All About Screen Savers

This web page is designed to teach you all there is to know about screen savers. Understanding how it all works can help you to troubleshoot problems you may have on your own. Knowledge is power.

The History of the Screen Saver

Back in the early days of computers, and by that I mean the 80's, computer monitors were real simple. The display was usually just a black background with white text. These monitors were prone to phosphorus burn in. What would happen is if the person who was using the computer didn't turn off the monitor when they were done, an image of their work was permanently burned into the display; so if you were typing a letter in Word, that letter would be seen. A ghost of the screen that was left up for a few hours or days and could be seen at all times. Now this didn't break the monitor but it was an annoying artifact that you would have to look at all the time. You can still see this phenomenon with old ATM machines, where the ghost of the main screen can be seen while you make your transactions.

Someone came up with the grand idea of writing a small program that would make the computer monitor go black when the computer was idle for a period of time. If the screen was black, there's no image to burn in. As long as the computer didn't lock up, the screen saver program would come on and blacken the screen. Now people didn't have to turn off their monitors or computers when they were done working after a few hours.

The first screen savers were simple due to the limitations of the computers at that time. Since there was no Windows and all program were DOS programs, a screen saver program had to be very small in size because it would have to be loaded into memory and run in the background and still leave enough memory for the running DOS program. Some screen savers would have just a little square moving around the screen or maybe a very primitive graphic that moved around.

Screen Savers Today

Today's monitors are not prone to phosphorus burn in and you couldn't burn in an image of your screen if you wanted to. Screen savers today are purely for entertainment and the color scheme; wallpaper and screen savers chosen usually reflect one's personality. In addition to that, screen savers are fun and give your computer something to do when it is idle.

What is a Windows Screen Saver?

A Windows screen saver is a Windows program like any other Windows program. Because it is a program, it has to be downloaded and installed before it will work. This can only be done by the user of the computer the program is getting installed to; there is no other way a program shows up on your computer. The installed Windows screen saver is located in your Windows and/or Windows/System folder and is usually one file with the *.SCR extension. The file name of the screen saver is usually the same as the screen saver name listed with all your other screen savers in the Control Panel / Display Properties window. The simplest way to delete a screen saver is to delete the *.SCR file that is the same name as the screen saver. The main difference between a screen saver and a regular Windows program is that a screen saver's window takes up the whole desktop space and the program animates graphics. When your computer has been idle for a specific time period, "Windows" runs the selected screen saver. This is the only time the screen saver program is running (when you see it). Press a key or move the mouse and the screen saver quits and the screen saver program is no longer running. The big thing to understand here is that a Windows screen saver is a slave to Windows. Windows screen savers don't start themselves and they ARE NOT running in the background waiting for your computer to become idle. A Windows screen saver sits on your hard drive dormant until Windows runs it. The internal workings of Windows determines that your computer has been idle long enough and then Windows starts the selected screen saver. The only time a screen saver is running is: (A) When you see it animating in the little preview window on the "Screen Saver" tab. (B) When you click on the "Settings..." button to view the screen saver's settings. (C) When you click on the "Preview" button to see the screen saver run full screen. (D) When the screen saver has been started due to the computer being idle. It's no more complicated then that.

Installing and Accessing Screen Savers

Most programs today come with an install program to make installation quick and easy. Some screen savers are just the *.SCR file compressed in a Zip file. Just unzip the *.SCR file and drag and drop it into your Windows folder. Be sure the "Display Properties" window is closed before installing or deleting any screen savers. If the installed screen saver used an install program, usually these install programs bring up the "Display Properties" window for you with the "Screen Saver" tab selected so that you can test the screen saver and/or check the setting of the screen saver and make adjustments. A quick way to get to your "Display Properties" window, "Screen Saver" tab, (to change your screen saver or adjust the current screen saver settings) is to right-click (if you are right-handed) on any clear spot on your desktop which will bring up a floating menu. The last menu item on this floating menu is "Properties," so click on that. From the "Display Properties" window, click on the "Screen Saver" tab at the top. Another route you can take to bring up your "Display Properties" window is to click on your "Start" button, then the "Settings" menu option and then the "Control Panel" menu option. This brings up the "Control Panel" window. Now double-click on the "Display" icon to bring up the "Display Properties" window and click on the "Screen Saver" tab. If for some reason you're having trouble bringing up the "Display Properties" window, have a friend show you how.

Deleting (Uninstalling) a Screen Saver

Most screen savers today use an install program to handle the installation. It makes life easy for all of us. The problem comes when we want to uninstall the screen saver. A screen saver is just an *.SCR file in your Windows or Windows/System folder. The file name is usually the same name as the screen saver. The important thing to note is that the install program is not the screen saver. Deleting the install program (the *.EXE file you downloaded) WILL NOT delete the screen saver. When you run the install (*.EXE) file, a copy of the screen saver *.SCR file is saved to your Windows or Windows/System folder. NOTE: Howie's Funware screen savers are always saved to the Windows folder. Once the screen saver is installed, the installer's job is done. Many screen savers use a standard install program (except mine) and you can delete the screen saver by doing the standard Windows program uninstall. To uninstall these screen savers it is suggested that you go the same route as uninstalling any standard Windows program. To do this, click on your "Start" button, then the "Settings" menu option and then the "Control Panel" menu option. This brings up the "Control Panel" window. Now double-click on the "Add/Remove Programs" icon to bring up the "Add/Remove Program Properties" window. Scroll through the list of installed programs and select the program you want to delete. Now click on the "Add/Remove" button. If the screen saver you want to delete is not listed, then just delete the *.SCR file in your Windows or Windows/System folder.

