Screen Rotation...

[localzuk]

So some little angel has figured out the key combo needed to make windows rotate the display on our computers. For the life of me I can't find it via google and can't remember it.

 

Can anyone remember what the keys would be to rotate it back to normal. Also, can anyone advise me how to lock it so they can't do this?

 

Cheers

Tony

[saundersmatt]

Normally it's a combination of ctrl+alt+[up/down/left/right] on the intel graphics chips. However sometimes you have to be logged in to do it.

 

To disable go to display properties -> advanced and look for anything to do with hotkeys and disable it.

 

Matt

[mrforgetful]

If it's the Intel thing log in and press Ctrl+Alt+Up

 

Then turn off rotation and Hot Keys using the icon in the System Tray.

[mrforgetful]

Simultaneous posts! My first ever and I've been using the Internet since 1997!

[projector1]

you may also want to disable hot keys as well (if it is an intel graphics card) this will stop them rotating the screen

[localzuk]

Indeed. I have switched them back and disabled them on those machines. Is there any central way I can disable the keys for 3 room fulls of PC's? I don't like the idea of doing it by hand

[TechMonkey]

We had a regFrag so gimme a min and I'll dig it out.

 

EDIT:

As long as it is one of the more recent Intel on board jobbies the frag is:

 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTEL\Display\igfxcui\HotKeys]

"Enable"=dword:00000000

 

THat should disable all the keys completely. Though if they can get at the app this won't help.

[pinemarten]

I did this but they bring a copy of the app on pendrives and run it from there grrrr

[binky]

I placed a patch for this in the downloads area.

[Busybub]

Are you sure they are bringing it in on USB?

 

Another way for the miscreants to enable it is to use the APPS key on the keyboard while they have the desktop showing. This key (between right WINkey and right Ctrl on standard Dell keyboard) brings up the context menu in the same way that right-click does, and bypasses that group policy, giving them access to graphics properties to enable the shortcuts, and access to any rotation menu that may be installed with the chipset.

 

A second way is to press shift+f10 which does the same thing.

 

The only way I've found to get around this is to enter a new scancode map in registry which disables those keys:

 

We use the following which you can save as a .reg and run on login:

----------------------------------------------------

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout]

"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,06,00,00,00,00,00,5D,E0,00,00,44,00,00,00,58,00,2A,00,3A,00,2A,00,36,00,00,00,00,00

----------------------------------------------------

 

Description:

0000 0000 header flags

0000 0000 header version

0600 0000 no. of following entries inc null terminator

0000 5de0 maps nothing to apps (disables it)

0000 4400 maps nothing to f10 (disables it)

0000 5800 maps nothing to f12 (disables graphics shortcut)

2a00 3a00 maps left shift to caps lock (changes caps to shift)

2a00 3600 maps left shift to right shift (changes function of right shift)

0000 0000 null terminator

 

Changing the right shift to a left shift removes access to the filter keys shortcut (hold down right shift for 8 seconds) which is a part of accessibility options. There are various other shortcuts in accessibility which are a serious pain to maintaining computers and will cause no end of nuisance to other users if somebody fiddles with them. These options work on the current_user reg key and I've not yet found a way to script anything on a per user basis which can disable them entirely. We disable ALL shortcuts, then remove the shortcut from the start menu as well as applying this.

 

We use the caps lock change as our older kids have a habit of leaving caps lock on which confuses the younger ones in the next class when they try to log on and keep getting password problems. To remove it, remove the entry and edit the number of entries from 0600 0000 to 0500 0000.

 

The headers and null terminator are compulsory.

[Gambit]

has anyone created a script to prevent this from happening,? The little darlings have just figured this out at my school, and thats all they are doing now. I fix it, 2hrs later I have to go back to fix it again. This is starting to get out of hand

[MkII]

That's what I call thorough Busybub!!!

[localzuk]

One of the things I thought of with this is 'is it really a problem?' If everyone knows about it, and knows how to change it back and forth then they will just do it. If it is kept a secret or obscure methods to hide it are used, isn't that just security through obscurity?

[_Bat_]

One of the things I thought of with this is 'is it really a problem?' If everyone knows about it, and knows how to change it back and forth then they will just do it. If it is kept a secret or obscure methods to hide it are used, isn't that just security through obscurity?

