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Screensaver won't turn on despite group policy in XP
My office is currently running XP SP3 on all our desktops and Windows Server 2003 on most of our servers. We have a logon policy in place that imposes a screensaver activation period of ten minutes on all computers, with the added requirement of 'on resume, password protect'. This is set to not be alterable by the user.
Yesterday one of my users reported that despite his computer being left unattended for several hours over the weekend, his screensaver had not engaged and the system did not ask for his password. I checked to make sure he was picking up the policy, and he was. I examined the registry, too- HKCU > Software > Policies > Microsoft > Windows > Control Panel > Desktop > ScreenSaverIsSecure was set to 1 and the time on it was set to 600.
When I came into the office this morning, the user's computer had not engaged the screensaver overnight, nor locked down with any form of password protection. I have since locked the computer manually, but I would like to know why the screen saver isn't kicking in. Multiple apps were running when I checked the machine this morning- Outlook 2007, Excel 2007, Word 2007, Acrobat 9, Blackberry Desktop Manager, and I think Bloomberg Professional, plus several items in the background along the lines of Symantec Endpoint Security and GoToMyPC. If anyone can suggest what needs to be reconfigured or shut down in order for his system to lock automatically, I would appreciate it. Thank you.
Yesterday one of my users reported that despite his computer being left unattended for several hours over the weekend, his screensaver had not engaged and the system did not ask for his password. I checked to make sure he was picking up the policy, and he was. I examined the registry, too- HKCU > Software > Policies > Microsoft > Windows > Control Panel > Desktop > ScreenSaverIsSecure was set to 1 and the time on it was set to 600.
When I came into the office this morning, the user's computer had not engaged the screensaver overnight, nor locked down with any form of password protection. I have since locked the computer manually, but I would like to know why the screen saver isn't kicking in. Multiple apps were running when I checked the machine this morning- Outlook 2007, Excel 2007, Word 2007, Acrobat 9, Blackberry Desktop Manager, and I think Bloomberg Professional, plus several items in the background along the lines of Symantec Endpoint Security and GoToMyPC. If anyone can suggest what needs to be reconfigured or shut down in order for his system to lock automatically, I would appreciate it. Thank you.
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Does the policy work on other computers? Is it safe to assume the issue is isolated to this one machine?
The policy does work on other computers, and the problem is isolated to this one machine. In the past, this user's computer has locked down after the appropriate idle period.
The Office Apps shouldn't be your issue, but I guess I'd say trial and error will be your best bet.
Set the screen saver value to a lower value, like 15 seconds, so you can test. Then, close everything out to make sure the screen saver kicks in. If it still doesn't, maybe your mouse has a nervous tick in it, or a key is stuck on the keyboard.
Assuming it does kick in, I'd go through adding one app at a time until the screen saver doesn't enable. After that, extend the screen saver time to 600, to get to where you want to be. Perhaps, Bloomberg or Blackberry is doing something every five minutes (300) that you cannot see in 15 seconds.
Set the screen saver value to a lower value, like 15 seconds, so you can test. Then, close everything out to make sure the screen saver kicks in. If it still doesn't, maybe your mouse has a nervous tick in it, or a key is stuck on the keyboard.
Assuming it does kick in, I'd go through adding one app at a time until the screen saver doesn't enable. After that, extend the screen saver time to 600, to get to where you want to be. Perhaps, Bloomberg or Blackberry is doing something every five minutes (300) that you cannot see in 15 seconds.
try
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control
"ScreenSaveActive"="0"
source : http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5572452.html
from google search : registry screensaver disable
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control
"ScreenSaveActive"="0"
source : http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5572452.html
from google search : registry screensaver disable
Yeah... This one is tricky because there is nothing obvious, like LingerLonger says..
Other things I can think of to try is make sure the person doesn't have a reflective mousepad.. If you can get to the machine when the user is not around maybe unplug the mouse and keyboard completely to take them out of the situation.
Only other thing is maybe try an un/rejoin to the domain.. although since it shows in your gpresults not sure if that would do any good.
Other things I can think of to try is make sure the person doesn't have a reflective mousepad.. If you can get to the machine when the user is not around maybe unplug the mouse and keyboard completely to take them out of the situation.
Only other thing is maybe try an un/rejoin to the domain.. although since it shows in your gpresults not sure if that would do any good.
Have you tried refreshing the group policy on the XP box? From the run command, type gpupdate and click ok.
Assuming the group policy is applied correctly, it is likely one of the applications that are running and keeping the system 'active'.
It is unlikely Any of the Office package, Acrobat or Symantec are keeping the screensaver from running...
Try setting the screensaver to engage after one minute (save to some troubleshooting time). If it doesn't start, try closing programs one by one to find the culprit.
Assuming the group policy is applied correctly, it is likely one of the applications that are running and keeping the system 'active'.
It is unlikely Any of the Office package, Acrobat or Symantec are keeping the screensaver from running...
Try setting the screensaver to engage after one minute (save to some troubleshooting time). If it doesn't start, try closing programs one by one to find the culprit.
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@ronan1979
"[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Contro
"ScreenSaveActive"="0" "
If that value is present it should be changed to a 1 to turn on the SS....
"[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Contro
"ScreenSaveActive"="0" "
If that value is present it should be changed to a 1 to turn on the SS....
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