In my opinion, the standard install program is overkill when it come to installing screen savers. I wrote the install program for my screen savers so that it is simple to use and doesn't require going through the typical Windows Uninstall. My install program can also delete my screen saver if you decide you don't want it any longer. Just run the install program again and click on the "Delete Screen Saver" button. Your computer can hold as many screen savers as you want. The only time you would want to delete a screen saver is if you really don't like it and never plan to use it again.

The "Display Properties" Window, "Screen Saver" Tab

This is where it all happens. While you are in the "Screen Saver" tab of the "Display Properties" window, you can change to a different screen saver by selecting one from your list, set the "Wait Minutes" to detemine how long you want your computer to be idle before the screen saver is activated, turn on "Password Protection" and change the settings of the selected screen saver by clicking on the "Settings..." button that is directly to the right of the available screen saver list (and to the left of the "Preview" button). Don't confuse this with the "Settings..." button of the "Energy Saving Features of Monitor" group. Why this is on the "Screen Saver" tab is beyond me. This has confused more people.

Now, when you select a different screen saver from your list of screen savers, be sure to click on the "OK" button and NOT the "Apply" button. If you select a screen saver and then click on the "Apply" button, your new selection will only be active during that current Windows session. Once you restart your computer, the previous screen saver selection will be active again. This gives the illusion that the new screen saver you're trying to select has a problem because you will see the previously selected screen saver that you were trying to replace. The reality is that by clicking on the "Apply" button, the new selection is not saved to the startup settings and whatever was there before will rise again. So be safe out there and always click on the "OK" button and NEVER, NEVER use the "Apply" button; it has no purpose!

Who Does What?

Windows and screen savers work together. Neither one does everything. It's important to understand what is handled by Windows and what is handled by the screen saver.

Handled by Windows:

Handled by the Screen Saver:

When a screen saver quits, it's just like when you quit out of a program that you are using. Execution has stopped and the program is no longer in memory, just like any other program you have on your computer that is not running. It now sits on that hard drive dormant until it runs again - just like that game you've been wanting to play but haven't got around to it yet.

Password Protection & Wait Minutes: Because this is handled by Windows, once you set it, it applies to any screen saver you have selected. If the screen saver was in charge of this, then you would have to set a password and wait time for every screen saver you wanted to use. Windows did us a favor by taking control of these features. NOTE: If you do not want a password protection set on your computer, be sure that the "Password protected" checkbox (under the "Screen Saver" list in the Display Properties windw) is unchecked.

Let's All Blame the Screen Saver! That Must Be The Cause, Right?!

To many, the screen saver has become the sibling that gets blamed for everything. The computer is not a perfect machine and Windows is nowhere near perfect in any way, shape or form! But when our computers start misbehaving, the first thing we do is blame the screen saver for all our problems. When you call tech support about your problems, they are more than willing to suggest it's the screen saver you downloaded; it gets you off the phone quicker so that they can take the next call (can you say "quota!"). Somehow we forget all the other things we might have done about that same time as well. I get emails from people who would say that they believe the computer problems they were experiencing was caused by the downloaded screen saver. Even after they have deleted the screen saver, restarted the computer and even went further by deleting other programs, the problem still persisted. The problem should be gone because the screen saver was deleted! Right!? Why is the problem still here!? They are so convinced by what they think the problem is that they can't see that it has nothing to do with the screen saver. I have troubleshooted a "zillion" computer problems and I always step up to the plate with some ideas as to the cause of the problem. I am rarely correct in my first set of assumptions, however. I usually end up going through a battery of tests before I truly find the cause of the problem and it's usually nothing I would have suspected. So just know this, your first set of assumptions are bound to be wrong.

If you still want to see if a screen saver is causing you computer problems, here is a simple test you can try. Make your way to the "Display Properties" window and click on the "Screen Saver" tab. From your list of screen savers select the first item in the list which is "[None]" and click on the "OK" button. Now restart your computer and continue using it like you always do. If the problem continues, it's not the screen saver. A program that never runs, can't cause any problems.

Computer problems are hard to diagnose. A computer problem is usually one of two things, hardware or software-related and many times it's hard to determine which one it is. If it's a hardware problem, it could be many things. If it's a software problem, it could be a program that is closely tied to the problem or a program that runs in the background all the time like a tray application. If you're not that computer savvy, get some help from a friend and watch them try to find the cause of the problem. Don't go on a mad, program-deleting spree. You'll just end up worse off then when you started. Randomly deleting and reinstalling software doesn't fix problems.