XP Pro laptop puzzle

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I am the local admin for a dell laptop running XP Pro. I want to let someone else use the laptop to do work on Excel so create a user profile for her. She is able to logon to the laptop and so her work.

Problem: If I as admin let the laptop go on standby or hibernate and the other person wants to work on the laptop, when she tries to logon, the logon dialog box says that only the admin can unlock the computer. Even when admin logs off then the laptop goes into standby/hibernate, the same thing happens. This means I always have to be around to unlock the computer so the user can do her work.

Is the only option to completely shutdown the laptop so that the user then has to power up in order to logon to do her work?

 

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If you're logged in then even the screensaver starting would prevent her logging in without "unlocking" with the admin password. I am not sure what should happen when exiting hibernate/standby mode when no user is logged on but I guess the best thing to do would be to power off and shutdown each time unless she is loggin in straight away after you log out.

 

If your running on mains then you can configure the laptop never to enter standby/hibernate mode in the power management options via control panel.

 

Tripwire, the reason that the system asks for the admin password even when you've logged off is because the password it asks for is the currently logged-on user account.

If you log out as the admin and do not log in to another user account then the default account is the admin account, therefore the admin password is required.

The way to get around this is either:

A: If the other user allows it, you could switch to their user account before you walk away from the machine.Therefore it will be their user account password which is required upon resuming from standby.

B: Create a user account which does not have administrative rights and which you both know the password to.

When you walk away from the computer or you put it in standby then firstly switch to the mutual user account.

The result: The other user will be able to log in with either her own user account or they will log on to the mutual user account and then switch to their own account.

 

I haven't had a chance to get at the laptop yet since the other user (my daughter) has been working on it. I did hear of another solution in control panel -> power management to select an option to require a login name and password upon exiting standby. I interpet this to mean that it would allow any user to login as themselves after the computer wakes up. I'll have to try it and let you know how it works.

No, my daughter won't give me her password...basically because I won't give her my admin password. The power of a 15 year old girl.

 

Tripwire, if you clear the "Prompt For Password" button, then when you are on the computer and it goes on standby and you leave the computer then your daughter will be able to log back on as YOU.

Also, if your daughter leaves the computer in standby and then you come to resume it then you will be logged in as your daughter firstly.

That means she will be able to see all your data and you will be to see all her data.

If this isn't an issue then fine but I presume that you don't give your daughter the admin password for a reason.

Configure a user account with limited permissions and then tell each other the password.

When either of you are going to leave the computer for a while then firstly switch to the user account that you both know the password to.

That's the solution to your daughter not being able to have full administrative rights Trip.

 

I know whta you mean by the power of a 15 year old

I have 3, one 10 one 16 and one 18, and they all want my password, I told them NO so they wont give me there's, however I have a lovely little prog called LC4

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha HaHa Ha Ha

 

Turn off the hybernation in power management for when the laptop is both using the mains and battery, then just make sure you log out when you've finished. This will drain the battery a little more when not using the mains but you can turn the screen off after a certain period in power management for when using the battery.

bit of info you may already know about
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/howto/maintain/hibernate.asp

HTH

Si