I have a user with a domain-joined Windows 8.1 Pro workstation. After ten minutes of inactivity, this system blanks the screen.  When the user tries to use the computer again, the computer prompts the user to enter a password.  This appears to be the only system on our domain that is affected by this issue.

Basically, nothing that I have tried to eliminate this password requirement has worked:

Under PC Settings / Accounts / Sign-In Options, the Password Policy is "Password required when waking this PC from sleep."  I can change that to "Password is not required when waking this PC from sleep", but the setting reverts after a system reboot.

Under Control Panel / Power Options, under the "Require a password on wakeup" option, I can set the option to "Don't require a password", but again, the setting reverts after a reboot.

I can find nothing in the Local Security Policy or any applied domain-based Group Policy objects that would be enforcing these settings.

The device connects to an on-premise Exchange 2007 e-mail server.  I have seen indications that the issue the user is experiencing may be due to Exchange Active Sync policies being applied to the device, with a recommendation to go to Control Panel / Users and use the "Reset security policies" link.  However, this link / feature does not appear to be present on a domain-joined Windows 8.1 Pro workstation.  Also, in examining the EAS policies on the internal Exchange server, I see nothing that should be causing such a setting to be applied to this device.  (Also, the device in question does not appear as a managed mobile device under the user's Exchange account.)

I (and the user!) am at my wits' end with this issue.  Can anyone suggest some way of configuring this computer so that it is not prompting the user for a password every 10 minutes?

Pretty sure the user as the mail application configure to point to the exchange server.

If you want to get rid of this you will need to disconnect the account from the mail app (this can be done using the mail app)

The way the policy work it`s always going to be the most strict one.

Thanks, I'll try that with the user, but it was my understanding (at least from reading some other posts around the Internet) that the policies remain on the computer, even if the user's Mail account is removed.  Do you know if that's the case or not?

In any event, I'll report back once I can work further with the user (under the user's own account) on this issue.

Thanks again.

Hi SAI,

Did the issue only occur with the specific account?

We wonder if there is a possibility that the issue has been resolved. If the issue has been resolved, we would appreciate if you could share the troubleshoot experience here. We could mark it as answer and it will be very useful for the person who will come across the similar issue in the future. Your kindness  will be highly appreciated.

If the issue persists, please run "RSOP.msc" to check whether there is any group policy has been deployed to the machine.

User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Control Panel\Display\ScreenSaver
The registry key path should be:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop\ScreenSaverIsSecure
0 - Screen savers are not password-protected.
1 - All screen savers are password-protected

We also could try to login this machine with another account to have a troubleshoot.

Best regards

Hello - I'm still waiting for the user to get back to me so that I can perform continued troubleshooting on his system.  I have run RSOP, and did not see anything in the policy results that would be causing his workstation to lock as it has been doing.

I hope to post back next week with further information.

You know when users don't call back normally it`s because the issue is fix. Hope it`s the case for you :)

So fast to call us when it`s broken but telling us it`s fix they don`t care :)

You know when users don't call back normally it`s because the issue is fix. Hope it`s the case for you :)

So fast to call us when it`s broken but telling us it`s fix they don`t care :)

Sadly, no, not the case this time!  He just stopped back to report that his computer is still locking after 10 minutes of inactivity.  I'm truly at a loss for this issue now.

Regarding using RSOP, do I necessarily need to run that on the user's computer, or can I use the RSOP report from Group Policy Management on a domain controller, if I point it to his computer and user account?  I've done the latter, and there's nothing that I see in there that indicates that a policy is forcing the computer to lock or sleep.  Very frustrating.

Any chance you can have him log into another computer for a day to test to see if this append on a brand new computer (want to know if the settings come from is user account) 

Any chance you can have him log into another computer for a day to test to see if this append on a brand new computer (want to know if the settings come from is user account) 

I'll ask him if he's willing to do that.  He's an executive, though, and has a lot of stuff saved locally, and it might be a hit to his productivity if he has to do that.

As an alternative, I've already asked him if he'll be in any long meetings soon, so that I can log onto his computer as my standard user account to see if the same issue happens under my account (I've already tried this once, and it didn't *seem* to happen under my own account, but I'd like to test it again to make certain.)

Thanks for the help!

Hi SAI-ITMgr,

We wonder if there is any luck your issue has been resolved, if you've found solution by yourself. We would appreciate it if you could share with us. It will be very useful as a reference for the person who will come across the similar issue in the future.

Best regards