Windows 8.1 Pro as server cannot disable locking

[AmericanCrisis 28]

As the title suggests I am having extreme difficulty preventing my server from locking.  My server acts as an HTPC as well.  I have WMC and WMC server installed.  It only locks occasionally and at very random times.  I've poured over search engines and read numerous articles trying to remedy this problem.  The most helpful article thus far was from Tomshardware:  http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2325159/disable-password-protected-lock-screen-windows-pro.html and I thought it resolved the problem until one week later the I couldn't login remotely to Emby and it was a result of the server/computer locking.

 

I've done all the obvious solutions including changing power options settings to "turn off display" to never and "sleep" to never.  Still... the server/computer seems to lock randomly once per week if not more.  

 

I've disabled the lockscreen in local group policy editor.  

 

I've also disabled the auto lock workstation as shown here:  http://www.ehow.com/how_7166522_disable-auto-lock-workstation.html

 

I posted here because you guys are much smarter than me and I couldn't find any answers after hours of searching Google. 

 

 

[drashna 46]

Do you mean locks up, or just goes to the lock screen?

 

If you mean the lock screen... check the power options. Make sure that it doesn't turn off the display or go to sleep. 

Also disable the "require a password on wakeup" 

 

 

I've set these on my Windows 8.1 Pro system, and it never goes to sleep, never turns the screen off, etc. 

[AmericanCrisis 28]

Yes it goes to a screen (like the lockscreen) that requires my password. I have done all the above. No password required on wake. Doesn't sleep. Monitor doesn't turn off. 9 times ot of 10 it works. Only occasionally does it require the password. Usually when I least expect it.

 

At one point though it happened twice yesterday when WMCserver was causing me issues.

[lang-server 2]

Could it be restarting because of a windows update ? If you wanted it auto-logon, you could always run the command "netplwiz"

[AmericanCrisis 28]

Could it be restarting because of a windows update ? If you wanted it auto-logon, you could always run the command "netplwiz"

That was the first thing I did. 

 

I know it sounds crazy but this is a real problem that I've been dealing with for an incredibly long time.  Like I said, I can restart the computer and it goes right in (no password)... I can make it go to sleep and it will wake up (no password)... but on the occasion I will try to login remotely (not all the time) and I won't be able to all because the computer was locked somehow.  

[drashna 46]

Have you tried running "sfc /scannow" on the system?

 

Also, try checking the Event Viewer, both the System section and the security section.

[AmericanCrisis 28]

I did do a scannow and it said that there were errors... I checked the log and it was WMC errors.  Unable to repair them though.  I think there were only two.

 

Checked Event Viewer as well.  Lots of warnings and errors under system.  I'll have to thoroughly go through each of them later this weekend.  Security section only had one failed audit.  I'll have to research that one as well.  

 

I'll remember Event Viewer for the next time the computer/server decides to lock itself on me.  Maybe catching it in the act will be more helpful.

 

In the meantime I wonder what is up with scannow being unable to repair?

 

I'd like to get these resolved before I add more drives to my server and create a pool with DrivePool.  Again, I wonder if the error in WMC has anything to do with me being unable to stream live TV and also having problems with WMCserver.

[drashna 46]

It can fail sometimes...

 

Usually, in that case, run a "chkdsk c: /r" pass, and try again.

Worst case, run "dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth", as that should fix it, as well.

 

 

And if you're having issues streaming live TV, then yeah, the WMC errors may be the cause of the issue.

 

 

 

And absolute worst case, reinstall.... (I hate that option because it's always a gamble if it'll fix it)

[AmericanCrisis 28]

Thanks for your help I'll run those two tasks tomorrow.  Is that done through "run" or "command prompt"?

 

I can just copy/paste what you wrote correct?

 

I'm not sure if this is related but I'm trying to use remote desktop connection from work so that I can do some tasks next week during free time.  I was going to troubleshoot this problem and then install drivepool... anyhow, remote desktop works great from home (connecting to the server from my gaming desktop) however I cannot seem to connect to it remotely.  I forwarded 3389 and use my address (from no-ip... just like I do to connect to Emby) but it never connects.  I feel like this is related... I wouldn't be surprised if my server is on lockscreen right now (I'm at work so cannot tell).

