Screen saver in Vista

[desertrat]

Is there something tricky about this? I did right click, personalize, screen saver. I set it to blank in 10 minutes, but it never blanks out. What gives?

 

[warneckutz]

Is there something tricky about this? I did right click, personalize, screen saver. I set it to blank in 10 minutes, but it never blanks out. What gives?

I have no idea why, but my computer does the same thing. Does it do it EVERY time? I'd say it happens about half of the time on mine - maybe there's a program running in the background keeping it from going into screensaver mode???

 

[desertrat]

I have no idea why, but my computer does the same thing. Does it do it EVERY time? I'd say it happens about half of the time on mine - maybe there's a program running in the background keeping it from going into screensaver mode???

Never has kicked in yet, which is three days. I was wondering about a program. Spy sweeper, anti virus maybe? The wireless connection?

 

[JEB]

Cntrl Panel > Power Options > Select a Power Plan
But this will only blank out your screen, not put up a picture.

 

[desertrat]

Cntrl Panel > Power Options > Select a Power Plan
But this will only blank out your screen, not put up a picture.

That doesn't work either. The display is set to turn off in 20 minutes on ac power.

 

[migtig]

CAUSE
This behavior may occur if Group Policy was set as a local policy instead of as a domain policy.


RESOLUTION
Service pack information
To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows XP. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
How to obtain the latest Windows XP service pack

Hotfix information
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem, submit a request to Microsoft Online Customer Services to obtain the hotfix. To submit an online request to obtain the hotfix, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=6294451

The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix.

WORKAROUND
If you change the policy on the local computer, this behavior will continue. To work around this behavior, implement a domain policy to mandate screen saver use. When you implement a domain policy, the registry key is written as the correct data type and the Winlogon service interprets the registry data correctly.


STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2.

 

[desertrat]

This behavior may occur if Group Policy was set as a local policy instead of as a domain policy.

How do I check this?

 

[migtig]

To open Group Policy

Click Start, and then click Run.
Type gpedit.msc and then click OK.
When Group Policy opens, you will see two options in Local Computer Policy: Computer Configuration and User Configuration. Computer Configuration allows you to set policies that apply to your computer, regardless of who logs on. User Configuration allows you to set policies that apply to each user who logs on to the computer.

Using Group Policy on your computer

You can customize your desktop environment by enabling or disabling different policy settings. For example, you can remove icons from your desktop, customize the Start menu, and simplify the Control Panel using Group Policy. You can also add scripts that will run on your computer when it starts up or shuts down and when users log on or log off, and you can even configure Internet Explorer.


Using Group Policy when your computer is joined to a network domain

If your computer is part of a corporate network, it is possible that the network administrator will configure your computer using these features of Group Policy. The Group Policy settings applied by your network administrator take precedence over any of the Group Policy settings you have configured on your computer.

You can find more information about the Group Policy settings that have been applied to your computer in Help and Support Center.

To open Help and Support Center to view policy information

Click Start, and then click Help and Support.
Under Pick a task, click Use Tools to view your computer information and diagnose problems.
In Tools Center, click Advanced System Information.
In Advanced System Information, click View policy information.
Notes

For more information about using Group Policy to define policy settings that are applied to computers and computer users, see Group Policy Help.
For more information about using Group Policy to define security settings that are applied to computers and computer users, see Local Security Help.
You must be an administrator to add Group Policy to a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and to use Group Policy to customize settings on your computer.

 

[migtig]

However, it really sound like this has been an issue before, so you may have to install the patch.

 

[desertrat]

However, it really sound like this has been an issue before, so you may have to install the patch.

You are a wealth of info. Thanks, I'll eventually try all this stuff. The screen saver works when I unplug the wireless mouse and keyboard. It just seems weird to put an XP patch in for Vista. You'd think they would have imlemented that in new software.

 

[jazz lady]

I have Vista on my home PC (laptop) and the screen saver is one of the FEW things that works right all the time.

 

[migtig]

You are a wealth of info. Thanks, I'll eventually try all this stuff. The screen saver works when I unplug the wireless mouse and keyboard. It just seems weird to put an XP patch in for Vista. You'd think they would have imlemented that in new software.

It's Microsoft. :shrug:

 

[desertrat]

When I type gpedit.msc in run it says it can't find it.

 

[migtig]

When I type gpedit.msc in run it says it can't find it.

hmm....try computer configuration and user configuration

 

[desertrat]

hmm....try computer configuration and user configuration

All I can find is system config.

 

[migtig]

All I can find is system config.

Then it's not set up on your computer, and it isn't the cause of your problem.

Or it's not set up on your computer and is the cause of your problem.

I would go on their website
Windows Vista: Help and How-to
And hit up the discussion group or fire off an email to tech support.

Sorry I wasn't more help.

 

[desertrat]

Then it's not set up on your computer, and it isn't the cause of your problem.

Or it's not set up on your computer and is the cause of your problem.

I would go on their website
Windows Vista: Help and How-to
And hit up the discussion group or fire off an email to tech support.

Sorry I wasn't more help.

You were! Thanks. If nothing else I eliminated a few things.

 

[desertrat]

You were! Thanks. If nothing else I eliminated a few things.

The Microsoft site says I need SP3 and some other stuff. I guess I must have SP2 already. Downloading now.

 

[desertrat]

Then it's not set up on your computer, and it isn't the cause of your problem.

Or it's not set up on your computer and is the cause of your problem.

I would go on their website
Windows Vista: Help and How-to
And hit up the discussion group or fire off an email to tech support.

Sorry I wasn't more help.

Thanks a lot. The update seems to have fixed it.

 

[migtig]

Thanks a lot. The update seems to have fixed it.

Yep Microsoft and their updates can make life heck. You might want to check again in a few months to see if there is anything else that may need to be "updated" or patched.