Screensaver keeps turning itself off.

@Anubis1101, welcome to TenForums!

I think that the lockscreen issue is a bit different. It doesn't actually change the screensaver settings so that they are disabled, rather, it just prevents the screensaver from running. For that, I have a workaround.

However, it might be good to start planning for the deprecation of screensavers. If what I have read is accurate, Microsoft has already stated that they plan to do away with screensaver functionality altogether,

hsehestedt said:

@Anubis1101, welcome to TenForums!

I think that the lockscreen issue is a bit different. It doesn't actually change the screensaver settings so that they are disabled, rather, it just prevents the screensaver from running. For that, I have a workaround.

However, it might be good to start planning for the deprecation of screensavers. If what I have read is accurate, Microsoft has already stated that they plan to do away with screensaver functionality altogether,

I don't know what problem you're referring to, but mine was setting to "none" occasionally when the lock screen showed up, either from inactivity or coming out of sleep mode. I played with the settings until it eventually stopped, though I can't quite nail down which setting did it.

And if that's true, that's a shame. Lots of people still use screensavers for a variety of purposes, and there will be 3rd-party screensaver programs regardless. But I doubt they're going to get rid of them in the foreseeable future, except by some short-sighted corporate initiative.

Anubis1101 said:

Having the same issue; research suggests it's caused by the Lock Screen, and it's an issue that's been around for at least 4 years. Posts on the official support site over the last couple years suggest they plan to do absolutely nothing about it.

So far, if your power settings don't fix it, the only way to prevent it from turning off is to change your lock screen settings.

I have noticed the same annoying problem. My monitor and sleep settings are as directed. Typically, I will notice that my screensaver is not appearing and look at the settings and see it has changed from Starfield to None, while the time settings remain the same. This happens sometimes after a Windows update and sometimes after no known update.

I had my lock screen set to ON. If I change it to OFF then will this stop happening. I don't even know what Lock Screen is for or what it is supposed to do, it was set that way by default I guess.

P.S. I know that screensavers aren't necessary for today's monitors, I just like to have one as a viewing preference when not using the computer.

ferrarabrainpan said:

I have noticed the same annoying problem. My monitor and sleep settings are as directed. Typically, I will notice that my screensaver is not appearing and look at the settings and see it has changed from Starfield to None, while the time settings remain the same. This happens sometimes after a Windows update and sometimes after no known update.
P.S. I know that screensavers aren't necessary for today's monitors, I just like to have one as a viewing preference when not using the computer.

This is one of those irritating little things which Microsoft does now and then, I'm afraid... something you can grit your teeth and live with, which is why I'm only now getting around to seeing if others have the same issue (they do), and if someone knows of a solution (they don't). I have two different machines each running Windows 10, on different versions (1909 and 20H2), and they both have the same problem. I'd noticed that it was getting harder and harder to actually find the screensaver settings (having been moved from "Control Panel>Display" to "right-click>Personalize", to "Settings", and finally to "I-don't-know-where-the-heck-it-is-anymore-Let-me-try-Search"), so I thought I would query Explorer for the app's executable file and send it to a desktop shortcut, making it less of a hassle to fix. Know where I found it? Buried in the "Windows.old" folder, and inaccessible by either double-click or shortcut. Which means, the screensaver has already been quietly deprecated, whether we like it or not.

I realize that I'm a smidge unusual, in my love of legacy tech, but like Ferrarabrainpan, I find a nice screensaver to be a pleasant visual effect. And I've never been a big fan of "sleep" and "hibernate" and other power-saving options, I like to sit down at my machine and have it ready on demand. Plus, for a home system, where you don't need absolute privacy, the screensaver at least shields what you've been working on from a casual bystander. And it has to be easier on the liquid crystals than a static image, regardless of whether it's as essential as it once was. In any event, it's pretty frustrating when the "visionaries" decide on their own that I no longer need something.

Hi,

If you have Windows Pro, you can use GPO to Enforce the screen saver you want

LCP > User Configuration > Administrative Template > Control Panel > Personalization

Prevent changing screen saver
Force specific screen saver.

MaloK said:

Hi,

If you have Windows Pro, you can use GPO to Enforce the screen saver you want

LCP > User Configuration > Administrative Template > Control Panel > Personalization

Prevent changing screen saver
Force specific screen saver.

Thank you, I never knew that ability existed in GPO. I enabled both of those policies, also went into Computer Configuration and found the tool I need to keep my wife's machine from resetting her Lock Screen all the time (my annoyance on that one, though never on mine for some reason). We'll see how persistent this fix is. But if they continue to gut Control Panel the way they have been, there may come a point where this option disappears as well. It probably already has, in Win 11. But that is a thread for a different forum entirely...

I think Windows 10 has GPO to control the lock screen too... I'll have to take a look at that.

W10 Tweaker said:

Enable or Disable Lock Screen in Windows 10

Bingo!