[drashna 46]

Sorry for the delay...

 

Ideally, through an elevated command prompt. The chkdsk one isn't necessary, IIRC. But the DISM commands should always be elevated.

 

And yes, you should be able to just cut and paste.

 

 

As for Remote Desktop, check the firewall settings. Make sure it's not limited to just the local subnet. use "wf.msc" to check, and it will be in the inbound rules (or should).

 

Also, if you're using remote desktop, if you disconnect, it will leave the console session (the desktop session) on the lock screen. So when this happens, have you remote desktop-ed into the system?

 

 

Also, if you have any question about DrivePool (and I'm assuming you mean StableBit DrivePool) then don't hesitate to ask me.

[AmericanCrisis 28]

Thanks again for your help drashna.  I scheduled "chkdsk c" on next restart (right now scanner is doing tasks).  I'll see what pans out with that.  

 

I figured out remote desktop.  It was user error preventing me from logging in.  I did noticed that upon entering remote desktop the server would lock, however, it has only been recently that I had been using remote desktop and the server was locking well before that.

 

Emby did connect to the server post locking though.  I wonder if this will be a normality this point forward.  If that is the case then I don't mind unlocking the server to use as HTPC or for maintenance.

 

So far I really like DrivePool + Scanner.  I mounted my three 6TB drives and added them to the pool.  Transferred about 5TB worth of movies to the pool and configured unc paths for Emby.  I haven't tinkered with any of the settings in DrivePool/Scanner other than permitting scanner to "perform work at any time of day".  I like how Scanner will move the contents of a failing drive to other drives.  In my mind this can be a suitable alternative to snapraid or disparity for the time being.  

[drashna 46]

Thanks again for your help drashna.  I scheduled "chkdsk c" on next restart (right now scanner is doing tasks).  I'll see what pans out with that.  

 

I figured out remote desktop.  It was user error preventing me from logging in.  I did noticed that upon entering remote desktop the server would lock, however, it has only been recently that I had been using remote desktop and the server was locking well before that.

 

Emby did connect to the server post locking though.  I wonder if this will be a normality this point forward.  If that is the case then I don't mind unlocking the server to use as HTPC or for maintenance.

 

So far I really like DrivePool + Scanner.  I mounted my three 6TB drives and added them to the pool.  Transferred about 5TB worth of movies to the pool and configured unc paths for Emby.  I haven't tinkered with any of the settings in DrivePool/Scanner other than permitting scanner to "perform work at any time of day".  I like how Scanner will move the contents of a failing drive to other drives.  In my mind this can be a suitable alternative to snapraid or disparity for the time being.  

 

yeah, the locking the screen thing is a PITA, and a known issue for a long while.

There are hacks to work around the issue... but VNC or TeamViewer or the like end up being a better solution in the long run, as you can continue to connect without interrupting.

 

 

If you need it left at the console session, try running this:

"tscon.exe 1 /dest:console /v"

(from the remote desktop session, this should restore the session to the "desktop console", and not lock the system, great for HTPC or similar functionality).

 

 

As for StableBit Scanner, it is very good at keeping track of tasks. You can reboot while it's surface scanning, and it will resume (if it's within the work window) once the system finishes booting. 

 

 

As for SnapRAID or parity, I'm not a fan of it. It's essential a form of compression (you save disk space at the expense of CPU, dedicated or main, and I'm sure somebody will be pissed off by this comment, sorry). 

Modern drives do a LOT of error checking, that is completely invisible to the end user. That, and parity requires a significant rebuild time. Mirroring (file based or block based) means that there is no rebuild. you may need to recopy the files, but you can continue to use the array or pool without a significant impact to performance. 

[AmericanCrisis 28]

yeah, the locking the screen thing is a PITA, and a known issue for a long while.

There are hacks to work around the issue... but VNC or TeamViewer or the like end up being a better solution in the long run, as you can continue to connect without interrupting.

