When Windows Vista is running in audit mode for a long time, the computer is locked after the system resumes from standby or from hibernation

View products that this article applies to.

SYMPTOMS

When you run Windows Vista in audit mode for a long time, the computer enters standby or hibernation. By default, you are then prompted to perform an administrator logon after the computer resumes. This behavior occurs during an automated factory preinstallation operation. In this scenario, the automated factory preinstallation process is interrupted.

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WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, temporarily change the default power-saving scheme. To do this, add the following Powercfg and registry settings to the "specialize pass" section of the Unattend.xml answer file:

Microsoft-Windows-Deployment | RunAsynchronous
cmd /c powercfg -change -standby-timeout-ac 0

Microsoft-Windows-Deployment | RunAsynchronous
cmd /c powercfg -change -monitor-timeout-ac 0

Microsoft-Windows-Deployment | RunAsynchronous
cmd /c powercfg -change -hibernate-timeout-ac 0

Microsoft-Windows-Deployment | RunSynchronous
cmd /c regedit /s screenSaver.reg

===screensaver.reg====
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
"ScreenSaveActive"="0"
"ScreenSaveIsSecure"="0"

Alternatively, you can enable the Don’t require a password setting under the Require a password on wakeup option. You can enable this setting either in a power plan or by editing the registry. To do this, perform one of the following procedures:

To enable the Don't require a password setting in all applicable power plans, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Control Panel, click System and Maintenance, and then click Power Options.
2. On the Select a power plan page, click Require a password on wakeup in the task pane.
3. On the Define power buttons and turn on password protection page, click Don't require a password.
4. Click Save changes.
To enable the Don't require a password setting in a specific power plan, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Control Panel, click System and Maintenance, and then click Power Options.
2. On the Select a power plan page, click Change plan settings under the plan that you want to change.
3. On the Change settings for the plan page, click Change advanced power settings.
4. On the Advanced settings tab, expand Additional settings, expand Require a password on wakeup, and then click No both for when the computer is running on battery and when the computer is plugged in.
5. Click OK.
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
To enable the Don't require a password setting in the registry, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then click regedit.exe in the Programs list. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type a valid password, or click Continue.
2. Locate and then click the following subkey in the registry:
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
3. In the right pane, right-click ScreenSaveIsSecure, and then click Modify.
4. In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
5. Exit Registry Editor.

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

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MORE INFORMATION

To restore the default power scheme, apply the following settings:

cmd /c powercfg -change -standby-timeout-ac 60
cmd /c powercfg -change -monitor-timeout-ac 5
cmd /c powercfg -change -hibernate-timeout-ac 1080

AuditUser - Runsynch
cmd /c regedit /s screenSaver.reg
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
"ScreenSaveActive"="1"
"ScreenSaveIsSecure"="1"

For help with power consumption and battery life problems in Windows Vista, visit the following Microsoft Web page:

Fix problems in which power consumption is more than expected or the battery life is short (http://support.microsoft.com/gp/windows_battery_power_settings)

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