Computer keeps locking automatically

Anonymous
2019-11-17T16:41:28+00:00

My computer keeps locking up. Ill try to run something and a blue screen will pop saying "locking..." And it will completely shut down. How do i fix this?

***Modified title from: my computer (dell, windows 10) keeps locking up, how do I fix it?***

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Performance and system failures

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2019-12-05T19:26:00+00:00

Solved!!!!!

I have confirmed my critical battery level action suspicion I described before.  To test it I set my critical battery level higher and unplugged my PC to run it down to that level.  As soon as it reached that point, the blue "Locking" screen popped up and it went into hibernation just like it's set to do.  There was also another very quick notification screen/message but I'm not certain what it said.  I think it might have said something about critical battery level but, again, I'm not certain.  I am 100% certain that I saw the mysterious "Locking" message on a blue screen exactly as I'd been seeing it before all those times. 

So anyone else who is having this same problem, you most likely have a really old battery that drains super fast when you're working your PC hard and using a lot of energy.  Or your battery may be malfunctioning but leading to the same issue.  It's draining so quickly there's no time for the other power level notifications and it's going straight to the critical battery level action. 

There is another thread somewhere else where the Windows "expert" states that he is not aware of any screen or message that says "Locking" in Windows 10, which we now know is incorrect, and that is probably causing a lot of confusion for those of us that are experiencing this rare issue.  I even noticed that the font for this "Locking" message was the same Windows font we're so familiar with.  And since I read somewhere else someone was having this same issue on a Dell laptop, we can be certain that it is indeed a function of Windows 10. 

Now that I've confirmed it myself, I can stop worrying about malware or a virus causing it.  That would be a very weird thing to be causing anyway since there's no other issues related and I can always restart, or bring out of hibernation, my laptop no problem.

Well, I hope anyone else that's having this same, strange issue reads this and finally finds some clarity.  If you do happen to read this all and changing the battery does solve the problem, please post a response here if you don't mind.  Even though I'm 100% now that I've found the answer, I'd still like to get outside confirmation and also know if my efforts have helped anyone else.  This is such a rare, weird issue that even the Windows experts have been stumped.  It would be great for my ego to know I did, indeed, solve this mystery.

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-03-07T21:18:18+00:00

    Hi

    Try this control panel >Settings -> power and sleep -> additional power settings -> change advanced power settings -> battery 

    Then, change critical battery action and low battery action to do nothing both on battery and plugged in

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-03-07T20:37:28+00:00

    My AMD A6 4400M APU keeps on locking every time I try to use it.

    It can lock within 2 minutes of startup or can be anytime of startup.This keeps on making me to wonder what is happening to my laptop

    Please it a hardware or software problem

    Please someone should kindly help me out

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-03-07T12:26:33+00:00

    Hey!

    Happening with me foe the last 2-3 days. I have a brand new battery since the last one went bad.

    This happens even if the battery percentage is above 50%.

    Basically it happens at random times. A brief message which I guess says something like "critical battery" and then another saying "locking" within a fraction of second and then goes to sleep.

    Once restarted, everything seems to be where it was before going to sleep.

    My guess is its heating up somehow suddenly.

    Any further help will be really appreciated.

    Mine is Dell Latitude 3450 running Windows 10 Version 20H2 (OS Build 19042.804)

    Thanks

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-03-04T16:22:48+00:00

    Does the battery show that it is charging when you have the power cord plugged in?

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