 

 

If you need it left at the console session, try running this:

"tscon.exe 1 /dest:console /v"

(from the remote desktop session, this should restore the session to the "desktop console", and not lock the system, great for HTPC or similar functionality).

 

 

As for StableBit Scanner, it is very good at keeping track of tasks. You can reboot while it's surface scanning, and it will resume (if it's within the work window) once the system finishes booting. 

 

 

As for SnapRAID or parity, I'm not a fan of it. It's essential a form of compression (you save disk space at the expense of CPU, dedicated or main, and I'm sure somebody will be pissed off by this comment, sorry). 

Modern drives do a LOT of error checking, that is completely invisible to the end user. That, and parity requires a significant rebuild time. Mirroring (file based or block based) means that there is no rebuild. you may need to recopy the files, but you can continue to use the array or pool without a significant impact to performance. 

 

So you recommend letting DrivePool do some sort of file duplication or just let Scanner find the bad sector before the disk fails?  

 

As far as the original problem.  It seems to have not replicated itself in some time.  I ran the commands you recommended at the end result is that it repaired whatever file it was that was causing errors.  Scannow finally said it repaired the corrupted file.

 

Under Event Viewer/Administrative Events; most of the errors are gone.  One of the errors was a PowerDVD media server error (I uninstalled PowerDVD as a result).  No other errors reported besides these two:  

 

The volume DrivePool (F:) was not optimized because an error was encountered: Incorrect function. (0x80070001) 

 

The volume System Reserved was not optimized because an error was encountered: The parameter is incorrect. (0x80070057)

 

Any thoughts?

[drashna 46]

Both, actually. That way, if a disk suddenly fails (it does happen sometimes), that you don't lose anything.

Scanner is for detecting the mechanical failure of the drive, and if it does detect damage (unreadable sectors), it will automatically attempt to clear the contents of the drive.

 

 

 

As fro the "incorrect function" errors, the DrivePool volume won't be optimized, as this is referring to defragmentation (I believe), and since the DrivePool volume is a virtual disk and has no "bits", it can't be defragmented. 

 

As for the system reserved disk, this likely a disk error, or due to not enough free space. Either way, a chkdsk may fix that... but may be tricker to do.

Run "cmd /k mountvol" and find the volumes that have no drive letter. Then attempt to use those the volume ID's (\\?\Volume{xxxxxxxxx}) to run a chkdsk (eg "chkdsk \\?\Volume{xxxxxxxxx}")

[AmericanCrisis 28]

Thanks for your reply...

 

I finally caught this sucker in the act.  I woke the server from sleep just now and it was on the lock screen (I have not used remote desktop in days).  This is the first time I have seen the lock screen (other than remote desktop) in several weeks.  I logged in and it acted like it had just undergone a full reboot (programs appeared to be booting up especially WMC).  

 

I went to administrative events and saw 8 errors under Administrative Events - custom views.  All of the errors occurred around the same time (2 hours ago when I wasn't home) and were all identical:

 

Error 4/27/2015 8:15:21 AM Desktop Window Manager 9020 None

 

With the following description:  The Desktop Window Manager has encountered a fatal error (0x8898008d)

 

I'm pretty confident this is the cause of the random lockouts don't ya think?

 

Any ideas?  It seems google isn't providing any good answers. 

[AmericanCrisis 28]

I found the following solution and am wondering if I should try it:

 

‪1.‬ Start, type cmd, right click, Run as Administrator.
‪2.‬ Type bcdedit /set useplatformclock true and press enter.
‪3.‬ Type bcdedit /enum and press enter.
‪4.‬ Verify that useplatformclock is on/true.
‪5.‬ Restart the computer then test your sleep/aero/WMP issues.

[drashna 46]

ANd you're certain that the power settings have the "ask for password on resume" option is disabled, right?

 

 

As for the bcdedit stuff, make sure you have a backup of the system first (This is true ANY time you mess with something like bcdedit).  But that *may* work. Emphasise on may.  Worth trying though.