 

I was thinking that last night. In my opinion the feature hasn't been thought out well at all, but thats just what it is - a feature. It is easy enough to change back. I personally would just tell all the staff in an e-mail how to change it back and next time the kids have difficultly, the staff can change it back for them.

[6Foot2]

I have disabled access to the application through Active Directory, restricted their [the Students] access to drive letters [they cannot see c:\], again an Active Directory policy and the Navigation Pane in Windows Explorer is blank using a Registry fragment. If they have access to the Navigation Pane they can open USB pen drives as 'Portable Media Devices' That should do it.

[Busybub]

That's what I call thorough Busybub!!!

 

Unfortunately with our bunch, once they find something to fiddle with they exploit it, and tell everybody else :x

 

I'm half tempted to remap one of the keys to act like the back navigation button just to confuse them when they are surfing! :twisted:

[sqdge]

I've just bought some Dell Optiplex 745s for the school and have found that the mice that come with it have two buttons on the side. If you click these, the screen rotates. Bizarrely, disabling this function in the mouse properties doesn't actually solve the issue.

 

Hopefully, disabling Hot Keys will solve the issue.

[Midget]

Or teaching people how to fix it?

[sqdge]

Or teaching people how to fix it?

 

Have you ever spoken to a brick wall - I do it all the time!

[willsheldon]

you may find the following adm file useful:

 

; ADM Template Creation/Modifying Date: 13:56 08/10/2007
; ADM Template Author: Will Sheldon
; ADM Template Filename: Intel_gfx.adm
;	
CLASS MACHINE 

CATEGORY "Intel Graphics Features"

POLICY  "Graphics card icon appears in systray"
	KEYNAME "SOFTWARE\INTEL\Display\igfxcui\igfxtray\TrayIcon" 
    EXPLAIN "If this policy is enabled, the intel tray icon will be visible" 
	VALUENAME "ShowTrayIcon" 
        VALUEON  NUMERIC 1
        VALUEOFF NUMERIC 0 
END POLICY

POLICY  "Graphics card hotkeys"
	KEYNAME "SOFTWARE\INTEL\Display\igfxcui\HotKeys" 
    EXPLAIN "If this policy is enabled, the intel hotkeys will be enabled" 
	VALUENAME "Enable" 
        VALUEON  NUMERIC 1
        VALUEOFF NUMERIC 0 
END POLICY 

END CATEGORY 

[pagelad]

Hi,

 

Im a bit late on this but Ive started getting this problem and have tried to implement the ADM file.

 

Ive saved it all in a file with an ADM extention and added it to to group policy, i get the folder saying "intel graphics features" but nothing inside it. Any idea what im doing wrong?

[willv28]

Hi,

 

Im a bit late on this but Ive started getting this problem and have tried to implement the ADM file.

 

Ive saved it all in a file with an ADM extention and added it to to group policy, i get the folder saying "intel graphics features" but nothing inside it. Any idea what im doing wrong?

 

Custom ADM templates are often hidden. To view the features you need to adjust the filtering so it shows. Right click on the folder go to View->Filtering, make sure no check boxes are selected, click ok. Then the setting should show up.

[Oakie]

I have optiplex GX620's with the intel graphics that allows the kiddies to rotate the screen. They were doing it while I was teaching and once one kid did he'd show the kids in the whole row. Pretty soon he had effectively hijacked my lesson and all the kids attention was lost.

 

I stopped it with a GPO software restriction to hkcmd.exe. It's the intel hotkey executable for the CTRL + ALT + arrow keys. Works perfectly. When that group came back this week for their weekly lesson, those same kiddies went at it right away pressing and re-pressing and trying it over and over. They couldn't get it to work. Sometimes the kids win, sometimes I win. I won this one (for now).

 

 

I'm on Windows 2003 domain with XP SP3.

[PEO]

hahaha.... sorry, It happened to me here. someone figured it out and then decided to late everyone know. You can turn the feature off in the control panel. by clicking the intel graphics shortcut. you should find an option to turn off screen rotation.

[RallyTech]

Well it looks like some kids at my school figured out this annoying feature. I will implement some of the solutions like disabling the tray icon and right click.

 

However, I'm looking for a script or something that can reset the screen rotation to normal on logon or logoff. This will alleviate a lot of time spent by me constantly telling everyone how to fix it. Does anyone have a script that can run on logon and logoff for WinXP computers to reset the rotation to normal? I've tried googling around and haven't found anything but I did find a whole lot of complaints about screen rotation.