Screensaver Wait Time resets to 1 minute

Tinkerdog · Dec 1, 2008

Hello, Gang!

I have a Gateway DX4720-03 Vista-64bit PC.

Recently, I noticed something strange. The Screensaver always reverts back to 1 minute after booting up. While booting up, I can quickly check the screensaver settings, and the wait time is what I set before rebooting. After the services start on the PC, the time resets to 1 minute.

When I check this in Safe Mode, the wait time stays whatever I set it previously, and does not change.

How would you go about determining the bad startup program or service that is resetting the wait time?

Thanks!

Airbot · Dec 1, 2008

Does it happen for all screensavers? Is it just the one sreensaver and is it a windows SS or a third party one? Maybe it's a bad SS.

Tinkerdog · Dec 1, 2008

It happens for all the Windows Screensavers that came with Vista-64. I don't have any 3rd party Screensavers installed.

I have installed many different programs on the PC.... maybe one of them has affected the screensavers somehow.....

Tinkerdog · Dec 3, 2008

Here is more info....

I reinstalled Vista 64 using the Restore System program from Gateway.

In the system is the original SATA drive (640GB). I also have a SeaGate Barricuda 500GB PATA drive setup as SLAVE on IDE.

I unhooked the PATA drive BEFORE installing the Vista 64 and left it UNHOOKED.

Upon reboot, the Screensaver works fine - keeps it wait time upon reboots. Everything looking rosy.

Then - I rehook the PATA drive back up. Now, upon reboot, the screensave resets back to 1 minute and no longer works.... SIGH....

Is there something I need to look for in BIOS or the settings for the PATA to stop this behavior???

Thanks!

Brink · Dec 3, 2008

Hello Tinkerdog,

If your motherboard as the option of two separate channels (southbridge chips), you might see if connecting the PATA (IDE) drive on a separate channel from your SATA may help. This way one channel can be set as IDE, and the other as SATA.

SATA and IDE drives usually do not mix well on the same channel since you usually have to set the controller for the SATA/IDE motherboard connection to IDE in the BIOS.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Tinkerdog · Dec 3, 2008

Brink said:
Hello Tinkerdog,

If your motherboard as the option of two separate channels (southbridge chips), you might see if connecting the PATA (IDE) drive on a separate channel from your SATA may help. This way one channel can be set as IDE, and the other as SATA.

SATA and IDE drives usually do not mix well on the same channel since you usually have to set the controller for the SATA/IDE motherboard connection to IDE in the BIOS.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Thanks for the help, Shawn.

I will check my BIOS tonight to see if I can do that.

I wonder if anyone else has noticed if their Screensavers from Microsoft has this strange behavior, under Vista 64, if they mix a PATA drive alongside a SATA drive??

Brink · Dec 3, 2008

I have not had this happen to me, or have ever heard of it affecting the screen saver like that before myself. Since the PATA (IDE) drive is the only thing that seems to trigger it for you, I hope this will sort it out for you.

Tinkerdog · Dec 3, 2008

Brink said:
I have not had this happen to me, or have ever heard of it affecting the screen saver like that before myself. Since the PATA (IDE) drive is the only thing that seems to trigger it for you, I hope this will sort it out for you.

I just got through chatting with a Gateway service rep, and they said to reformat the PATA drive and see if that stops the problem.

We'll see......

Tinkerdog · Dec 4, 2008

Tinkerdog said:
Brink said:

I have not had this happen to me, or have ever heard of it affecting the screen saver like that before myself. Since the PATA (IDE) drive is the only thing that seems to trigger it for you, I hope this will sort it out for you.

Click to expand...

I just got through chatting with a Gateway service rep, and they said to reformat the PATA drive and see if that stops the problem.

We'll see......

Well, I reformatted the PATA drive and it did not help at all. Same 'ole, same 'ole.

Guess I'll be looking to replace the 2nd drive with a SATA drive and get rid of the PATA drive.

Brink · Dec 4, 2008

Where you able to connect the PATA (IDE) drive to a separate southbridge channel and set your BIOS for each drive type for the channels?

Tinkerdog · Dec 4, 2008

Brink said:
Where you able to connect the PATA (IDE) drive to a separate southbridge channel and set your BIOS for each drive type for the channels?

