Screensaver not working in Windows 8.1

Anonymous
2014-01-02T00:47:42+00:00

Since upgrading (?) from Windows 8 to 8.1 the usual screensaver does not come on at all.  I have tried everything I can think of and what suggestions I can get from whatever source to solve this problem, but have failed.  Does anyone know of a conflict that could be causing this problem.  Prior to the upgrade the screensaver was coming on as scheduled and I was able to change the view to whatever I wanted to.  Now there is no setting or combination of adjustments that work.  I would like to start a thread on this problem to see if anyone else has had this problem and was it solvable or is there any hope.  Yes, I have Googled the problem already and tried the suggestions there, but I am willing to try anything that anyone can think of.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Accessibility

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments

47 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Anonymous
    2014-03-15T02:31:47+00:00

    Thanks for sharing!

    Signature: <removed>

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2014-03-15T02:10:59+00:00

    Thanks Tai,

    I am not sure we are talking about the same thing.  The computer seems to be asleep or rather the display is turned off.  But instead of the screensaver I get a blank (black) screen and it stays that way until I wake the computer up.

    I would like to try your "powercfg" command, but I don't know how or where to use it.

    Thanks,

    Dietmar

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2014-03-14T17:32:37+00:00

    I had this issue as well. After doing some research I used the "powercfg" command to troubleshoot it successfully.

    You'll need to run the command prompt as administrator and type "powercfg -requests" to see what processes might be active. In my case, under "DISPLAY" my web browser chrome.exe showed up as the culprit.

    To override that executable from keeping the system awake, I entered the command "powercfg -requestsoverride PROCESS chrome.exe DISPLAY" (replace chrome.exe with whatever the application happens to be in your case). To check that the override rule was entered successfully you can type "powercfg -requestsoverride" and in my case chrome.exe showed up under the "[process]" section.

    I also had a related problem where my computer would wake back up right after I manually set it to sleep. Using "powercfg -devicequery wake_armed" I saw that my network adapter was one of the devices that could wake my computer (in addition to my mouse and keyboard) so I disabled that in the Power Management tab under device name in Device Manager.

    Hope this helps others,

    Tai

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2014-03-14T15:47:52+00:00

    I have been following the issue with the screen savers and windows 8.1 I too, have problems.  The screen saver comes on, but there is no display.  The screen just goes blank,  I spent several hours on the phone with HP and they could not help me.  I can set up the screen saver and I get a Preview, but when  the screen saver comes on all I get is a blank screen.

    Any help will be appreciated.

    Dietmar

    ******@bellsouth.net

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  5. Anonymous
    2014-03-10T02:41:47+00:00

    Hi Scott,

    For a better understanding of the Screen Saver issue, let me know what is the Knowledge Base Article number of the Windows Update that was installed recently?

    This issue could have occurred due to these reasons.

    1. Damaged Screen Saver settings.
    2. Due to conflict between third party applications.

    Try the steps listed here and check if it helps.

    Method 1:

    I would suggest you to set a different Screen Saver and check if it works.

    How to use screen savers

    Method 2:

    If the issue persists, I would suggest you to set the computer in a clean boot state and check if it helps.  Setting the system in a clean boot state will help to identify if any third party applications or startup items are causing the issue.

    How to perform a clean boot to troubleshoot a problem in Windows 

    Note: After clean boot troubleshooting steps, refer to the section "How to reset the computer to start as usual after troubleshooting with clean boot" in the provided link to return your computer to Normal startup mode.

    Hope this information helps. Reply to the post with updated status of the issue to assist you further.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments