[itsonlybarney]

I have WinXP x64 on my Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop, and a few weeks ago, the screensaver has failed to activate when the computer is left idle.

I have enabled the screen saver to start within 2 minutes of inactivity, yet it doesn't seem to start. I also try to preview a screensaver, and the screensaver stops after 2 seconds.

I have also set power management to turn the screen off after 20 minutes, and that doesn't seem to work either.

Any solutions as to why this would be occuring, and how to solve my problem would be appreciated.

 

[CCT]

Just to check - what Power Scheme is set in CP, Power Options?

 

[itsonlybarney]

I have the 'Home/Office Desk' scheme set.

And 'plugged in'/battery settings at:
Monitor: 5min / 5min
HDD: Never / 10min
System Standby: 2 hours / 5min

 

[CCT]

Have you tried selecting another scheme like Minimal Power Management?

 

[itsonlybarney]

I'll try a different one, but that still doesn't explain the screensaver not working.

 

[CCT]

What usually explains things like that is driver or process corruption.

Fixing them is the hard part.

A run of sfc /scannow and failing that a Repair Install is always an option.