Why is windows XP doing this :( ? ??

[gavkiwi]

soo, got a little problem, and it just started and I dont know why 

here's the deal....

if my computer is left untouched for 2hrs, a power saver comes on, so to wake up the computer I move the mouse, the computer wakes up, no problem....

but HERE is the problem, lately, since the weekend, when I 'wake' my computer up, my pc is at that blue 'log in' screen where you choose what userusername you want to log in as or use.

And it ask's for a password, I NEVER SET UP A PASSWORD, why is windows tormenting me like this, I Have to reboot to get rid of the pwd deal, no problem, it fixes itself until it goes into power save mode again.

I dont mind the PC being in Power saver mode, but this password deal is driving me crazy

Any help would be appreciated, oh PC is a 3 week old HP running XP....no real issues unitl this dealio

Gav

[2600]

1. Right click on your Desktop
2. Select Properties
3. Select the Screen Saver Tab
4. Uncheck the box that says "On resume, password protect"

[gavkiwi]

  Okay, I figured out what was wrong, I had made some adj to settings in admin tools under the CP to run some of my games faster, I guess it made that part of windows a little unstable, undid the changes Ive made, and all is well  for now 

[leapinlew]

As an IT person.... this is the most difficult portion of my job. Someone will give me a full description of what happen, but fail to leave out a crucial detail (like they were adjusting admin tools).

User error happens!

[Thenasty]

I always ask the user, "Whats was the last thing they were doing" usually you can backtrack from there.

[leapinlew]

I always ask the user, "Whats was the last thing they were doing" usually you can backtrack from there.

I ask it too... answers are usually between "I didn't do anything" to "nothing"

[lordtodd75]

amen brother, amen!!! 

[ChadTower]

I ask it too... answers are usually between "I didn't do anything" to "nothing"

With a few "can't you just fix this thing" and "what did you do to cause this" thrown in for good measure.

[shmokes]

Get a load of this.  This happened to me just yesterday and is HI-LARIOUS!

User calls me and says, "Jake, my G drive isn't showing up."  This user has an USB hard drive that maps to G.  Now, Windows has a tendency to assign mass storage devices drive letters that are already taken by mapped network drives, so this is my first suspicion.  I ask him if something else is showing up as G drive and he says there just isn't a G drive listed in explorer. 

So I say, "hmm . . . strange.  It sounds like it may not be plugged in.  Are there any lights on the front of the drive?"

"No, there's no place for a light."

"Really?  Okay, well, I'm I'll be in the office in about five or ten minutes so I'll stop in and take a look.  It really sounds like it's either not getting power, though, or it's not plugged into your laptop.  So in the mean time, make sure the power cable hasn't come loose from the back of the drive and that it is plugged into the wall, and make sure the USB cable hasn't come loose and is plugged into your computer."

Okay . . . so I get into the office and take a look.  First, there is an LED, but it's built into the power button and would not be immediately obvious unless the drive was getting power and the light was on, which it wasn't.  So I say, "Yeah there should be a light on here if the drive is getting power," and I start checking connections, which are good, so I pull the plug from the power strip and try it directly in the wall . . . nothing.

The guy is standing there watching me throughout all this and then, when it becomes clear that the drive isn't magically going to start working he decides to volunteer this minor bit of information:

"Well, it was working up until yesterday when I moved my office around, and when I plugged everything back in I accidentally plugged the laptop power cord into the drive because they both have the same sized end.  The drive got really hot and then I smelled smoke and it hasn't worked ever since."

 

[ha-Y-n]

 

[leapinlew]

The guy is standing there watching me throughout all this and then, when it becomes clear that the drive isn't magically going to start working he decides to volunteer this minor bit of information:

"Well, it was working up until yesterday when I moved my office around, and when I plugged everything back in I accidentally plugged the laptop power cord into the drive because they both have the same sized end.  The drive got really hot and then I smelled smoke and it hasn't worked ever since."

 

Ha! ... you gotta love'em.

[ChadTower]

That's actually not too bad.

I used to do first line support at UMass Amherst.  Anyone at the school with any computer problem could call in and get help... it was an attempt at helping students/profs become accustomed to regular computer use, but damn if it wasn't just a nightmare trying to support anyone doing anything with a computer.

We used to get the most random crap.  I remember one call in particular from a guy whose PC wouldn't boot.  After a half hour I got him to the point that it would power up and POST but then immediately go into the BIOS screen for some reason.  No, "no one has been touching the computer at all", "no, no new software installed", "no, nothing is new".  After being on the phone with this guy for over an hour finally his roommate comes in and starts laughing.  I hear from the background "that's what you get for being such a loser, I pissed on your keyboard you --missioncontrol--" followed by what sounded like about 5 guys rumbling right on top of the phone.