Windows 7: Is there a Sleep setting that can include a screen saver?

Windows 7 Home Premium: I want my PC to sleep after 20 minutes, so I can leave it on all night and come back in the morning and start using it right away. ( I have a password, so no one could steal it or anything, and start using it )



I have a screen saver setup to come on after 5 minutes, and sleep mode after 20.

I have it on a APC UPS set with their software, to silent, so if the power goes out overnight ( very rare and usually short ) it won't beep and wake me up. Besides, if it's asleep, it could literally go for days without power line power.

My problem is not remembering sometimes, because I come in half asleep when I wake up, and see a black screen, then reach over and hit the UPS button, not realizing I'm turning it OFF instead of ON!

But is there a way to set Windows up so that it DOES go to sleep after 20 minutes, but some kind of minimal screen saver keeps going on the screen, so I KNOW it's in sleep mode and not off?

I use the Mystify screen saver anyway, which is pretty minimal, so if that could be kept on while the Hard Drive and everything else that uses power and ages the electronics sleeps, that would be great.

Question: Why would you need to touch anything on the UPS as part of your daily routine?

In Windows (and most other OS's), when you activate Sleep mode, it will turn the screen off. I do not believe there is a way around this.

One option is to check your BIOS for an auto-power-on setting. This will allow you to set what time you want the computer to wake up. However, I'm not sure how this works with sleep mode, but I imagine it would wake it up.

I just started using this new sleep setting and am not used to it yet. So I come in and see the black screen and I'm half asleep, and reach over to "turn on" the UPS, actually turning it off. ( I used to turn it and the PC on and off every day. )

Oh ok, that was what I was wondering. If I could set it to screen saver and sleep at the same time, so I know it's on?

I don't want it by time, just whatever time I come in and click the mouse to wake it.

Well, you should only be concerned about the power button on the PC itself, not the UPS. You should always leave the UPS switched on. Perhaps adjust your habits so that you hit a key on the keyboard first thing rather than the power button?

Should, yes.

I didn't used to leave the UPS on at night, because I wasn't using the UPS USB cable and software, and didn't want the alarm going off if there was a power flicker. We have 6 birds sleeping in the room next door - some big parrots - and didn't want to have them awakened and possibly screaming from it. And I'm in the room on the other side, sleeping.

But now that I hooked up the USB cable and installed the UPS software, I set the UPS to be silent in the event of an outage, so I can leave the PC in sleep mode and turn it on faster when I get up.

Just need some way to keep the screen saver running. Well actually, what if I set it to go into screen saver mode in 5 minutes, like it does now, and instead of Sleep Mode, just have the hard drive go off after 20 minutes. What else would still be running? The mother board? Does that usually get shut down in full Sleep mode?

Yes, that would work. The screensaver would remain running in memory after the hard drive shuts off. You'd also want to make sure you set the display to never turn off as well. The motherboard will always have power running to it, but a minuscule amount.

Could just retrain yourself, aka., slap yourself every time you turn your UPS off until you learn not to do it...

Ahh, but I'm a sadist, not a masochist.

Thanks for the other suggestion though!

Now if the HD shuts off, can I require a password to restart that? I THINK so...

Not specifically. You can, however, require a password after the screensaver:

Change Screen Saver Settings
1. Right click on the desktop, then click Personalize.
2. Click Screen Saver on the bottom of the Personalization window.
3. To change how long until your screen saver activates, increase or decrease the number of minutes in the Wait box.
4. To enable or disable password protection, check or uncheck “On resume, display logon screen.”

If someone ever steals the PC, I don't want them being able to use it.

Better keep it as it is, with sleep and a password.