Desktop locking out students

[tippmann]

I have a lab with 10 PC running XP Pro - SP2. They are not on a domain. I have two users on each machine - Admin and Student. Student does not need a password to login.

Once a week or so the computers come up with
Computer "A" in use and has been locked. Only "computer name"\student or admin can unlock

It will not let you type a password or user in. It beeps like the keyboard is locked

Any ideas would greatly be appreciated
Thanks
Dan

 

[bcastner]

Check that neither the Screensaver option, nor Standby/Hibernate Power Options are set to require a password.

 

[tippmann]

There is no screen saver and the standby/hibernate is turned to never

Thanks for the post.

 

[bcastner]

Is Remote Desktop enabled?

 

[tippmann]

No the remote desktop is not enabled

Thanks again for your time
Dan

 

[bcastner]

From some notes of Kelly Theriot:

After you restart a computer running Windows and no one has logged on, you may be unable to log on to the computer either locally or to the domain.

The following error message may be displayed at logon:

This computer is in use and has been locked. Only or an administrator can unlock this computer. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del to unlock this computer.

If you try to unlock the computer, the following error message may be displayed:

This computer is locked. Only or an administrator can unlock this computer.

If a user has logged on and logged off, you may be unable to log on to the computer (locally or to the domain) and the following error message may be displayed:

This computer is in use and has been locked. Only <domain>\<username> or an administrator can unlock this
computer. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del to unlock this computer.

If you try to unlock the computer, the following error message may be displayed:

This computer is locked. Only <domain>\<username> or an administrator can unlock this computer.

NOTE: In the error messages above, <domain> is the domain name of the last user who logged on to the server and <username> is the name of the user who last logged on to the server.

This behavior can occur for either of the following reasons: When the default screen saver is set to use a non-existent screen saver program. When you use a corrupted screen saver that is password protected.

To resolve this problem, use another screen saver program (such as Logon.scr) that is installed locally on the system or that is not corrupted.

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
2. Locate the Scrnsave.exe value under the following registry key:

HKEY_USERS\.Default\Control Panel\Desktop

3. On the Edit menu, click String, type "logon.scr" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.
4. Locate the ScreenSaverIsSecure value.
5. On the Edit menu, click String, type "0" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.
6. Quit Registry Editor.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use the appropriate method.

Method 1: When the Error Message States the Computer Is Locked by <domain>\<username>

1. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to unlock the computer.
2. Type the logon information for the last logged on user, and then click OK.
3. When the Unlock Computer dialog box disappears, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE and log on normally.

Method 2: When the Error Message Does Not State Who Locked the Computer

1. Use the Shutdown tool in the Microsoft Windows Resource Kit and attempt to shut down the locked computer. The
System Shutdown dialog box is displayed on the locked computer, but the computer does not restart.
2. When the shutdown timer expires, the "Welcome to Windows" dialog box is displayed.
3. Before the screen saver becomes active, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, and log on normally.

NOTE: If you do not use one of these methods to log on, you must restart the computer and log on before the screen saver program starts.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q99590 How to Activate the Screen Saver During Logon

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q99/5/90.asp

Q229687 Err Msg: 'Workstation Is Locked' with Invalid Screen Saver

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q229/6/87.asp