Ctl Alt Delete to unlock PC loops back to Ctl Alt Delete to unlock PC

This is on a freshly imaged laptop running Windows 10 Pro version 10.0.18362. I also had this same problem before imaging the laptop.

I'll leave my laptop locked for the night and when I try to login in the morning, I can't. Every time I press ctl+alt+delete to bring up the password prompt, the screen starts to change like it's bringing the prompt up but then immediately flashes back to the "Press ctl+alt+delete to unlock" screen. The only way to actually log in is to hard power cycle the laptop. Then I can log in.

I took a look the Application Event Viewer, and there are hundreds of identical errors, starting from when I locked my PC last night to when I hard rebooted the laptop. All of the errors are:

"System Center failed to validate caller with error DC040780"
Log Name: Application
Source: SecurityCenter
Event ID: 17
Level: Error
User: N/A

W10 Tweaker said:

Hi Curtis, welcome to Ten forums.

Have you tried an external keyboard yet?

Check this thread for the Event Viewer errors.

Security Center error "DC040780"

I'm presenting this item as an FYI and not as a solution to your sign-in issue. I chose to defeat this unnecessary step in the login process and defeat the requirement to press Ctrl-Alt-Del before signing-in.

Enable or Disable Secure Sign-in with Ctrl+Alt+Delete in Windows 10

I've tried it with both the built in keyboard and an external keyboard.

I also forgot to mention this is an intermittent issue. CTL ALT DELETE to unlock works most of the time. It seems like when my laptop stays locked a "long" time, like over the weekend, this issue appears.

CurtisHx said:

I've tried it with both the built in keyboard and an external keyboard.
I also forgot to mention this is an intermittent issue. CTL ALT DELETE to unlock works most of the time. It seems like when my laptop stays locked a "long" time, like over the weekend, this issue appears.

Have you tried to disable the ctrl-alt-del login feature, leave it off for a day and then re-enable it?

You could also run a couple of tests. In an elevated command prompt type sfc /scannow.

Run SFC Command in Windows 10

Then run dism /online /cleanup-image /checkhealth also in an elevated command prompt.

Use DISM to Repair Windows 10 Image

W10 Tweaker said:

Have you tried to disable the ctrl-alt-del login feature, leave it off for a day and then re-enable it?

You could also run a couple of tests. In an elevated command prompt type sfc /scannow.

Run SFC Command in Windows 10

Then run dism /online /cleanup-image /checkhealth also in an elevated command prompt.

Use DISM to Repair Windows 10 Image

It's a corporate PC and I can't disable ctl-alt-del.

SFC and DISM both ran without any errors.

CurtisHx said:

It's a corporate PC and I can't disable ctl-alt-del.
SFC and DISM both ran without any errors.

When I worked for a living, the company PC was the responsibility of the LAN guy and it was frowned upon for us to mess with our own PC's. I had power-user access and could do more than most, however; I couldn't go everywhere I wanted to.

I'm just saying this not to discourage you from proceeding but you should be aware that with limited access you may have difficulty solving this and where I worked when I crapped out my PC I'd have sneak it into the LAN guy to fix it. If my boss ever knew I was messing with it, it wouldn't be fun for me.

CurtisHx said:

It's a corporate PC and I can't disable ctl-alt-del.

SFC and DISM both ran without any errors.

Contact your IT dept.

Rocky said:

Contact your IT dept.

Been there, done that. It's an intermittent issue and the ticket keeps getting closed because it's not reproducable on demand.