In Windows 10, similarly to Windows 8.1, there is a lock screen that appears before the login screen.
This screen has a variable background, shows the date and time and also has notifications from some selected applications such as weather and mail.
the problem with this screen is that by default Windows 10 is set to turn off the screen after 60 seconds when the computer is locked.
This strange behavior actually prevents you from using the lock screen, since after a minute that your PC freezes, Windows 10 turns off the screen without asking for anything.
The lock screen timeout in Windows 10, oddly enough, cannot be changed or disabled from the settings, but requires you to make a change to the registry.
In fact, the energy saving options are worthless, which only concern the switching off of the screen after a certain period of non-use.
This is a function, which for a mysterious reason, it is not possible to change in the Control Panel or even in the Settings .
Therefore, to change the screen shutdown timeout on the lock screen, go to edit the registry to bring up a new option (previously hidden) in the energy saving settings.
As always when it comes to the registry, it is important to be careful because an error in this section of Windows could compromise the entire functioning of the computer.
To open the Windows 10 registry, you can press the Windows and R keys together, write regedit and run this command.
Alternatively, you can also open the registry editor by searching for regedit on the Start menu.
From the registry editor you need to expand the folders on the right following the path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Power \ PowerSettings \ 7516b95f-f776-4464-8c53-06167f40cc99 \ 8EC4B3A5-6868-48c2-BE75-4F3044BE88A7
In the latest version of Windows 10 the path to the registry can be copied and pasted on the search bar at the top.
On the right side, you have to double click on Attributes and change the value from 1 to 2.
Now close the Windows registry and open (from the Start menu) the Control Panel by going to System and Security and then Power Options .
From the energy saving window, select the combination to use ( balanced on laptops and high performance on desktop PC), click the link to change combination settings to be able to decide the timeout of the shutdown of the Windows screen and after how long the computer must go in suspension .
Note that deactivating the screen does not lead to freezing of Windows and just move the mouse to turn it back on and pick up where you came from without having to enter a password.
Then click on Change advanced energy saving settings, expand the Screen section and set the Screen deactivation timeout for console lock option that was previously hidden to a value greater than 60 seconds.
You can now lock the Windows screen using the Windows-L key combination and note that the screen no longer turns off after 60 seconds .
The lock screen timeout can also be changed using the command prompt, without changing registry keys.
Press the Start menu with the right key and open the command prompt as administrator, then run the following command:
powercfg.exe / SETACVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_VIDEO VIDEOCONLOCK 300
In this command you can modify "300" on the command line with the timeout time you want to use, expressed in seconds. For example, if you want to activate the screen for 5 minutes, you need to use 300 at the end of the command.
Below, type and run:
powercfg.exe / SETACTIVE SCHEME_CURRENT
Finally, I remember that the automatic blocking of Windows after a certain period of time can be activated using the options of the screensaver.
From Settings> Personalization> Lock Screen, you can click the link that takes you to the Screensaver settings .
Then choose " None " and activate the option " On reset go back to the login screen ", giving a custom timeout.
This screen has a variable background, shows the date and time and also has notifications from some selected applications such as weather and mail.
the problem with this screen is that by default Windows 10 is set to turn off the screen after 60 seconds when the computer is locked.
This strange behavior actually prevents you from using the lock screen, since after a minute that your PC freezes, Windows 10 turns off the screen without asking for anything.
The lock screen timeout in Windows 10, oddly enough, cannot be changed or disabled from the settings, but requires you to make a change to the registry.
In fact, the energy saving options are worthless, which only concern the switching off of the screen after a certain period of non-use.
This is a function, which for a mysterious reason, it is not possible to change in the Control Panel or even in the Settings .
Therefore, to change the screen shutdown timeout on the lock screen, go to edit the registry to bring up a new option (previously hidden) in the energy saving settings.
As always when it comes to the registry, it is important to be careful because an error in this section of Windows could compromise the entire functioning of the computer.
To open the Windows 10 registry, you can press the Windows and R keys together, write regedit and run this command.
Alternatively, you can also open the registry editor by searching for regedit on the Start menu.
From the registry editor you need to expand the folders on the right following the path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Power \ PowerSettings \ 7516b95f-f776-4464-8c53-06167f40cc99 \ 8EC4B3A5-6868-48c2-BE75-4F3044BE88A7
In the latest version of Windows 10 the path to the registry can be copied and pasted on the search bar at the top.
On the right side, you have to double click on Attributes and change the value from 1 to 2.
Now close the Windows registry and open (from the Start menu) the Control Panel by going to System and Security and then Power Options .
From the energy saving window, select the combination to use ( balanced on laptops and high performance on desktop PC), click the link to change combination settings to be able to decide the timeout of the shutdown of the Windows screen and after how long the computer must go in suspension .
Note that deactivating the screen does not lead to freezing of Windows and just move the mouse to turn it back on and pick up where you came from without having to enter a password.
Then click on Change advanced energy saving settings, expand the Screen section and set the Screen deactivation timeout for console lock option that was previously hidden to a value greater than 60 seconds.
You can now lock the Windows screen using the Windows-L key combination and note that the screen no longer turns off after 60 seconds .
The lock screen timeout can also be changed using the command prompt, without changing registry keys.
Press the Start menu with the right key and open the command prompt as administrator, then run the following command:
powercfg.exe / SETACVALUEINDEX SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_VIDEO VIDEOCONLOCK 300
In this command you can modify "300" on the command line with the timeout time you want to use, expressed in seconds. For example, if you want to activate the screen for 5 minutes, you need to use 300 at the end of the command.
Below, type and run:
powercfg.exe / SETACTIVE SCHEME_CURRENT
Finally, I remember that the automatic blocking of Windows after a certain period of time can be activated using the options of the screensaver.
From Settings> Personalization> Lock Screen, you can click the link that takes you to the Screensaver settings .
Then choose " None " and activate the option " On reset go back to the login screen ", giving a custom timeout.
