Screen Saver Stops Working

[Terry James]

OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Home
Version 10.0.17763 Build 17763
System Manufacturer ZOOSTORM
System Model 7200-0152A
System Type x64-based PC
System SKU 7200-0152A
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4460 CPU @ 3.20GHz, 3201 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. F4a UM, 15/03/2016
SMBIOS Version 2.7
Embedded Controller Version 255.255
BIOS Mode UEFI
BaseBoard Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
BaseBoard Product H81M-S2V
BaseBoard Version x.x

I am having constant problems in Windows 10 where the screen saver works sometimes & not others. Having researched this, I find that thousands of people have the same problem & get little or no help from Microsoft.

I ran a Bitdefender full system scan that found bugs & after that the screen saver started working again, but not for long.
I then ran CC Cleaner which seemed to fix the problem for a day, then it started again.
So I have to keep turning my monitor off to protect it.
Does anybody out there know how to fix this issue.

 

[Ian]

Hi Terry,

The easiest thing to do now is to allow your monitor to enter standby mode, rather than use a screensaver - it'll save power and prolong the life of the monitor.

If you go to Start > Settings > System > Power & Sleep, you should be able to set a timeout for your monitor (and whole PC if you'd like). I have my screen set to turn off after 15 mins of inactivity.

 

[Terry James]

Many thanks Ian.

I will do this as a last resort. I really want to get my Screensaver working as my wife & I enjoy watching the photos of our lifetime which is my Screensaver.

 

[Ian]

OK, I understand . Do you have the problem that the screensaver just never starts, or does it sometimes appear and then disappear?

I suspect it'll be related to a USB device that is plugged in to your PC which isn't letting it think that the PC is inactive. Can you please try unplugging all USB devices temporarily (mouse, keyboard, printer, etc...) and then see if the screensaver works? If so, can you please try re-introducing them one at a time.

If you can identify which device is causing a problem, you can uncheck the "allow this device to wake the computer" from device manager > device properties > "power management" tab.

 

[Terry James]

Thanks again Ian.

My screensaver runs intermittently. It will work for days then suddenly stops. It doesn’t disappear, just stops working intermittently.

For example, it wasn’t working when I turned in last knight & shutdown my monitor. This morning, when I switched on the monitor, it still wasn’t working, i.e. the spreadsheet I was working on appeared as soon as the monitor was switched on. Then about 10:00 hrs, it started working again with no intervention from me?

 

[Ian]

Ah, so you turn your monitor off manually? I wonder if that activity is enough to "wake" the PC.

Could you be knocking the mouse ever so slightly when you turn the monitor on (even a 0.1mm movement would wake the PC).

 

[Terry James]

No Ian, I always turn of the power to the monitor before turning in & have been doing so for donkey’s years.

The power switch for the monitor is not near the mouse.

In any event, when I switch the monitor back on the following morning no screen saver is working.

However, since 10:00 this morning it hasn’t faltered.

To save my monitor, I have for the last few days whilst the screensaver has been playing up, switched to a PC that isn’t powered up using my KVM switch.

The only other things recent are: -

I have been using an old USB memory that came with my old Dell PC (Windows XP) to transfer files to my Zoostorm PC. I have to do this as the Dell has Autocad installed & I have disconnected it from the internet for safety.

This morning, I got a low battery warning for my Logitech keyboard, replaced.

I don’t think either of these are causing the problem.

 

[Terry James]

Hi Ian, follow up for your info.

Since 22/02/20, 10:00, the screensaver has worked perfectly with no intervention from me.

Hope it goes on this way. I will keep you posted if the issue re-occurs.

Many thanks for your help.

 

[Terry James]

Ian & anyone else this might help.

I have attached a log of my screen saver issues.

I think & hope that I have found the cause of the problem.

Since 22/03/20, when I removed Amazon Music from my system, I have had no further problems.

The article below put me on to it.


https://www.hightechdad.com/2017/09/15/windows-10-screensaver-not-working-try-these-fixes/

Extract from above link.

It turns out that the culprit was the combination of a web browser (in this case, Chrome) plus an open (actually pinned) tab of a streaming video service. My wife had two tabs that met that criteria pinned, namely: Netflix and Dish Anywhere.

It seems that those services since they are video streaming, prevent the screen from going to sleep. And it makes absolute sense. You wouldn’t want to be watching a show or a movie and have your screen saver kick in, right?

I’m sure that other video streaming services might have this same effect, but I haven’t tested it. Also, I haven’t tested if just an active tab on a browser will prevent the screen saver from launching, or if a non-active pinned tab might produce the same effect. Nor do I know if other browsers are affected or not.

Updated 9/16/17: So, the screen saver stopped working again. So, I thought about the sentences above and went to check the Windows Task Manager. It turns out that two instances of the Dish Anywhere Player. So, I killed those two processes and the screensaver started running as expected.

 

[Ian]

That is great news @Terry James! Thank you for reporting back with the fix, I wouldn't have guessed that was the culprit.

Good work .

 

[yuanyasmine]

I have Windows 10 on my netbook. The screensaver, the sleep mode and all the other power options, such as the screen should dim or go blank after a certain period, were not working. If I unplugged my wireless mouse and keyboard, then these options worked. To get the screen saver and power options to work when a wireless mouse is connected, do the following:
Go to All Programs, then to Windows Update. Download updates if needed. Then click on the link "Review Optional Updates". Of those, select "Microsoft HID non-user input data filter". Install that update.
Once done, the screensaver works even while a wireless mouse is plugged into the laptop.

this link may be helpful:

Screen Saver suddenly stopped working (FIXED, SORT OF)

The screen saver on our computer was set to use 3D text, and was working without any problems; power setting was working also without any problems. Now the screen saver does work, neither does the

answers.microsoft.com