microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin

Joe M. wrote:
> Upon inactivity I would like to activate a password protected
> screensaver. However my screensaver settings in the display
> properties does not have a password option. I've heard that if your
> user account has a password then the screen saver will also, but
> this isn't the case. When my screen saver runs there's no password
> prompt. Can anyone help?

VanguardLH wrote:
> You mean an option to enter the password, or an option to *enable*
> password protection when the screen saver activates?There is an "on
> resume" option to enable password protection. There is no input
> field to specify the password as the same one gets reused that you
> used to login to your Windows account. Are you saying that somehow
> the dialog window shown at
> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_do_i_stop_windows_xp_screensaver_asking_for_my_password.html
> no longer shows the "on resume" password protect option (even if
> grayed out) shown in the red circle in the picture?
>
> Are you using the screen savers included in Windows or from a 3rd
> party product?
>
> Do you use auto-logging to automatically log into your Windows
> account when you boot the computer?

Joe M. wrote:
> In answer to your questions:
>
> - There is no option to enable password protection.
> - It is not grayed out, it doesn't appear at all.
> - I do not use automatic logging. We have 3 user accounts and you
> must log on in the welcome screen.
> - These are with the Windows XP screensavers

VanguardLH wrote:
> Are you logged in under an admin-level account when you check the
> screensaver settings?
>
> Is(are) the host(s) in a domain? If so, group policy can dictate
> that users cannot modify screensaver settings. That includes
> preventing the users from changing the time to wait before
> activating the screensaver and disabling password protection.
> Group policies are recorded in the registry so it is also possible
> to enforce the same behavior using a local security policy. I
> don't know what is the registry setting. However, my recollection
> when using a group/local policy to disable the password protect
> option (usually to force it enabled) is that the option is greyed
> out to show that changing it is disabled, not that it disappears
> completely from that dialog.
>
> If you pick no screensaver (i.e., "(None)"), do the Wait and "On
> Resume" option appear (but greyed out)? Do they appear (whether
> greyed out or not) if you pick a different screensaver?

Joe M. wrote:
> - This is a home pc so there is no domain.
> - My account is the administrator.
> - The "wait" and "on resume" are visible regardless if a
> screensaver i sselected or not.
> - The wait for _minutes is visible. The only option to chose is
> "return to Welcome screen".
> - If I select a screensaver then it will appear after the wait time
> specified. However there is no password prompt it just returns to
> the desktop.

Okay - so what I see here is that you have an account that is of an
administrative level. When you turn off and turn on the power to said
computer - you have to click on the user account name on the Welcome Screen
and enter a password (not blank) to logon to utilize the computer.

You select a screensaver (like "Blank" or "Windows XP") and you do not see
"On Resume, display Welcome Screen" or "On resume, password protect" - or do
you and they are greyed out? I am confused here - having read through it
all a couple of times. heh

Control Panel --> User Accounts --> Change the way users logon
What are the settings there?

How long do you wait before de-activating the screensaver to see if it
returned to the logon prompt/welcome screen? I'd suggest installing TweakUI
and checking what the settings are for the "Grace Period".

Have you seen this?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/328000

Checked the registry value?
http://www.pctools.com/guides/registry/detail/1189/

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html