Screensaver starts but then stops

[gkastanek]

Greetings, I'm new to SevenForums so I hope I chose the right category for this post. I recently got a new Acer Veriton desktop running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. I initially set the screensaver to use Photos after 4 hours of inactivity and the screensaver would never start. So, I reset the timeout to 30 minutes instead of 4 hours and the screensaver started up after 30 minutes. At that point I thought the problem was solved but 30 minutes after starting it just quit and went back to the desktop background. After another 30 minutes it started again and it just keeps cycling like that. It's good about starting when it's supposed to but it always quits, and it's consistent about doing both things for 30 minutes at a time. I've never seen the Windows screensaver behave like this so I'm hoping someone might have some suggestions. Thanks in advance for any help that anyone can offer.

 

[oscer1]

Hi welcome to the forum

I would do a little test. set screensaver for say a minute and then when all done just go to desktop and unplug mouse and keyboard from computer see if screensaver keeps on and doesn't come back to the desktop if screensaver keeps going then has something to do with the keyboard or mouse. can find out by plugging one in at a time and do same thing.

 

[gkastanek]

Thanks for your reply but I'm aware of the mouse/keyboard issue and it does not appear to be the cause of the problem. Nothing seems to inhibit the screensaver from starting - the real issue is whatever is killing it. The fact that both of these things occur right at the 30 minute time interval suggests to me that they are related and makes me think that there is a registry setting that is out of whack but I can't confirm that.

 

[oscer1]

I not sure what it could be if it is exactly 30 minutes the screensaver goes off. I know now days the screensaver is really not needed like it did back in the day. I do not use it. I just have monitor turn off at a period of inactivity. can you try that and see if that works correctly.

 

[gkastanek]

Thanks for the reply but when I originally posted I forgot to include something that may be significant. If I lock my PC (Ctrl-Alt-Delete then Enter) the screensaver will perform exactly as it should, but ONLY when the PC is locked. If not locked and left to its own devices the weird behavior always occurs. It's also very consistent about how it behaves whether locked or unlocked.

 

[oscer1]

maybe you have something in the background that is checking for updates every 30 minutes just an idea. maybe windows update is causing it. I would at least check. also try a clean startup Troubleshoot Application Conflicts by Performing a Clean Startup