Screen saver

[theProfessor]

Can't the Windows 10 screen saver to start. I have have tried several fixes nothing works. One would think Microsoft could get the screen saver to work. I worked OK in 8.

 

[tomheaverlo]

Unfortunately, this is a common, recurring problem. Some times it seems to be related to attached USB devices. I've disconnected all USB devices, uninstalled them from the Device manager, reconnected them and restarted the machine to have the screen saver start working, only to have it fail a few hours to a few days later. Frustrating indeed.

 

[Petrosa]

Hello. Not sure if there is a more current post regarding the screen saver issue as described by the OP, so I would like to at least give one very specific solution as related to the USB devices mentioned by Mr. Heaverlo. I have a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro joystick used for the game Elite Dangerous where it works great, ..however the only problem with the joystick in relation to it's main function is that it has a very slight but definite drift which you must compensate for so that the stick does not give unintended instructions to the game. The dead spot, wherein no output from the joystick is passing to the game while the stick is sitting in it's neutral position, is a problem on this nice but inexpensive game controller because the weight of the stick itself tends to make it fall off center by 4 or 5 degrees. In game you can make adjustments to ignore any input within that first 5 or so degrees of output from the joystick. This allows the joystick to do it's job without the player having to constantly adjust for the unintended input when they might need to release the stick.

My thought is that perhaps in Windows 10 the joystick is being treated as a general purpose input device akin to the mouse, therefore it is checked by the system even when there is no game for the joystick's use. Thus that small lean of the stick from true, that can be tweaked in-game but is still happening physically inside of the joystick is actually being viewed by the OS as a real-time real user input. This input, similar in effect to a bump of the mouse, causes the normal wake response which consequently interrupts the screensaver. In my specific case this USB connected device was the culprit.

I am a photographer and I like to have my pictures scroll through when the system is not in use; that and the fact that my family seems to think the best screen to leave the system on when they walk away is the brightest white screen they can find - lol Hope that helps or perhaps points some of the very knowledgeable people here to find a solution that doesn't involve the necessity of unplugging a device for a very common application to run.

 

[tomheaverlo]

I don't think your observation is far off base. I have a Microsoft joystick that seems to have the same problem of not consistently staying centered. Sometimes, when my monitor isn't shutting itself off, I can sit at the machine and hear a slight buzzing sound, and it is coming from that joystick. When I physically center the stick to stop the noise, and then walk away from the PC, I can come back later and find that the monitor has shut off as it should.

 

[Richard Weinberg]

I went back and shut off the Human Interface Devices one at a time to see which one was keeping the screen saver from coming on. For me, it was the HID compliant whiteboard. Now it is the only HID I have disabled and the screen saver comes on at the set time.

The problem with the screensaver reverting to one minute and not coming on at all after a computer shutdown and restart is still present.

 

[tomheaverlo]

Just curious... have you tried removing the screensaver from the equation and just have the monitor shut itself off after x number of minutes, or is that even a workable attempt at a solution for you? I don't use the screensaver any more and simply rely on the monitor shut-off. There is still a glitch in the process now and then (sometimes, I have to manually shut the monitor off until it decides to start working again), but overall, it seems to work better than having the screensaver there to seemingly gum up the works.

 

[Richard Weinberg]

When I set the screen saver and monitor shutoff, both work fine, until I shut down and restart. Then the screensaver resets to one minute and does not come on, nor does the monitor shut off until I reset the screensaver timer. The settings are preserved if I do a 'restart', but are lost if I actually shut down and restart. The savings are also preserved if I do a 'hibernate' and then restart from that status. Not a big deal, just irritating

 

[Petrosa]

I don't think your observation is far off base. I have a Microsoft joystick that seems to have the same problem of not consistently staying centered. Sometimes, when my monitor isn't shutting itself off, I can sit at the machine and hear a slight buzzing sound, and it is coming from that joystick. When I physically center the stick to stop the noise, and then walk away from the PC, I can come back later and find that the monitor has shut off as it should.

Thank you, and sorry for the delayed response. Update: I am 12 days on and the concerning behavior has not returned. So, for me, that was the solution.