[AmericanCrisis 28]

ANd you're certain that the power settings have the "ask for password on resume" option is disabled, right?

 

 

As for the bcdedit stuff, make sure you have a backup of the system first (This is true ANY time you mess with something like bcdedit).  But that *may* work. Emphasise on may.  Worth trying though.

Yes it is definitely disabled.  I actually haven't had a problem with the this in the past few days... I'm on to a whole new set of problems now LOL!  I can't get my Realtek Network Controller to stop waking up my server every few minutes after it enters sleep.  

[drashna 46]

Yes it is definitely disabled.  I actually haven't had a problem with the this in the past few days... I'm on to a whole new set of problems now LOL!  I can't get my Realtek Network Controller to stop waking up my server every few minutes after it enters sleep.  

Disable "Wake on Pattern Match".

When it wakes like this, 99% of the time, it's because the wake pattern match feature.

This may be in the "advanced" settings for the Network Adapter, or click on the power management tab for the device, and make sure... well basically that all the options are checked (only allow management device to wake system" or something like that).

Both options are found in device manager (devmgmt.msc).

 

Also, the "powercfg" command is your friend.

It's absolutely worth learning. Run "powercfg -lastwake" to see what woke the system last. "powercfg -requests" to see what is keeping it awake, and "powercfg -requestsoverride" to forcibly ignore something.

[AmericanCrisis 28]

Disable "Wake on Pattern Match".

When it wakes like this, 99% of the time, it's because the wake pattern match feature.

This may be in the "advanced" settings for the Network Adapter, or click on the power management tab for the device, and make sure... well basically that all the options are checked (only allow management device to wake system" or something like that).

Both options are found in device manager (devmgmt.msc).

 

Also, the "powercfg" command is your friend.

It's absolutely worth learning. Run "powercfg -lastwake" to see what woke the system last. "powercfg -requests" to see what is keeping it awake, and "powercfg -requestsoverride" to forcibly ignore something.

Thank you for your help it is actually really helpful narrowing this down.

 

I've experimented like crazy and thus far this is what I've found:

 

1. The culprit every time (both according to the event viewer and the powercfg -lastwake) is the Realek PCIe Network Controller.  It is waking the computer up every 5-30 minutes.  

 

2.  Disabling "wake on pattern match" does keep the computer/server to sleep (fixes the problem).  However, attempting to wake the computer both locally (emby app android phone, web interface on laptop) doesn't work.  

 

3.  Enabling "wake on pattern match" and checking the box "only allow magic packet to wake the computer" under power management for the controller also keeps the computer to sleep (fixes the problem).  Again, I am unable to wake the computer with Emby app on android phone, web player, etc.  I also wasn't able to wake by initiating remote desktop session.  

 

4.  The magic packet app that I have downloaded works at waking up computer only locally.  I tried it with wifi on the phone disabled (using cell network) and for some reason it didn't work.  Maybe I need to try a different app. 

 

5.  Sending magic packets via a phone isn't really a solution as I have friends and family that access Emby remotely via their Roku devices and now Amazon Fire TV's.  So even if I could get the magic packet app to work I would end up just unchecking the box so that they could wake the computer to access Emby.

 

Kind of a weird problem.  I am going to experiment a little more latter in the advanced tab for the network controller to see if there is a combination of settings that will keep the stupid network controller asleep.

[dark_slayer 103]

Hey @, I didn't see you specify which remote client you are using which may very well mean you are just using microsoft's rdp clients

 

Just wanted to share (I also run an 8.1 pro server) that I had this happen frequently with TeamViewer starting at some version slightly after 9. I went through all the available settings and couldn't get it to stop

 

I'm using ChromeRDP now instead, and I never have the problem anymore. Like you, it wasn't any sort of windows setting causing the issue for me, but in my case TeamViewer was the culprit

[AmericanCrisis 28]

Hey @, I didn't see you specify which remote client you are using which may very well mean you are just using microsoft's rdp clients

 

Just wanted to share (I also run an 8.1 pro server) that I had this happen frequently with TeamViewer starting at some version slightly after 9. I went through all the available settings and couldn't get it to stop

 

I'm using ChromeRDP now instead, and I never have the problem anymore. Like you, it wasn't any sort of windows setting causing the issue for me, but in my case TeamViewer was the culprit

 

I know I kind of hijacked this thread with multiple problems...  I think you are referring to the locking?

