Changing Screen Saver to Default Setting

To restore the default screen saver that cycles through images, configure the screen saver again in Windows settings. This uses the built-in Screen Saver Settings, not email.

Follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to Personalization > Lock screen.
3. Select Screen saver (or use this shortcut if available: ms-settings:lockscreen).
4. In the Screen Saver Settings window:
   • From the Screen saver drop-down list, choose the one that matches what was originally shown. Common defaults include Photos (for a slideshow of pictures) or other built-in savers like Bubbles, Mystify, or Ribbons.
   • If it was a slideshow of pictures (animals, birds, buildings, etc.), select Photos, then click Settings... and choose the folder that contains those images (often a default Pictures or sample images folder, depending on how the PC was set up).
5. Set the Wait time (how many minutes of inactivity before the screen saver starts).
6. Optionally, check On resume, display logon screen if a password is required when the screen saver stops.
7. Click OK to save the settings.

If the Screen Saver Settings window was not saving changes before, reset the screen saver settings to default values using the registry fix from Microsoft, then configure it again:

1. Open Notepad.
2. Copy this text exactly (including blank lines):

      Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
      
      [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]
      "ScreenSaverIsSecure"="0"
      "ScreenSaveTimeOut"="600"
      "ScreenSaveActive"="1"
      
      [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop]
      "ScreenSaveActive"=dword:00000001
      "SCRNSAVE.EXE"=-
      
      [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Group Policy Objects\LocalUser\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop]
      "ScreenSaveActive"="1"
      
      [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
      "NoSaveSettings"=dword:00000000
      
      [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Group Policy Objects\LocalUser\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
      "NoSaveSettings"=dword:00000000
      
      [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Group Policy Objects\LocalUser\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
      "**del.NoSaveSettings"=-
   

3. Save the file as a .reg file on the desktop, for example screen-saver-fix.reg.
4. Double-click the .reg file to merge it into the registry.
5. After that, open Settings > Personalization > Lock screen > Screen saver again and reselect the desired screen saver.

Important: Editing the registry can cause serious problems if done incorrectly. Back up the registry before making changes and only follow the documented steps.

References:

• Configure a Screen Saver in Windows
• You cannot change or save Screen Saver settings