How to Change Your Windows Computer Screen Saver

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Co-authored by Travis Boylls

Last Updated: July 28, 2022 Tested

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This wikiHow teaches you how to change the screensaver that your Windows 10 computer uses.

Method 1

Method 1 of 7:

Open your Windows Settings.

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Open the Start menu and click the Settings icon
. You'll see the Settings gear icon on the left side of the Windows Start menu.

Method 2

Method 2 of 7:

Go to the Personalization area.

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It's the icon that looks like a computer screen.

Method 3

Method 3 of 7:

Open the lock screen settings.

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Method 4

Method 4 of 7:

Find your screen saver settings.

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It's the last option at the bottom of the "Lock screen" right panel.

Method 5

Method 5 of 7:

Select a screen saver from the menu.

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1
Click the drop-down menu under "Screen saver" and choose an option. There are seven screen saver options to choose from. Highlight the screen saver you want to select it. A preview of the screen saver displays in the display at the top of the Screen Saver Settings menu.
- Selecting the (None) option disables the screen saver on your computer.
- Both the "3D Text" and "Photos" screen savers have customizable options you can change by clicking Settings next to the drop-down menu.

Method 6

Method 6 of 7:

Decide when the screen saver should activate.

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1
Type a number in the box next to "Wait". This number refers to the number of minutes of inactivity that must pass before your screen saver starts.
- Moving your mouse cursor or pressing a key will reset the time before the screen saver activates.

Method 7

Method 7 of 7:

Save your new screen saver settings.

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Your new screen saver settings are now in effect.

Community Q&A

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Question

I did it but I cant see screen saver on my desktop

Community Answer

You have to wait for however long you set your screen saver timer to. If you set your screen saver timer to two minutes (meaning it would come on after two minutes of inactivity on your computer), you have to wait two minutes.

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Question

How do I change the screen display?

NSA

Community Answer

Visit settings and locate the section called "Personalization".

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Question

How do I create new icon on the desktop?

Community Answer

Create a new shortcut or file (right click, then click new, then click whatever type of file you want).

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Tips

Screen savers were initially implemented to prevent images from being burned into a computer's display. This isn't a common problem on modern computers, making screen savers largely cosmetic at this point.

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You can install a third-party screen saver by double-clicking its installation file (EXE), though in some cases you must first extract the screen saver file before doing so. You may also need to right-click the file and click Run as administrator or right-click it and click Install; depending on the screen saver, you might have to click through some prompts after doing so.

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Warnings

Your computer's screen saver may eventually turn on if you don't move your mouse or press a key while watching a movie. To prevent this, either set the "Wait" time to well over an hour or consider disabling the screen saver temporarily.

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Be careful if you download a screen saver from online. Like any executable file, screen saver files can be used to install viruses.^{[1]
X
Research source}

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