Windows 10: My computer will randomly go to the lock screen

When I am using my computer, the screen will go black and then go to the lock screen, just like if I had locked it using the start menu. It happens even If I'm actively using my computer. All my power settings are set so that when my laptop is on the "hp recommended" power setting, it will never go to sleep and never turn off the display. I've restarted, and updated my computer.

:)

 

Flashing Blue Screen

I have a Lenovo computer and randomly when I am using the computer it will start flashing blue screens. To get it to go away I then have to close my computer, lock it and re-login.

 

My computer locks randomly even while i am using my keyboard or mouse.

<Original Title: random lock screen>

my computer even while I am using my keyboard or mouse will act as though my computer is idle and lock randomly. help!

 

Hey jksp,

There might be something in the below link that might offer some help.

[Fix] Lock Screen Appears Automatically at Constant Intervals in Windows 8 and Later

 

Having exactly the same problem - though only occasionally - and it is incredibly annoying. This is the first post anywhere I've found that seems to be dealing with the issue. I have found no solutions. I stumbled on the link above and will check it out further, but at first glance it did not seem necessarily applicable.

 

This just started on my system too.... really annoying since it will happen even if I'm playing a video game, typing, or otherwise interacting with the system.... will check out the provided link for some ideas!

 

I just started having this problem, every half hour it goes to the lock screen

 

Having the same issue; it's only every couple of days, but's unnerving - happens during typing. Dual monitors, NVidia GEForce 740, business environment, nothing unusual. The first thing I always suspect is a remote login via RDP, but that's not what's happening.

The event log does show this at nearly the right time; I can't see why the video system would suddenly decide to install/start a new service. It's not a restart; nothing in the log about anything faulting:

Log Name: System
Source: Service Control Manager
Date: 2/24/2016 7:38:30 AM
Event ID: 7045
Task Category: None
Level: Information
Keywords: Classic
User: SYSTEM
Computer: xxxx.xxxx.org
Description:
A service was installed in the system.
Service Name: NvStreamKms
Service File Name: C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NvStreamSrv\NvStreamKms.sys
Service Type: kernel mode driver
Service Start Type: demand start
Service Account:
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Service Control Manager" Guid="{555908d1-a6d7-4695-8e1e-26931d2012f4}" EventSourceName="Service Control Manager" />
<EventID Qualifiers="16384">7045</EventID>
<Version>0</Version>
<Level>4</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8080000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2016-02-24T12:38:30.187077800Z" />
<EventRecordID>518950</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="868" ThreadID="8316" />
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>xxxx.xxxx.org</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="ServiceName">NvStreamKms</Data>
<Data Name="ImagePath">C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NvStreamSrv\NvStreamKms.sys</Data>
<Data Name="ServiceType">kernel mode driver</Data>
<Data Name="StartType">demand start</Data>
<Data Name="AccountName">
</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

 

Hey I'm having this problem as well. It started late last week/earlier this week. Bumping this thread. Laptop (running Wi 10) randomly cuts to lock screen and makes me re input my password. I looked at the solution posted above but I want to keep my computer's lock screen. I just want to stop it from locking randomly.

 

This has bugged me for quite some months now.

What I do know is that Windows works fine for days and weeks and then suddenly it goes into this random Win-L like lock. It can be 5 minutes apart or 30 but it will not end by itself. It happens when working, when idling, when gaming, whenever. It all started at the last "November update".

(Edit: If you are looking for the solution then jump to my last update of this post. If you are interested in my other fruitless debugging attempts - read all.)

It took me just a few weeks to see the pattern of the behavior.
Every time it happens there is a new Windows update package available. Most often a flash upgrade package. This pattern is so clear that it is my early "canary bird" detector for updates. Even when the Windows update front end says it has checked an hour ago, surely, if I refresh, there is a package available. When there are no packages available this lock-down behavior doesn't happen. Letting it update, and reboot if needed, will end the random locking until next time. I have updates on full auto.

I have tried most tricks like sfc /scannow and clearing/cleaning/repairing the windows update files but nothing works, and I can't even understand the relation between the update service and lock screen. How can a lock be triggered from code?

This is clearly a bug in Windows but I thought it was going to be patched or hotfixed soon.

[Update 19th May]
Today it was that kind of day again. Suddenly it locked and I checked update, and.. no updates?? I noted the time in notepad and kept on working. Then again. Still no updates, which I'd come to expect. Third time it happened I had collected a small log and saw a pattern. 10:38, 11:07, 11:37, ... Yes the 12:07 screen lock came as expected. 30 minutes interval exactly and no user activity resets this timer.
I've checked every power setting (screen off after 20 min inactivity), screen saver (disabled but greyed at 15 min), sleep = 2 hours. The only place where I saw "30 minutes" was the time which lock screen slideshow should end and turn off screen.
I checked into the local group policy too but didn't recognize any relevant options. There may be something undefined that should be defined but I don't know. I haven't changed anything there on this machine. My machine is standalone and never used in a domain.

