How to keep audio output on when screen goes off?


  1. Posts : 2
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
       #1

    How to keep audio output on when screen goes off?


    I've searched and haven't been able to come up with an answer.

    On my old vista machine I could keep streaming audio while the screen went dark after 10min of no use. On the new 7 machine, the audio goes off if the monitor goes off and comes back on after moving the mouse to wake the monitor. Is there a way around this? I'd rather not have the monitor on for hours at a time when I'm not sitting in front of it.

    Thanks in advance!
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 8,135
    Windows 10 64 bit
       #2

    It sounds like the PC is going into a standby state, not just the monitor.

    RIGHT click in an empty space on the desktop (screen) and then click on "personalize". Then click on "Screen Saver" and when the panel comes up click on "Change Power Settings". You can set it so only the monitor is powered off after whatever time interval you want.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 2
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    That's a negative on the whole machine going to sleep. I've got it set to never sleep. When the monitor is off after 10min of no use and I move the mouse, the sound comes back instantly (actually faster than the screen lights back up). That's telling me that the live radio stream is still going in the background, but there must be a simple setting I'm missing somewhere that kills the actual audio output.

    Anybody else?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 8,135
    Windows 10 64 bit
       #4

    Thats the only place I know to set what the PC does or how it works when in whatever power save mode.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 2,039
    Several, including Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
       #5

    Set the power controls to "High Performance", or set up a "Custom" plan, set the display to turn off "Never" and then switch the monitor off. That should keep the audio running. It works for me.










    Check that your monitor itself is not set to sleep ( on the monitor, not on the PC).

    Regards....Mike Connor
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 1,996
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
       #6

    I use winamp and stream all the time without a problem.
    Check to see if your hard drive is powering down.


    Screen saver: Blank
    Wait: 10 minutes
    Turn off the display: 20 minutes
    Put the computer to sleep: Never
    Turn off hard disk after: Never
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 1
    windows 7 professional 32 and 64 bit computers
       #7

    A possible cause is using the speakers on your monitor


    This is an old thread but still shows up in searches.

    A likely cause is that you are using the speakers on your monitor. Some monitors, like mine, switch off the speakers when they stop receiving the video --- so you lose the sound!

    It's nothing to do with windows 7 as the audio is still being output if you route it to separate speakers.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 1
    Windows 7 Ultimate 6 bit
       #8

    frowous said:
    This is an old thread but still shows up in searches.

    A likely cause is that you are using the speakers on your monitor. Some monitors, like mine, switch off the speakers when they stop receiving the video --- so you lose the sound!

    It's nothing to do with windows 7 as the audio is still being output if you route it to separate speakers.
    I had the same problem as the starter of this thread, and what you wrote about the speakers on the display solved my problem.

    My display is a Denon amplifier which receives sound and picture over HDMI.
    • In the Control Panels Power options I set the screen to never be turned off. (used to be 5 minutes.)
    • Then I selected an empty (black) screensaver that triggers after 5 minutes of inactivity.

    Now the display seems to be off after 5 minutes but the sound is playing.

    Thank you.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 1
    windows Xp, 10, 11
       #9

    I had the same issue: My solution:
    Go to power managment of Windows (Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Power Options\Edit Plan Settings) and select: "Turn off the display" to Never. Then go to "Screen saver settings" and select "blank" and click on the item: "On resume, display logon screen" after X minutes you want to. This will keep your monitor screen "off" and music still playing through your monitor, as also your windows get locked for safety after Xmins.


      My Computer


  10. Posts : 0
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #10

    Turn off HDMI audio in the Nvidia control panel or whatever... It causes NOTHING but issues. Pipe your audio to real speakers and not the monitor or through HDMI or the Displayport connector.

    HDMI and Displayports work well for home entertainment systems, but for computers I'd stay away from it... For me, I use a dedicated sound card and 5.1 audio...

    Extra credit.

    Amazon.com

    YMMV Read the reviews...
      My Computer


 

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 00:24.
Find Us