login and logout logging

[Matt]

I'm wanting to find out how to find out past history on a windows xp machine
about when the user logged in, logged out (including if the machine was in a
locked state not just when they turned the pc on) and how long they were
active on the computer.
I have looked in event viewer but can't work it out clearly - vista seems to
be easy to work out from event viewer - I'm sure there is something I am
missing or a free tool out there I have not found (I know I could setup a
login/out script that creates a txt file each time with the date and time but
I'm needing to find this out on a users pc from events that have already
occured)
thanks in advance

 

[Malke]

I'm wanting to find out how to find out past history on a windows xp
machine about when the user logged in, logged out (including if the
machine was in a locked state not just when they turned the pc on) and how
long they were active on the computer.
I have looked in event viewer but can't work it out clearly - vista seems
to be easy to work out from event viewer - I'm sure there is something I
am missing or a free tool out there I have not found (I know I could setup
a login/out script that creates a txt file each time with the date and
time but I'm needing to find this out on a users pc from events that have
already occured)
thanks in advance

Auditing is a good way to do this but you left out the important details.

Is the machine a member of a domain? If yes, what server OS are you running?

Is the machine a member of a Workgroup with no server? If yes, what version
of XP is it?

To get your answers either post back or Google using a search term similar
to:

"audit logons Server 2003"

If this is a standalone/Workgroup box running XP Home or you want a more
intense tracking experience, eBlaster by SpectorSoft is excellent. It isn't
free, however.

Malke