Windows XP Pro and screensavers

[gshdr8]

I am running Windows XP Pro with all current updates. I have a Nvidia TNT 2 M64 video card. At some point in the life of this OS I have lost the ability to have screensavers run. I can start any screensaver manually I want. But none will start automatically. I can set time for 1 minute to 60 minutes it doesn't matter. I have tried selective restart and normal boot ups. Nothing seems to work. When I was running Windows 98 SE and XP Home I had screensavers. Now with XP Pro nothing. All installs were made to a clean formatted HDD. No upgrades took place. If anyone has any ideas please let me know I don't want to ruin a great monitor. (Dell P992 Trinitron 19&quot Thnaks in advance.

 

[linney]

Some good news first. Modern monitors don't suffer from screen burning.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&querytime=8E-E&q=modern+monitors+screensaver

Have you tried just in Safe Mode?
You could try running System File Checker (Sfc.exe /Scannow).
Can System Restore get you back to when it worked?
Run windows over itself but you will lose all your windows updates but not data.
Hang-in there, there's got to be an easier way.

 

[Jsd02]

You should install new drivers for TNT 2, you can get them from

http://www.nvidia.com

That should work.

 

[gshdr8]

System restore won't work. I've tried that also. I have done a windows repair by booting and doing the re-install feature. I haven't tried it in Safe mode. I'll try that next.

My Nvidia card is from Dell OEM product. Would drivers from Nvidia cause a problem? I have heard that they (Drivers) get tweaked by Dell and others? If not I'll download a new set. I'll let you know if safe mode works and then once you let me know about OEM products and drivers I'll try that...

 

[gshdr8]

OK I just tried Safe mode and the screensaver started and ran just fine. Where should I go from here? What steps should I take to see where my conflict lies? Thanks in advance....

 

[linney]

Follow the links above and update your drivers.

You can run the Compatibility program from the XP CD and see if that picks anything up.

Windows Update site has a recent compatibility update (Q319580). Have you checked that out?

You can check out your software and drivers at the following links to see if they are compatible.

http://www.xpsc.net/

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q314/0/62.ASP

 

[gshdr8]

I have downloaded and installed the latest and greatest drivers from Nvidia. Still I get no screensaver. I have tried different ones the default Windows XP to the 3D Windows XP to Bliss and none work. I have tried adjusting the time before activating the screensaver and still nothing. Any suggestions appreciated.
GSHDR8

 

[RSA]

I have a strange problem with screensavers, when I go back to the desktop, the current theme is 'forgotten', ie no wallpaper and the icons are back to default. Right clicking, selecting properties and clicking OK restores my desktop.

For more driver versions (including beta's), hop over to

http://www.3dchipset.com

 

[gshdr8]

Does anyone have any suggestions on why I don't have screensaver in the Normal mode?????? Screensaver WILL run in safe mode......

 

[linney]

Something is loading in normal mode that doesn't get loaded in the Safe Mode. You will have to do some detective work via a process of elimination to find the culprit.

How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP (Q310560)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q310/5/60.asp

Think back to when this problem began. What software (or hardware) have you loaded since then. Look at the file dates of your programs and remove them one at a time until you fix the problem.

 

[gshdr8]

I have tried using msconfig and selective and/or diagnostic start up. My screensaver will not start. But when I'm in Safe mode the Windows Default screensaver will start after 10 minutes (you can't change the time) in safe mode. I have done each item in my start up file and also each *.ini file there is. I did not however mess with the BOOT.ini file. No matter what configuration I try in msconfig and reboot. I still have no screensaver. This is really weird. Any other suggestions? Does anyone think a new video card would fix this problem? Really don't think it's the viseo card since it works in Safe mode but thought I'd throw it out there. Any and all suggestions appreciated.