Send Ctrl-Alt-Del Troubleshooting

If the Send Ctrl-Alt-Del feature is not functioning with Windows 7 or Vista, then the User Account Control (UAC) and/or the Secure Attention Sequence (SAS) can be enabled. In that case, you or an IT administrator will need to complete at least one of the following procedures.

Topics in this article:

Enable Software Secure Attention Sequence (SAS)

Enable SAS using Group Policy Management

Enable SAS using Registry Setting

Enable User Account Control (UAC)

Enable UAC on Individual Computers

Enable UAC on Multiple Computers using Registry Setting

Configure the Domain Group Policy or the Local Group Policy

Enable Software Secure Attention Sequence (SAS)

Enable SAS using Group Policy Management

To change the Group Policy for Software SAS

1. In the left pane of the Local Group Policy Editor, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Logon Options.

2. Right-click "Disable or enable software Secure Attention Sequence" and select Edit.

3. Select the Enabledoption.

4. In the drop-down menu below "Set which software is allowed to generate the Secure Attention Sequence," select either Services or Services and Ease of Access applications.

5. Click OK.

Enable SAS using Registry Setting

1. Click the Windows Start button .

2. Select the search field and type "RegEdit" to open the Registry Editor.

3. In the left pane of the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Policies > System.

4. In the right pane, right-click "SoftwareSASGeneration" and select Modify.

5. In the Edit DWORD Value window, set the Value Data to "3" (decimal or hexadecimal) and click OK.

Note: Value "3" is "Services and Ease of Access applications."

Enable User Account Control (UAC)

Enable UAC on Individual Computers

To enable UAC on Windows 7

1. Click the Windows Start button > Control Panel.

2. Click User Accounts > Change User Account Control settings.

3. Windows 7 offers four different User Account Control settings. If the UAC is set to the bottom option ("never notify"), then it is considered to be off. Slide the bar to any position other than the bottom one, then click OK.

4. Reboot for the changes to take effect.

You should now be able to send the Ctrl-Alt-Del command to your host computer. If you continue to have problems, your computer may need to be configured by an IT administrator to accept this command when it is sent remotely.

To enable UAC on Windows Vista

1. Click the Windows Start button > Control Panel.

2. Click User Accounts > Turn User Account Control On or Off.

3. Select the "Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer" check box and click OK.

4. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Enable UAC on Multiple Computers using Registry Setting

1. Click the Windows Start button .

2. Select the Search or Run field and type "RegEdit" to open the Registry Editor.

3. In the left pane of the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Policies > System.

4. In the right pane, right-click "EnableLUA" and select Modify.

5. In the Edit DWORD Value window, set the Value Data to "1" (decimal) and click OK.

Configure the Domain Group Policy or the Local Group Policy

In most cases, the IT administrator configures the Group Policy for some or all computers on the domain. If the Group Policy for the domain is "Not Configured" or the computer is not on a domain, then the local Group Policy may be configured.

Note: Only a domain administrator can modify the domain Group Policy. The domain Group Policy overrides the local Group Policy.

To configure the Domain Group Policy

1. Log in to a PC with Windows 7, Vista, Windows 2008 R2 or 2008 Server as a domain administrator.

2. Open Microsoft's Group Policy Management tool (Start > Administrative Tools > Group Policy Management). If you don’t see this Microsoft-supplied program, you may need to download, install and enable it.

Note: If using Windows 7 or Vista with Service Pack 1 or later, Windows 2008 R2 or Windows 2008 Server, the Group Policy Management Console will likely need to be installed.

4. In the left pane of the Group Policy Management window, click the arrow to expand the menu until you have reached your company's domain.

5. In the Group Policy Objects (GPO) folder, find the GPO that contains the policy that is preventing GoToAssist from sending Ctrl-Alt-Del. Right-click it and select Edit.

4. Complete the steps for enabling Software Secure Attention Sequence (SAS).

Note: The domain Group Policy change may not take effect until the workstations are restarted. You may use the "gpupdate/force" command on each workstation to immediately receive the updated policy.

To configure the Local Group Policy

Note: These steps must be performed on each workstation.

1. Log on to the Windows 7 or Vista computer as a user with local administrator privileges.

2. Click the Windows Start button .

3. Select the search field, type "Edit Group Policy" or "GPedit.msc" and click to open the Local Group Policy Editor.