OK, so I really rely on my screen saver to lock my screen when I am not around.

I've never really used the DF screen saver but just use Windows default. Lately the screen saver refuses to turn on after the time I have set. So I tried turning off the Windows saver and just used the settings in DF. Still no luck.

What should I look for here? I really need this to work.

Cheers and thanks.

OK, I did a reboot and so far it's working. Maybe I had both turned on (though I've made no changes for months, so this theory is suspect too) and it caused a conflict?

Nix that. No dice. Still not working.

I have had the same issue for weeks now. The only way to get the screen saver working again for me is to restart the computer, but several hours later it stops again. Otherwise, if I go to the windows screensaver screen, it shows an icon of a monitor with a large icon in it and if I change from DisplayFusion to Windows Blank (which DisplayFusion is set to do anyway), I have to click preview twice for it to work. If I only click preview once, it changes the icon to a monitor with a black screen but otherwise does not start the preview of the screensaver. Upon clicking on preview again, it then works but it will only work like that. If the screensaver is stopped (by clicking), it will not start up again on it's own even when set for Windows to manage it. I have to use the windows preview option every time until I reboot.

This all started for me with the big update a month or two ago, I believe version 9.0.

Also, I think it is related, there has been an issue with the multimonitor taskbar. When the screensaver issue starts, icons on the taskbar on the secondary monitor are retained even when they are closed. Please see the screenshot attached. This is not fixed when I reset the multimonitor taskbar but if I disable and reenable the taskbar, the taskbar does not come back properly and I have to reboot the computer. I have attached my DisplayFusion troubleshooting logs. I am using DisplayFusion 9.1 from Steam on a computer with Windows 7 64-bit running as the OS. Please let me know if you need more information. I previously thought that this was happening because of an overlay program I use with a game I play but this happens even when I have not run that program since the last reboot. Please let me know if I can try anything else or if you need anything else.

Hello Keith,
Yes it does.

After starting DisplayFusion, it works for a while before it breaks. However, once it breaks, I have to either activate the screensaver manually through windows or reboot the computer to get the screensaver working again. I last rebooted my computer about 90 minutes or so ago and it is still working so far.

Hello Keith,
I will install the older version shortly and try it. I just noticed that the issue has kicked in again and the uptime has been about 28 hours since the last restart. I will now install the old version and reboot and keep you posted.
Thanks!

Hello Keith,
I ran the installer from the link you provided but it will not accept my licence key because I purchased DisplayFusion through Steam so I cannot enable the multi-monitor taskbar or enable DisplayFusion managing my screensaver. Please advise.
Thanks!

Hello Keith,
I uninstalled DisplayFusion Steam 9.1 but did not delete the directory. When I installed the old version, DisplayFusion gave me an error that my licence key will only work with the Steam version and most functions were locked and my key was not accepted. I ended up rebooting the computer and when I ran DisplayFusion, it listed my key in the licence tab but said that it was a Pro Trial licence for a month (so I have access to all the settings I had before too). I hope this is not a permanent conversion. That said, I have been running the older version for going on 15 hours now and so far no problems. I will keep watching it and see what happens when it gets to the approx. 28 hours that the newer version got to before I noticed it had broken.
Thanks!

Hello Keith,
I wanted to let you know that it has been running for about 40 hours now and still working fine, so I guess it is an issue with the new version. Is there a way to prevent Steam from automatically updating DisplayFusion? I want to do what you suggested to make my key work but I don't know if Steam would automatically try to update it again to the new version. Please advise.
Thanks!

Hi Keith.

Steam does not let one turn off updates but I set it to only update when the program is run from Steam and since it starts on its own, it should work along with the rest of your instructions.

I think I found a trigger for the screensaver and multitaskbar error to happen on the older version of DisplayFusion. If I play a game that goes into fullscreen on one monitor and has a different resolution in-game than the normal desktop screen resolution, this causes the older version of DisplayFusion to break in the same way as the new version was for me. That said, in the older version of DisplayFusion, this is easy to fix. If I go into Screensaver Settings and click on Preview, it will ask me to save my settings and if I do, the preview will work. After that, the screensaver and multitaskbar are reset and work normally again. However, the new version broke after a prolonged time active even without playing a game in fullscreen.

Does this information help at all?

Thanks!

Hello Keith,

I can narrow it down further. It seems to only occur if I have a game open in one monitor and Media Player Classic open in the other. The games that have triggered it for me so far are Rebel Galaxy, Path of Exile, and Offworld Trading Company. If I just have one of these games open without opening Media Player Classic it doesn't seem to happen. In Media Player Classic I have the On Top While Playing Video option active (I don't know if it matters but I thought I would include it just in case).

The most recent time this happened, I was running Rebel Galaxy in Windowed mode at the same resolution as my monitor (1366x76 on my primary monitor with Windows Media Player open in my secondary monitor watching a video. I stopped playing after about an hour and 15 minutes and waited for the screensaver to start and it did not.

So far it has happened when both have been open together for about an hour.

I will keep testing and will let you know if I narrow down anything else. Please let me know if there is anything else you want me to try on my end to help narrow it down.

Thanks!

Hi Keith,

Sorry for the delay. I have done a bunch of testing and it seems that the screensaver is being prevented by MPC. When MPC is running with always on top mode and a dialog box pops up or it changes resolution (such as when you open a game that changes the resolution while a video is playing), it seems to toggle the ability of the screensaver to stop working because if the circumstances happen again, it starts working again. It also seems to happen with pausing media files but that is more inconsistent. This is a reported error with MPC but it looks like their dev team has disbanded. Do you have any ideas of what I can do for this beyond trying a different program?

I have also noticed that sometimes if I am doing batch video conversions with Handbrake the screensaver will not engage but if I minimize it, it will. I don't think it is necessarily related but I figured it was worth noting.

Thanks!

I have an update. The most recent version of DisplayFusion does not have this issue anymore. I am not sure which version fixed the issue, because I had kept it at 8.1.2 but my windows install got corrupted so I reinstalled everything and with the newest version of DisplayFusion from Steam, this issue has been resolved. The multi-monitor taskbar issue is fixed as well.