How to Activate the Screen Saver During Logon

This article was previously published under Q99590

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

You can force the Windows NT screen saver to start during logon if no user logs on immediately. To do this, you need to modify the Registry by following these steps:

1. Start Registry Editor (REGEDT32.EXE) and select the HKEY_USERS subtree.
2. Go to the following subkey:

   \DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop
   				

3. From the parameter list, select ScreenSaveActive.
4. From the Edit menu, choose String.
5. In the String field, change the value from 0 to 1 and choose OK.
6. From the parameter list, select SCRNSAVE.EXE.
7. From the Edit menu, choose String.
8. Enter the filename of the screen saver you want to use. For example: SSMYST.SCR, SCRNSAVE.SCR, SSBEZIER.SCR, SSMARQUE.SCR, or SSTARS.SCR.
9. Similarly, edit the String field for the ScreenSaveTimeOut parameter, and enter the time (in seconds) you want the screen saver to wait before activating.

After you complete these changes and shut down Windows NT, the screen saver should activate if a user fails to log on within the time specified by ScreenSaveTimeOut.