Screensaver / Turn off Display has basically stopped working entirely after the last Win 10 update

Question

Screensaver / Turn off Display has basically stopped working entirely after the last Win 10 update

Mr Never-ending log-in loops are fun 0

Got several laptops set to turn on screensaver after 10 minutes... or turn off the display.

None are doing this since the last update. Only about 10% of the time maybe (and then only after a full reboot).

Seems like Microsoft's deliberately trying to destroy our monitors to be honest
(...so that we have to upgrade?)

Any way to get this back to normal operation?

Thanks in advance.

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Answer 1

Emma1-N 11,450 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Welcome,

I understand how frustrating this is, especially when the behavior started suddenly after an update. Let's first narrow down what might be preventing Windows from entering the screen saver or display-off state.

Could you please check the following and let us know the results?

Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run: powercfg /requests
This will show whether an app, driver, or service is currently preventing the display from turning off.
Does the issue occur if you perform a Clean Boot?
- Press Windows + R >type msconfig
- On the Services tab, check Hide all Microsoft services
- Select Disable all
- Restart the PC and test whether the screen saver/display-off timer works normally.
Please confirm the exact Windows version by going to Settings > System > About and providing the OS Build number.

I look forward to your update.

Emma1-N 11,450 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-02T04:41:37.97+00:00

Hello,

I just wanted to check if my previous response addressed your question correctly. If there is anything I may have misunderstood, I would truly appreciate it if you could provide a bit more detail to help me better understand your needs.
Mr Never-ending log-in loops are fun 0 Reputation points

2026-09-03T15:28:01.7233333+00:00

Hi Emma. Sorry I didn't reply sooner - mods suspended me (a bit excessive?).

I appealed to mlsecure and the response didn't really say anything, just a FAQ...

Anyway... cmd says this.

I don't have VLC open, and Handbrake has never caused this problem before.

Build number 19045.7663
Emma1-N 11,450 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-04T05:08:23.74+00:00
Hello Mr Never-ending log-in loops are fun,

Thank you for coming back. Please check the step:

Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc

On the "Processes" tab, look for any VLC Media Player or HandBrake processes

If they are running, select them and choose End task

After closing them, run the following command again: powercfg /requests

Wait for the normal display timeout period and check whether the screen turns off correctly