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Recently, when Windows 10 returns to the lock screen, all of my programs (e.g. Excel) are closed, any unsaved information is lost, and I must restart the programs upon entering my password at the lock screen. The behavior is as if, by leaving the computer idle, I clicked the "sign out" option (which I have not).

  • Reverting to an old system restore point did not work.
  • Using Win-L and then immediately entering my password does not close my programs. I don't know how long the delay is between going to the lock screen and my programs being closed
  • I have no screen saver; the screen goes blank after 10 minutes; I have - to my knowledge - unchecked all instances of returning to the lock screen
  • I do want the lock screen, as this is an office computer
  • When booting to safe mode, the problem does not appear.

In response to comments

  • My office computer is not on the institution's domain, although they do have one.
  • I can confirm that the computer is not rebooting by checking that no events with IDs 6005 or 6006 occur at times when my programs close
  • Starting the lock screen witn Win-L and waiting 15-20 minutes does not cause my programs to close. I not yet been able to check longer times; however, this is the only clue I have thus far to suggest that the program closing issue may not be attached to the lock screen.

I am not sufficiently familiar with the event viewer or task scheduling to check these systems for additional diagnostic information.

How do I continue to diagnose, and ultimately resolve, the issue of the Windows-10 lock screen apparently forcing all of my programs to close?

bobthechemist
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    I would guess the computer is actually restarting rather than simply screen-blanking or sleeping. Look in your Event Viewer for Event IDs 6008 and 6009 which are typically recorded at power on and see if they correspond to when you're "unlocking" your computer or to the time window that your screen was off. http://serverfault.com/questions/702828/windows-server-restart-shutdown-history – music2myear Feb 07 '17 at 19:07
  • We assumed it was on a domain because you said it was an office computer. Your office may not use a domain, but it will still be the property of the company, and your first level of support of a company computer should ALWAYS be your company IT people. – music2myear Feb 07 '17 at 19:08
  • Oh, yea. Sorry, didn't see that. – music2myear Feb 07 '17 at 19:14
  • @music2myear I have checked the system log and can confirm that no 6008, 6009 events occurred at times when my programs were closed. – bobthechemist Feb 07 '17 at 19:37
  • @bobthechemist why won't you look in the Group Policy to see which policies are there enabled? – Yisroel Tech Feb 07 '17 at 19:40
  • I am seeing this, too. Every day at the end of the day, I lock my screen. Next morning, when I unlock, all my programs are closed. I have been observing this only during last 1 - 1 1/2 months. People say it might be restarting but I am not sure how to check for that. It is definitely not Windows update restarting it since Win update does not happen every day. – dbnex14 May 30 '19 at 14:46
  • @dbnex14 your company can restart your (or all) computers. I know my company restarts all the computers once a week – Esther May 12 '22 at 21:06
  • If it is company computer outside of domain it's possible that it has leftovers from domain hardening. Check setting for System unattended sleep timeout: https://superuser.com/a/1107767/652466 – Aramil Sep 13 '22 at 09:20

1 Answers1

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It seems to have nothing to do with what we are thinking is the problem.

Try these steps:

  1. Control Panel\Hardware & Sound \ Devices and printers (click Device Manager)
  2. Opens a menu, scroll to and click on USB Controllers
  3. For each item in this list, right click on Properties, go to the Power Management tab, and unclick the box marked "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".
Ramhound
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Pierre Luc Vigneault
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