- The screen savers used are the ones supplied with the OS (which on the server is Win2k Server, and on my workstation is Win2k Pro)
- We're running NAV 2000 (version 7.07.23D)
- My boss does run GUI apps--he sometimes, while at the other office, copies databases from this office to the other.
- I changed the NAV Alert type to Automatic, but after the scan finished (which didn't
begin until I unlocked the computer's screen saver, yet it was started @ the scheduled time. i.e. the main programs were loaded because of the services, yet the main programs didn't perform any actions until I unlocked the screen saver).
- I did two tests: I scheduled NAV to scan w/o the screen saver password protected, and made another scheduled scan that occured
with the screen saver password protected and the screen saver up and running. The results: the first scheduled scan ran perfectly. The scan scheduled to run w/ the screen saver up and password protected DID NOT complete. Just as before, it loaded and was already showing immediately after unlocking the screen saver. It didn't start the scan until I did that, though.
But, the problem wasn't limited to NAV alone. Remember, Retrospect (the backup utility) didn't actually perform actions until unlocking the screen saver, yet it acted the same as NAV in that it was already loaded, and just awaited a user to unlock the screen saver.
Beginning a month back, I was on the phone w/ Dantz's (the makers of Retrospect) tech support off and on--we've eliminated all errors on their part. They had also never heard of this phenomenon before.
After testing without the screen saver's password and then with it, I'm convinced the problem lies with the Windows screen saver password protection procedure.
I searched Microsoft's web site for ' "screen saver" "not run" ', and found a page that seems to have some weird sense of relevance:
http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...b;EN-US;q254500
Under the 'Cause' heading, here's what I found:
...
If the
Computer Locked dialog box has been disabled by either of these methods, the GINA component does not properly allow the screen saver to run.
If this GINA component (which, the article states, is implemented by default in Win2k Pro) doesn't allow the screen saver to run, maybe this GINA component is the reason that programs don't run, but doesn't affect services (i.e. the AutoLaunchers of NAV and Retrospect).
The funny thing is, I spent a while searching for the article, and MS made a popup servey--I expressed my frustration, as well as the symptoms...hopefully they'll get back to me.