Windows 10: Screen Saver Question

Can you set the screen saver bubbles to draw over current background?, now when it comes on it has a solid background color?If you preview it shows over current background which is a picture.

Z

:)

 

Screen saver question

Hi Stew,

The settings might not have been applied. Can you send us a screenshot
of your Screen Saver Settings? For convenience, it'll look like this:





We'll be waiting for your response.

 

Screen saver question

I have Windows 10 and set a screen saver to come on after 10 minutes. When I turned computer off last night then on today, now it is no longer doing the screen saver.

I am not finding this Windows 10 Pro very user friendly. I had Windows 10 on another computer and now with this new one, it does not seem to be working as well. It was recommended to get the "pro" because it is more compatible with different software but
I am not finding it very good.

Moved from: Windows / Windows 10 / Windows Hello, lock screen & sign-in

 

Some screensaver settings are hidden. To change them you either modify Registry keys, or use that tool from Winaero. It can tweak all standard Windows screensavers. I use another screensaver so I don't care, but I downloaded it so my tweak tools collection is complete. The same programmer has other interesting utilities in his site. Have a look.

 

Thanks spapakons
Could not get this to work in windows10? Nice tool but I can't get it to show desktop background with bubbles screensaver.

 

Haven't tried it myself, but maybe you didn't adjust the relevant settings properly. Have a second look. Experiment with the settings to see how they affect the screensaver. Don't forget to save your changes.

 

Can't be done in Windows 10

• Sergey, is there an update for Windows 10? The bubbles screensaver shows a solid dark background. I want to see my desktop like in Windows 7. There was a fix where you can adjust the settings in the registry by creating Dword entries in Bubbles to adjust the size, speed etc. - they still work in Windows 10 except for the ShowBubbles parameter where setting it as 1 instead of 0 still does not show the desktop.
  
• Sergey11 Aug 15
  Microsoft removed this ability.
  I cannot help to return it.
  
• Dave Johnson20 Aug 15
  If you create a bat file with this -- @start /wait Bubbles.scr /s & rundll32 user32.dll -- in it, then create a shorcut setting it to run minimized you can start the screensaver with your desktop as the background. It will not happen automaitcally, you must do it yourself.

 

Well, I decided to launch the Bubbles screensaver in my Windows 10 Pro 32-bit setup and test it. This photo shows that all bubbles are transparent and I can also see the desktop or whatever windows I left open:





This is in a VMWare virtual machine with all drivers installed. I didn't even run the screensaver tweak utility, this is with the default settings. I don't think version (Windows 10 Home or Pro) has an effect on the screensaver behavior, it should be the same. So you may have not installed the graphics drivers. Download latest driver from Intel, nVidia or AMD (depending on your graphics system) and install it. Windows installed driver (Microsoft) doesn't support all features. After updating your graphics driver you should be able to see the screensaver properly.

PS: In case you wonder about the system icons, I replaced the default Windows 10 icons with those from Windows 8.1 using Customizer God (read my other posts in Customization section)

 

If I may: I don't worry about the screensaver because it has not been needed in a number of years. It originally was intended for use with the Interlaced CRT/Cathode Ray Tube monitors which would burn the phosphorus coating on the inside of the tube, over time it could get so bad as to make characters illegible. The introduction of the Non-interlaced monitors helped tremendously as the screen was being continuously refreshed/redrawn preventing that burning. The LCD and LED Flat Panel monitors don't have that problem.

As for the non-interlaced monitors, used to be one could sometimes see a monitor behind newscasters that would have a dark gray bar moving up and/or down the screen, that was the refreshing. The lines were caused by the interaction with the TV camera just like the old Westerns with wagon and stagecoach wheels seeming turning backwards, a sync issue with the cameras.

 

With you on this Berton,its not that I need it . Just trying to make it work in 10 like it did in 7,but I can and will live without it. Not sure if spapakons did this in preview or did he let the screen saver come on my it's self after a couple minutes.

 

I did it in preview but it should be the same. Preview button just displays the screensaver immediately with current settings and you don't have to wait until time has come. It wouldn't make any difference if I waited for it to start automatically. As I said before, check your graphics drivers. Maybe Windows weren't able to automatically install the appropriate graphics drivers and set it to Microsoft Basic Display Adapter. This is for very basic display and has zero hardware acceleration. This would explain why you only see the simple version of the screensaver (no desktop, solid bubbles) and you cannot see the transparent bubbles and your desktop. So first find and update your graphics drivers. Then check to see if the screensaver works as it should.

 

In preview spapakons my computer does the same as yours,but set the screen saver for 1 minute and see what happens.

 

I don't believe it! You were right. In preview you can see the screensaver as it should, but when time comes to automatically launch it removes the wallpaper and uses a solid color as background. The funny thing is that you cannot adjust any settings from Windows (message that this screensaver has no settings you can adjust) and Screensaver Tweaker has no effect on that! This must be a bug on Windows 8.1 and 10. Yes, I just checked, the same is true in Windows 8.1. As far as I know there is some difference in the way DirectDraw and Direct3D are implemented in Windows 8.1 and 10 from that of Windows 7. Here must be the cause of the bug because this screensaver was introduced in Vista and included in newer Windows versions without modifications. Sorry, I cannot suggest any solution. If Screensaver Tweaker cannot make it work, no other utility probably will as it modifies the same registry keys. I suggest to leave this screensaver alone and use a nicer one, such as Marine Aquarium screensaver.

I rest my case... *Wink

 

Well I don't like bugs, so I did a little Google search about the issue. I was shocked to read in a Microsoft tech forum that this is not a bug! Microsoft deliberately disabled screensavers drawing over desktop in Windows 8 and 10 because they had problem doing that right in Metro interface (the one with the tiles instead of old desktop)! I also found a solution: You can download a utility such as Watch 4 Idle which can be set to trigger an action when the computer is idle for a set interval in seconds. This can be to make it sleep or shutdown or restart, or execute a program. The last one is what we need. A screensaver is just a Windows program with SCR extension instead of EXE. So we can make Watch 4 Idle execute the Bubbles screensaver after a set number of seconds the computer is idle! Doing that is like pressing the preview button, so the screensaver will run as in Windows 7, that is over our currently open windows, and not in a solid colored background! Yes, I tested it! It works!





First we must disable the Windows screensaver, so there is no conflict with Watch 4 Idle when used to start the screensaver. To do that, click on the search icon and type screen. Click on Change screen saver. Make that to none, so screensaver is not activated by Windows. Then run Watch 4 Idle and check the Execute a program or batch box. Now click on the folder icon to browse for that program. By default will only display EXE and BAT files. So we much select All files *.* to display every file type. Now we browse to C:\Windows\System32 (folder System32 in folder Windows in hard disk C) and select the file Bubbles.scr (the extension may be hidden) and press OK to confirm. After doing that correctly, the program should look like the screenshot above. Set the desired time in seconds at the top. Click on the Start button to activate it. Check the Auto start on computer startup box to load every time you load Windows. Click on the Tray button to minimize program at system tray.

That's it! After the computer is idle for the specified interval the Bubbles screensaver will load automatically, but this time it will work as it should!

Glad to help! *Cool

PS: Back in the days of Windows 3.1 (early '90s) there was no native screensaver support in the operating system. We would install third party programs that displayed a screensaver (usually pictures) after a set interval. When I read about the workaround using Watch 4 Idle, I remembered just that! Because of Microsoft's stupid "design changes" (they don't dare call them bugs) we have to return over 20 years back in terms of how a screensaver works! Welcome back to the future!

 

Thanks for all the info spapakons, looks like a handy program to have.
Z