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I set password for User-Accounts and for the Windows (Using syskey), but when I turn on my system after a hibernate, it don't require neither system password nor accounts password. and directly navigate me to desktop! Why?!

Note: I have this problem only after hibernate! (After a shutdown or restart everything is ok).

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  • Are you logging into MS domain? No? Maybe the irresponsible use of syskey is your problem? Please take no offense on my part, but syskey is administrative.
    – arch-abit
    Aug 31, 2014 at 3:45
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    @arch-abit: Could you elaborate on the "irresponsible use"? Aug 31, 2014 at 12:32
  • As far as I know in Windows 7 a single-user install is necessarily empowered with administrative rights. Facts about irresponsible use of administrative rights are not Windows-only. The OP posted only the fact that he/she used syskey. When the next version of Windows is going to show a button "DO NOT CLICK - or you are going to blow up the Sun" while logged in with admin rights what this OP is going to do? Will the OP at least do some research before clicking it, because the button IS there and he/she IS going to click it.
    – arch-abit
    Aug 31, 2014 at 16:23
  • @arch-abit: I do not understand the point you're trying to make, as it could equally apply to any Windows feature (and equally never will). You're implying that Microsoft might one day take a widely-known and widely-used feature, and make it destructive. How is this different from a user enabling BitLocker? installing TrueCrypt? setting a regular password on their user account? Your argument doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. Sep 1, 2014 at 5:37
  • Using any command with admin rights is very likely to make things worse when the command and its purpose is not understood - I only know this by some painful experiences instead by disciplined training. You might suppose that my point was and still is that when there is a suspected problem poking it with admin rights might not be the best way to start understanding it - even when there IS a problem. And I only hope that people not understanding any of this is only going to wreck their own system and not a bunch others as well - because the capacity for that is there in any OS.
    – arch-abit
    Sep 2, 2014 at 21:06

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Strictly speaking, the purpose of a SYSKEY password is not to lock down boot, but only to protect the system account database (the SAM). So the only time you'll be asked for it is when Windows needs to open the account database for the first time.

Now, the whole point of hibernation is that it does not terminate the running OS; it merely pauses it, and later resumes the kernel and all processes completely intact. So Windows doesn't need the SYSKEY password because it already has the SAM open ever since the last time you rebooted.

As for the account passwords – this needs to be enabled in the power management settings:

  • Open Power Options by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, and then clicking Power Options.

  • On the Select a power plan page, in the task pane, click Require a password on wakeup.

  • If necessary, click Change settings that are currently unavailable.

  • On the Define power buttons and turn on password protection page, click Don't require a password.

  • Click Save changes.

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  • Thank you! The only thing I would add - the original poster (OP) did not specify any hardware capacity. Is there a chance that hibernation is affected by free storage capacity? The OP has Windows 7, when the system drive is on SSD and might be starved of space for hibernation...
    – arch-abit
    Aug 31, 2014 at 19:14
  • @arch-abit: No, Windows preallocates space for its hibernation image at the time the feature is enabled (the widely known hiberfil.sys), to avoid such problems (and to ensure that the location is contiguous). Sep 1, 2014 at 5:34

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