Administrator Unable to Unlock a "Locked" Computer

ID: Q242917

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

After you restart a computer running Microsoft Windows 2000 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.
-or-

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.


CAUSE

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.



RESOLUTION

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.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).


  2. Locate the Scrnsave.exe value under the following registry key:


    3. HKEY_USERS\.Default\Control Panel\Desktop
  3. On the Edit menu, click String, type logon.scr, and then click OK.


  4. Locate the ScreenSaverIsSecure value.


  5. On the Edit menu, click String, type 0, 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 NT 4.0 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.


STATUS

This behavior is by design.


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

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbenv kberrmsg
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb


Last Reviewed: December 29, 1999
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