The screen saver does not start, although Group Policy mandates screen saver use (827678)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

SYMPTOMS

On a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP, and that has Service Pack 1 installed, the screen saver may not start, although Group Policy mandates screen saver use.

CAUSE

This behavior may occur if Group Policy was set as a local policy instead of as a domain policy.

RESOLUTION

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows XP. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322389 How to obtain the latest Windows XP service pack

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The global version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel. 
   Date         Time   Version        Size     File name
   --------------------------------------------------------
   05-Sep-2003  17:52  5.1.2600.1266  518,144  Winlogon.exe

WORKAROUND

If you change the policy on the local computer, this behavior will continue. To work around this behavior, implement a domain policy to mandate screen saver use. When you implement a domain policy, the registry key is written as the correct data type and the Winlogon service interprets the registry data correctly.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about the terminology that is used to describe Microsoft product updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/28/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbQFE kbWinXPsp2fix kbWinXPpreSP2fix kbfix kbbug KB827678 kbAudITPRO kbAudEndUser
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