This is a little above my head.... I have not seen anything called CHANNELS in the BIOS config.... I will take another look tonight when I get home.

Brink · Dec 4, 2008

Tinkerdog said:
Brink said:

Where you able to connect the PATA (IDE) drive to a separate southbridge channel and set your BIOS for each drive type for the channels?

Click to expand...

This is a little above my head.... I have not seen anything called CHANNELS in the BIOS config.... I will take another look tonight when I get home.

Sorry,

Some newer motherboards will have two southbridge chips instead of just one. Each chip has it's own channel. If your motherboad has two chips, then it will usually have the SATA and IDE (PATA) connections on the board as a different color for each connection that belongs to that southbridge chip. If your motherboard does not have this, then all of the SATA and IDE connections will be the same color.

In the BIOS integrated peripherals area, you will have something called onboard SATA/IDE Device and/or SATA RAID/AHCI Mode to set to either one of these type of IDE, SATA, AHCI, or RAID/IDE connections for the type of device you have connected to the motherboard.

You can put the SATA on one color motherboard connection with it set to SATA in the BIOS, and the PATA (IDE) drive on another color connection with it set to IDE in the BIOS.

Hope this helps more. :geek:

Tinkerdog · Dec 5, 2008

Brink said:
Where you able to connect the PATA (IDE) drive to a separate southbridge channel and set your BIOS for each drive type for the channels?

I looked through the BIOS and did not see any references to channels for the southbridge.

In frustration, I powered down, disconnected the PATA drive, rebooted, checked my BIOS to be sure the drive was not showing up, and waited for Vista to come up.

When it did, the Screensaver was reset AGAIN to 1 !! So, the drive was NOT the problem, afterall.

I am now assuming some program I have installed (or a Windows update), has knocked out the correct operation of the screensaver.

I will go through and disable things in MSCONFIG and in DEFENDER to see what is causing this (since it did work ok in SAFEMODE).

Bear with me........

Airbot · Dec 5, 2008

There are some free programs that might give you some interesting info for your motherboard and such. SIW and HWINFO(32) are pretty cool ones. JUst a suggestion
http://www.vistax64.com/software/115872-free-software-list-vista.html

Brink · Dec 5, 2008

No problem Tinkerdog. Please post back with your results.

wysiwyg · Dec 5, 2008

Tinkerdog said:
Guess I'll be looking to replace the 2nd drive with a SATA drive and get rid of the PATA drive.

All Sata is the best, I have both HDD's and both Opticals as Sata.

PS. Improves your airflow as well.

Tinkerdog · Dec 8, 2008

Brink said:
Where you able to connect the PATA (IDE) drive to a separate southbridge channel and set your BIOS for each drive type for the channels?

No, I was not able to.... sorry.

I decided to double-check myself and be sure of what I thought was going on.

I reinstalled (fresh install) from the Recovery Image on the PC.
This was done UNCONNECTED from the Internet, so there would be NO way it could update before I wanted it to.

I let it install. I DID NOT install ANY OTHER software at this point.

After the install, I checked the screensaver. It was set for 10 minutes (Windows Energy). I changed it to Ribbons and 8 minutes to see if it would stick. I closed the screensaver and went back in. Still set to Ribbons and 8 minutes. Good. :D

Now, I rebooted the PC.

As soon as it rebooted, I went back to the Screensavers. Still Ribbons, but now back to 1 minute!!!! :cry:

So......... there is something in the default setup that resets the Screensaver.

Time to fuss at Gateway! :devil:

Brink · Dec 8, 2008

Tinkerdog,

You might run a sfc /scannow command to see if it can find and fix any bad system files that may be responsible.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Tinkerdog · Dec 8, 2008

Brink said:
Tinkerdog,

You might run a sfc /scannow command to see if it can find and fix any bad system files that may be responsible.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

I will try that later tonight and see what happens... (by the way, I tried Chatting with Gateway.... I think I bruised my head beating it on the keyboard..... :rolleyes:

)

Brink · Dec 8, 2008

LOL, I can understand that.

Screensaver Wait Time resets to 1 minute

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