when i step away from my computer for 5 minutes i come back and there's a
message from microsoft saying,"this computer is in use and locked."this just
started happening suddenly and i did not lock it .Can anyone help tell me why
this is happenng and how to fix it?

Two possibilities: A password-protected screensaver, or that
hibernation/standby mode has a password set. Check under Control Panel> Power
Options (or Display Screensaver > Power.. ) for the latter.

(Confusingly, the option is on the Advanced tab, but doesn't show itself
unless Hibernation is turned on)

"Ian" wrote:

> Two possibilities: A password-protected screensaver, or that
> hibernation/standby mode has a password set. Check under Control Panel> Power
> Options (or Display Screensaver > Power.. ) for the latter.
>
> (Confusingly, the option is on the Advanced tab, but doesn't show itself
> unless Hibernation is turned on)
>
>
I have the same problem. I am not using a screen saver, and I have
definitely not set a password for hibernation/standby. Any other suggestion?
A regkey maybe?