Windows 10: Screen Saver Resets to 1 Minute - Here's What Fixed it for Me

OK so I see a few different screen saver issues around the forum and I couldn't say if they are connected in any way but here's my issue and what seems to be a work around of sorts that got my screen saver up and running again.

SETUPS
Clean install of Windows 10 Home 64bit on 2 computers here on a large desk that my wife and I share. Both custom builds but fairly different. Each computer has a regular mouse, keyboard (nothing fancy) and a Creative Live! Cam for video chats. The issue presented itself before the cams were connected.
ISSUE
After the install of Windows 10 the screen saver was set to come on at 10 minutes. The settings stick on a restart but do not if they are turned off for the night. The next startup the screen savers would be set back to 1 min and would not come on, until settings where changed and Applied again.
FIX
The fix for both computers was to turn OFF Fast Startup in the Power Options control panel. After that the screen saver time set would stick through shut downs.
SIDE NOTE
At first I didn't think this actually fixed the issue because though the time set would stick, if I simply started up the computer and walked away the screen saver would not be on when I came back. The action to get the screen saver time to actually countdown is a simple right click of the mouse that brings up the contextual menu. That's all, don't have to go back into the screen saver settings. So by simply turning on your computer and using it, you would or should have inadvertently activate the screen saver so that it's countdown activates.

For what it's worth. No guarantees because as I said there seems to be a few different issues at play here. And technically, that I couldn't just startup my computer, walk away and have my screen saver come on as set... It's probably still "broken".
*Wink

:)

 

Windows 10 Screen Saver wait time keeps resetting to 1 minute

Thanks Al Parker_7736 for your concern and your reply but you haven't got a clue of what's going on here. Go to the beginning of this thread and find out what we are all talking about.
I WANT THE SCREEN SAVER TO WORK AND COME ON AFTER A SET AMOUNT OF TIME.
The problem is, once set to the time I want, if I then
TURN OFF my machine the
next time I boot up my machine the screen saver wait time is reset to 1 minute and IT NEVER COMES ON.

Here is the title of this thread:
Windows 10 Screen Saver wait time keeps resetting to 1 minute. Until you understand what is going on in this thread you probably shouldn't stick your nose in it. Oh, and by the way, setting the screen saver wait time to
1 minute is the same as NEVER. It never comes on when set to 1 minute.

 

Windows 10 Screen Saver wait time keeps resetting to 1 minute

My netbook screen kept going off after one minute. I fixed it by setting the screen saver to 9999 minutes. (Yes, even after all the fixes here the screen saver still said 1 minute}!

1) Open the Action Center.

2) Select "All Settings".

3) In the upper right corner, (where it says find a setting), type "screen saver" without the quotes.

4) Left click on the boxed in label "Change screen saver".

5) There's where the screen saver is set to 1 minute! Change it to 9999 minutes. There ISN'T an option for NEVER!!!

Hope this helps you out.

Al

 

I'd like to suggest another option that seems to work for me and I'd like some feedback as to whether it work for others. Here's what I did:

Start/Search and type gpedit.msc, Right click the gpedit results and Run As Administrator. In the Elevated Group Policy Editor, on the Left Panel, go to User Configuration/Administrative Templates/Control Panel/Personalization/Enable Screen Saver and enable the Policy. Once you have enabled that policy, go down and also enable Screen Saver Timeout. Note that in the Screen Saver Timeout policy there's an option to set the number of second for the timeout with the default being 900 seconds or 15 minutes.
Once you've enabled both policies and set the timeout if different from the default, exit the group policy editor. If you now go the screen saver settings in Control Panel you will notice that the wait period will match the minutes you entered in the group policy editor but it will be grayed out preventing you from changing the value unless you go back into the group policy editor and change it there.
Many were complaining that the wait value reverts to 1 and that is why they turned off fast booting but I have fast booting turned on and with the group policy changes I made my wait time is no longer reverting to 1 minute and remains at 15 minutes.

Will someone please give this a try to see of this solves the problem of the wait time reverting to 1 if you have fast booting turned on? If it doesn't work all you need to go is go back into the group policy editor and set both policies to "Not Configured".

 

This workaround worked for me. It would be interesting to know why this error is occuring for so many users and why the workaround works. I assume that there is a fault in the cache saving process that allows fast start up. It was only a problem for 1 out of 4 users of the desktop and only with Windows 10.

 

Interesting that it worked for you as I decided, after posting this solution, that it really wasn't working for me as I had thought. I submitted a post on Microsoft's TechNet forum and a tester with close ties to Microsoft developers it going to test it himself and see if he can't get more traction on this issue with Microsoft. I also posted this on another technical forum and the moderator asked me why I was even messing around with a screen saver anymore. According to him screen savers were only of value when people had CRT monitors and today, most have flat screen LCD monitors instead and you can't burn a ghosted image onto a LCD monitor. Since I have a theme of about 20 pictures that change the screen background on my PC every 10 minutes anyway, I decided to undo everything and simply turn the screen saver completely off. If I get a reply back from the guy on the TechNet forum I'll pass on what he finds.

 

Turning off fast startup worked. I had tried enabling screen saver via gpedit.msc. That grayed out the timeout at 3 minutes but it did not function. I have also looked at the registry entries for screensaver and timeout and they always remain as set and at 180 seconds even though in actuality it has defaulted back to 1 minute and does not work. It must be a coding fault in fast startup which is corrupting the screensaver settings. Whether you need a screensaver is another question. Our desktop faces into the room so it is set to a blank screen to lose the distraction of what is onscreen. Also, it isn't working so needs fixing. This is a job for the programmers and I hope you have success in getting Microsoft to fix this, admittedly, minor glitch. Because turning off fast startup increased startup time by around 45 seconds I have now enabled it again and manually reset the screensaver on startup via a desktop shortcut.

 

Does anyone know if the "November Update" fixes this annoying issue? To me, disabling Fast Startup is not a real fix but a work around.

What's the Update number for this so I can monitor when I get it?

Thanks!

 

The new build of Windows 10, which I installed on the 16th, rather than a regular update has solved the screensaver problem for me. It was a slow response to a problem, albeit minor, that a lot of users had.

 

Good news! I was afraid there would be no fix since it looks like this problem dates back to Windows 8.

Is there a KB number or something so I can try to force my update?

 

I don't know the number but Itpro detailed the release below:

12/11/2015: Windows 10 November update, also known as Fall update and Threshold 2, has started rolling out to the 110 million Windows 10 around the world.
The update - the first major update since Windows 10 launched in July - brings with it a host of improvements, including enhanced performance and security for Edge browser and better overall performance, including a 30 per cent faster boot time. The company also announced additional capabilities for Cortana, however, these are currently limited to the US.

Just go to Settings - Update and Security - Check for updates then install. Be prepared for a 30 minute or so install.