ScreenSaverGracePeriod

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Data type	Range	Default value
REG_DWORD	0x0–0x20C49B (2,147,483) seconds (approximately 24 days)	0x5

Description

Determines when password protection of a screen saver becomes effective. This entry determines the delay between the appearance of a password-protected screen saver and the enforcement of the password requirement.

Password protection of a screen saver is not effective immediately. By default, a brief period elapses within which the user can use the mouse or the keyboard to stop the screen saver without entering the password. This delay is designed to minimize the disruption that results when the screen saver starts while the user is working.

You can add this entry to the registry to adjust the length of the delay. To make password protection effective immediately, set the value of this entry to 0x0.

Note

Windows 2000 does not add this entry to the registry. You can add it by editing the registry or by using a program that edits the registry.