically a Windows 10 PC.

 

Apart from the power button, it's in a hard-to-use place.

 

On the PC, I run Plex Media Server, Google Backup & Sync (for photos) etc.

 

I turn it on each morning and, using TeamViewer, turn it off most nights. This means I don't have to use the monitor, keyboard etc.

 

At the moment, when I turn the system on, it just boots into a Windows account. There's no password set.

 

However, if the computer was ever stolen, they'd have easy access to my photos etc.

 

Ideally, I would want to set a password for the user account.

 

However, when I tried this, Plex Media Server (as one example) doesn't start until I enter the Windows password.

 

Is it possible to start programs, such as Plex Media Server, before Windows even logs in?

[Eigenvektor]

If the program is/has a service rather than a normal user-space program it should be possible.

 

There seems to be a way to do this for Plex: https://forums.plex.tv/t/pms-as-a-service/53381#top

 

Normally anything you run on a server should run as a service so it is started/available when the machine is started without user intervention.

 

You should also set Windows to optimize performance for background programs: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/89429-adjust-processor-resources-best-performance-windows-10-a.html