Photo Screen Saver wont revert back to live screen

[paulblenkin]

Hi,
I have a Dell 1750 Inspiron laptop that I use "as a desktop" as every piece of hardware is connected to it.
It runs with Windows 7 Home Edition. It has a 4gb memory and a 450gb hard drive which is less than half used.

I have the screen saver set to Photos and usually have a cut-in time of 1 hour idle.

The screen saver cuts in exactly when it should and scrolls through my photos for as long as the laptop is left idle.

However, as soon as I touch the mouse/keyboard, instead of reverting to the "normal" screen the photos disappear, the blank screen fades for a few seconds and then a message appears in a box, saying that the Photos Screen Saver is not responding, and gives the options of either close the program or wait for the programme to respond. Waiting doesn't seem to work so I have to click on close the programme and then cancel the statement that Windows will try to find a solution, because it doesn't!

I have tried to vary the time before the screen saver kicks in, anything from 1 minute to several hours but it doesn't seem to make any difference.

Can anyone help please?

 

[Berton]

Have you checked the timing for when the HDD turns off or Sleep or Hibernation kicks in [I disable both of those and lengthen the time on the HDD to several hours], Control Panel, Power Options?

The reason I mentioned the HDD is the symptoms you mentioned seem to apply. The screen saver could be in memory and not affected by the HDD until it's asked for something.

 

[paulblenkin]

Hi Berton,
Thanks for your comments.
Currently, my laptop, which is always connected to power, is set to turn off the display after 3 hours and for the computer to sleep after 4 hours. The hibernation part is set at never.
Does this give any clues?

 

[Berton]

The Sleep may not be letting the computer return to service properly. What is the Power Option setting for the HDD/Hard Disk Drive?

 

[paulblenkin]

Er, it is set to Dells automatic setting which "automatically balances performance with energy consumption on capable hardware".
If I click on change power settings it just takes me back to the settings I mentioned on my first post.
Am I missing the point? If so, please tell me how to check.
Thanks