[Update 27th May]
Began today again. Rolling 30 minutes apart on the second. I have to scratch my first hypothesis because there were no updates today either. A reboot always solves the condition until next time.

Checking Event Viewer I see in System log a matching error 10016 repeating at the same timestamps as the locks.

Searching the APPID GUID in RegEdit I find it belongs to RuntimeBroker. Isn't that the service that launches Windows Apps? I almost never use Apps, just desktop, but I have a few installed.
Checking properties of RuntimeBroker in Component Services and it had security set to custom for all three options. Component Services complained about some self referencing value when I chose Edit. I set all to default. DON'T DO THIS!

*Ok. Defaulting the security settings went bad. I could no longer open the start menu, the mouse cursor only changes into busy for a second, that's all that happens. And the lock screen slideshow is replaced with a pure white background with mouse cursor that only responds to ctrl-alt-del which returns it to a working login screen. The Event Log logs a lot of 10016 errors on the RuntimeBroker.
Now this is where I put hours and hours into repairing my DCOM launch security settings. There are a lot of information on how to set up, including a nice script to get permissions needed to make the changes here Windows 10 Event ID 10010 and 10016 Errors With DistributedCOM - Page 2 - Windows 10 Forums Nothing worked for me. It is my user that it complains about but I give myself all rights, system, network service, frickin' Everyone got full rights and it still didn't help.
My final solution that did actually make the start menu and slide show to work again was to export the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID\{9CA88EE3-ACB7-47c8-AFC4-AB702511C276} from another working computer having my login also on it, and import it, and reboot. I also tried importing the other key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{D63B10C5-BB46-4990-A94F-E40B9D520160} but it gave an access error so I don't know if it did anything relevant.

So, it seems repaired. I will probably have to wait a week or more to see if it solved anything about the lock screen. There are no 10016 events on boot any more so perhaps I did something good.

[Update 1st June]
Again. And this is the third time in a row that it rolls on a time ending in 7. Coincidence perhaps but I don't know how I manage to wake the computer on :17 or :07 every time, and then it begins 30 minutes later on the second. Boot log is still clean but there is a small 10016 on Cortana a couple of minutes later. Though Cortana is "disabled by company policy". And then... it is the big 10016 that triggers the locking screen, yes I'm 100% sure now this is the source of the lock. The same error as posted last time.
I have tried so many guides how to fix that error but nothing has worked yet. People get this error on newly installed Windows 8 or 10. Yet it seems like a fringe problem anyway since there is no hotfix.

[Final Update 19th July]
I hate to lose files, settings, anything in my very personalized Windows setup. The very thought about the dreadful "Windows Refresh" haunted me. But I made a full partition backup of my system and went on. The process is very much like a Windows upgrade and when it was done only a few settings had reverted to default. No programs, files, UI-settings or Desktop settings of importance were lost. Do not fear the Windows 10 Refresh I say.
I never found out what created this problem but I have never had it again since the Refresh. I expect this to be the final edit and last I see of this problem. (Until Windows 10 Anniversary Update.... *Wink ) Good luck everyone.

 

Happened to me again today. A restart fixed it . I had not restarted in almost a month. Maybe that is why it does it for some reason

 

My issue is exactly the same. Old but pertinent [the post]. Checked the screen saver settings and they were where they needed to be according to the above tip. Checked all power settings all good. Checked all connections [ya never know].
Now here is the rub...checking Event ID nothing was reported which lead me to believe it may be monitor related, so...connecting it to another PC did not recreate the issue, thus eliminating the monitor.
This has only happened since the last MS OS Cumulative Update.

The reason I bumped this thread A) didn't need to be referred to the tip B) it's the only one on the net that addressed the issue.

 

Found out what was causing that issue [random going to Login Screen]...it was malware coming in from two fairly used programs...one was Auslogics Defragger the other was Punkbuster. Those two have been hacked and coming through the Firewall using those Firewall exceptions as a back door.

 

I had this problem recently. Upgrading to Creator update didn't change anything. I tried the solutions here but nothing worked. I started looking at user accounts. In the GUI there was nothing unusual. Looking at user accounts from command prompt I found a user I did not create called "rose". That user did not show up in the GUI.

After disabling that user I did not have this problem anymore.

Do a search for "Disable local user account Windows 10"

So basically run command prompt as administrator and:

Code: #To list users net user #If you find a user that doesn't look like it should be there like "rose", view details net user "rose" # To deactivate net user "rose" /active:no # To view more account details including activation status wmic useraccount list full[/quote] If command prompt is not running as administrator you will not be able to deactivate accounts.

Details view shows last login time which corresponded to the last time my screen went to login.

 

@samiam123 good advice...