Screen Saver on Windows? Microsoft Says Use Sleep

You went looking for the screen saver settings, could not find them where they used to be, and started to wonder whether Windows still has them.

It does, buried two levels down under a heading nobody would guess. And on the same page Microsoft tells you to use sleep instead, which is not what a screen saver page usually says.

I read what this machine has set before writing, and the switch that says it is on turned out to be doing nothing at all.

Where the settings moved to

Two steps, and the second one is the part people never find.

⭐ Microsoft documents it on its configure a screen saver page: "In the Settings app on your Windows device, select Personalization > Lock screen".

⚡ Then the hidden step. Microsoft: "Under Related settings section, select Screen saver."

⚠️ It opens the old dialog. That one has looked the same for twenty years.

⛔ Searching Settings for "screen saver" finds it too. That is faster than remembering the route.

The three things in that dialog

Short. One of them is a security setting, not a looks setting.

⚡ Microsoft's wording: "In the Screen Saver Settings window, select a screen saver from the dropdown list."

⭐ Then the timer: "Use the Wait option to specify the number of minutes of inactivity before the screen saver activates."

⚠️ And the one that matters: "Check the On resume, display logon screen option to require a password when resuming from the screen saver."

⛔ That tick is the only part of a screen saver that protects anything. Locking properly when you walk away is a separate job.

What this machine reports, and why it does nothing

Ours, and it is the state most machines are in.

⭐ The screen saver active flag reads 1 here. Switched on, in other words.

⚡ And yet none is chosen. No wait time is set either. Both values are simply absent.

⚠️ So nothing ever runs. An active flag with nothing selected is shipped state. Not a fault.

⛔ That is why yours may be "on" and you have never seen one. Check the dropdown rather than the switch.

The six that come with Windows

Counted here. It is a shorter list than you remember.

⚡ Six screen saver files ship in the system folder: Bubbles, Mystify, Photos, Ribbons, Blank and 3D Text.

⭐ That is the whole choice. Anything else you have seen was installed by somebody.

⚠️ Blank is the useful one. A black screen, with a password prompt behind it.

⛔ The Photos one points at a folder you choose. It is the only one that shows anything of yours.

Microsoft's own advice, on its own page

The part that makes this article worth reading, and it is a recommendation against the feature.

⭐ Microsoft states it plainly: "To save energy and reduce wear on your display, it's recommended to put your computer into sleep mode when it's idle."

⚡ And the comparison: "Sleep mode consumes significantly less power than running a screen saver."

⚠️ A screen saver keeps the panel lit. It keeps the machine awake too. Sleep does neither.

⛔ So a screen saver costs you power and gains you very little. Two timeouts decide when your screen goes off anyway.

The one case where Microsoft says they still help

Fair is fair, and its page gives the exception.

⚡ Microsoft notes screen savers "can help prevent burn-in on OLED displays" by keeping static images from sitting there.

⭐ That applies to an OLED panel. To almost nothing else.

⚠️ A normal LCD does not burn in. On those it is decoration.

⛔ On an OLED, turning the screen off is still better. A moving picture is a compromise, not a cure.

What people are usually actually asking

Three different questions hide behind yours.

⭐ "How do I stop my screen turning off?" is a power setting, not a screen saver.

⚡ "How do I lock it when I walk away?" That is the resume tick. Or a proper lock.

⚠️ "How do I put a photo up?" is either the Photos saver or the lock screen. The lock screen is the one most people mean.

⛔ Work out which of the three you want first. Two of them are not screen saver settings at all.

Status: this laptop's screen saver settings, and the saver files Windows ships with, were read on 29 August 2026. Every route and quotation comes from Microsoft's configure a screen saver page. ⛔ Nothing was enabled, selected or changed, and no folder or file of anybody's is named.

Where are screen saver settings in Windows 11?

Settings, Personalization, Lock screen, then Screen saver under the Related settings heading. That last step is the one people never find. Searching Settings for screen saver opens the same old dialog directly.

Why does my screen saver never come on?

Most likely because none is selected, even though the feature reads as active. That is the state on this machine: the active flag is set, no saver is chosen, and no wait time is set. Open the dropdown rather than looking at the switch.

How many screen savers does Windows come with?

Six: Bubbles, Mystify, Photos, Ribbons, Blank and 3D Text. That is the entire list in the system folder. Anything else you remember seeing was installed by somebody.

Are screen savers still worth using?

Microsoft says on its own screen saver page that sleep mode saves more energy and reduces wear on the display. The one exception it gives is OLED, where a screen saver can help prevent burn-in. On a normal LCD it is decoration.

The Short Version

• Settings, Personalization, Lock screen, then Screen saver under Related settings.
• The dialog holds three things: the saver, the wait time, and the resume password tick.
• That resume tick is the only part that protects anything.
• This machine reads active with no saver chosen and no wait time set, so nothing runs.
• Six savers ship with Windows: Bubbles, Mystify, Photos, Ribbons, Blank and 3D Text.
• Microsoft recommends sleep instead, on its own screen saver page.
• Sleep consumes significantly less power than running a screen saver, in its words.
• The exception it gives is OLED, where a saver can help prevent burn-in.

Where to Next

Search Settings for screen saver rather than hunting through Personalization.

Open the dropdown and see whether one is actually selected, because the switch alone means nothing.

If you only want the machine to lock, tick the resume option and set a short wait.

If you want to save power instead, leave the saver off and set the sleep timing.

And if you are on an OLED panel and a screen saver has genuinely helped, tell me in the comments. That is the one case where they still earn their place.