Bubbles screensaver has black background

STEPS TO RESTORE BUBBLES SCREEN SAVER -- OR ANY OTHER SCREENSAVER THAT HAS TRANSPARENCY -- TO FLOAT OVER DESKTOP BACKGROUND in WINDOWS 8.1 and WINDOWS 10:

1. Open your System32 folder and search for the Bubbles screensaver (Bubbles.scr). After you find it, right-click it and choose 'copy' from the context menu.

Create a folder somewhere on your computer (other than in System32) and name it Screensavers. I personally create this folder in ProgramData. Since ProgramData is a 'hidden file', you'll need to enable your system to show hidden files temporarily. To accomplish this, open your Folder Options shortcut in Control Panel (Windows 8.1) and under the View tab, place a tick in the circle "Show hidden files, folders, and drives". In Windows 10, open a window in File Explorer. Once here, click in the top left hand “File” menu, and select “Change folder and search options”. Once open, you’ll see the “General” tab as the first section you can make changes to. Under the View tab, put a tick in the circle "Show hidden files, folders, and drives". Once you do this step, click OK. Now you'll be able to see the previously hidden ProgramData folder located in your C system drive. Create your new Screensavers folder here. 

Paste the Bubbles.scr that you copied earlier into this folder. 

2. Copy the following lines into notepad: 

Set OWS = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")

OWS.Run "C:\ProgramData\Screensavers\Bubbles.scr"

Save as Bubbles.vbs in the same folder (the Screensavers folder).

3. Open Task Scheduler Settings. In both Windows 8.1 and 10 you can find Task Scheduler by clicking the start button and typing Task Scheduler.

Just highlight the Task Scheduler Library (do not choose any subdirectories).

At top menu, open Create Task.

At General Tab: Name your task: Bubbles

Describe it: Bubbles Screensaver.

Put dot in: Run only when user is logged on.

Configure for: Windows 8.1 (or Windows 10)

(Do not hit OK just yet, there is more to do.)

4. At Triggers Tab, hit New...

Begin the task: On idle (from dropdown list).

Place a checkmark in: Enabled

5. At Actions Tab, hit New...

Specify task: Start a Program.

Program/script: WScript.exe

Arguments: "C:\ProgramData\Screensavers\Bubbles.vbs"

Hit OK to save.

6 . Test your new task for errors: Highlight your new task Bubbles in the library list. At the lower right hand pane, hit Run. The bubbles should start floating right away. To end the test, hit End. (At Pop up window: Do you want to end all instances of this test? Hit Yes.)

That's it, task is ready to go and you have your Bubbles back as always. Note: It takes about 4 minutes of idle for Task Scheduler to start Bubbles. Don't worry if you sit there and wait, they will appear.

Result: 

* I've also found that this method works fine with other screensavers that have transparency. One of my own personal favorites is a screensaver called HypnogenicRain, which covers your desktop with very realistic rain-drop puddles. You can grab it from my MediaFire account here: HypnogenicRain screensaver  

HypnogenicRain screensaver effect:

To use it, simply follow all of the same steps outlined above, substituting the name of this screensaver (HypnogenicRain.scr) for the Bubbles one. Make sure you also name (HypnogenicRain.vbs) and also edit your .vbs script to point to the correct screensaver:

Set OWS = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")

OWS.Run "C:\ProgramData\Screensavers\HypnogenicRain.scr"

Also, you should only run ONE screensaver at a time; If you've created tasks for more than one screensaver, be sure to Disable (by right-clicking the task in the Task Scheduler Library window) whichever screensaver(s) you'renot using. In this way you can create Tasks for how many ever screensavers you like, setting them all to Disabled until you want to use one (by Enable-ing it).

Microsoft:

Preventing screensavers from drawing over an image of the desktop was a HORRIBLE developer decision.

Our fire department uses computer displays throughout our facility for displaying various types of information, including emergency response information like address and type of emergency.  By using the bubbles screensaver in past versions of Windows, we could prevent screen burn-in on our flourescent and LED backlit LCDs yet still see the displayed information.

Now that our systems have been "updated" to Windows 8, we have lost this ability.  We must now move a mouse at our control PC to see the displayed image or risk burn-in (we have experienced this problem with displays from different manufacturers, so don't try to claim new monitors do not have this problem).

Thanks for ruining our ability to see our information.  What about including an option to choose what is displayed??????

ABSOLUTELY STUPID!

Booo, why would MS take control of a feature away that's been in Windows for years in one form or another?  The Science screensaver started featuring the desktop background back in... what, Windows 95?  And now in 2013 you get around to deciding that users can't be trusted to decide what windows they might leave open when they walk away from their PCs?

Fine, let's compromise, and just run the bubbles over the wallpaper image specified by the user.  Bubbles over a single colored background is an idiotic design decision, it looks terrible and takes features away from the user.