 

I don't have any other software installed... I just use Microsoft's Remote Desktop.  When I do use Remote Desktop it does lock the server but it doesn't seem to have any effect on Emby access.  In other words, even when the desktop is locked, remote clients and local clients alike can still access Emby.

 

The problem that I was experiencing (and likely still am it just has been awhile since it has presented itself) is that the desktop (and entire server) locks (requires password) and at that point the Emby server becomes unreachable (as if the computer/server is turned off).  

 

I have tried to narrow down the issue using event viewer but it has been somewhat difficult.  

 

Now I kind of have a two fold problem.  1. The occasional lock out coupled with  2. The server's inability to stay asleep due to the network controller.

 

I am considering re-formatting.  Although I really don't think it is absolutely necessary.  As everyone here knows re-formatting a server is a project in and of itself.  I have been configuring this version for a year now and feel like I have gotten it to a pretty good place.  Sometimes I think re-formatting causes more of a headache because there will just end up being a new set of kinks to work out.  

[dark_slayer 103]

If by reformatting you mean reinstall then it will likely do nothing for you. It's just a common recommendation by those too unknowledgeable, "busy," or afraid to troubleshoot

 

That being said, the network controller waking windows is a mystical problem I've never seen fully described. Two options are not allowing the device to wake windows at all (what I use because I don't sleep my server) or only allow magic packets to wake the server

 

I've never used Microsoft's native rdp, but I'm guessing it always leaves you at the lock screen because of the way Microsoft rdp requires it's own user session to run (even when it's running as the same user as is logged in)

 

There is a concurrent rdp session patch you can use to fix it, or you could just use chromerdp instead. VNC clients work in the concurrent mode natively, so team viewer used to be my recommendation for that until their recent version started locking the session as well

[AmericanCrisis 28]

Ok I'm pretty sure I have resolved the problem with Windows locking and preventing remote access etc.  

 

I noticed I wasn't able to access locally or remotely a few minutes ago. 

 

Under Event Viewer/Windows Logs/System there was the following:

 

Source - Winlogon

Event ID - 7001

Description - User Logon Notification for Customer Experience Improvement Program

 

Now I haven't seen this in the past but I have only been religiously involved in checking the Event Viewer recently.  I haven't had the lock out problem for quite awhile (I actually thought it had been resolved).  

 

The way to disable this is by using the Group Policy Editor (I think it is only available in Pro):

 

To Disable the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program by Using Group Policy

1. See Appendix B: Resources for Learning About Group Policy for Windows Vista for information about using Group Policy. Using an account with domain administrative credentials, log on to a computer running Windows Vista, open Group Policy Management Console by running gpmc.msc, and then edit an appropriate Group Policy object (GPO).
   
   
   Note You must perform this procedure by using GPMC on a computer running Windows Vista (GPMC is included in Windows Vista).
2. Expand Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand System, expand Internet Communication Management, and then click Internet Communication settings.
    
3. In the details pane, double-click Turn off Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program, and then click Enabled.
   
   When you enable this setting, all users to which the Group Policy object applies are opted out of the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program.

I grabbed the aforementioned from the following link:  https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc766341(v=ws.10).aspx

 

I hope this solved the problem... I'll post back if it doesn't for informational purposes

 

 

 

[AmericanCrisis 28]

Update:  Disabling the Customer Experience Improvement Program using the Group Policy Editor (set to enabled) didn't work.  I was unable to access Emby remotely (lock screen locally) but found using Windows Remote Desktop Connection causes a login to occur (the laptop I am using to access the server is using the same Microsoft Credential) thus the server loads right back up.  This is a workaround for now, however, I am sure there is a way to prevent the User Logon Notification for Customer Experience Improvement Program.  At least I have been able to identify the problem.