Topic 'Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?' in forum 'Microsoft Help' - dslreports.com

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 15:02:00 EDT

plencnerb posted : I'm one who likes to test things, and see if they break! :) So, I opened up "Photo Gallery" and verified that it was working without any issues.

I then went and removed "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition [ENU]" from my computer.

Sure enough, it was "Windows Essentials 2012" that installed it. Once removed, I tried to launch "Photo Gallery" again, and got the above error message shown in #1.

If I click on "Cancel" I get the box shown in #2.

So, for whatever reason, Photo Gallery needs SQL Server. I did try "Movie Maker" and it loads without problems, so it must not need SQL Server.

Makes you wonder what inside of Photo Gallery requires a SQL Server database?

--Brian
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============================
--Brian Plencner

E-Mail: CoasterBrian72Cancer@gmail.com
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Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 01:42:45 EDT

Mele20 posted : I have Microsoft SQL Server Compact Edition [ENU] but it was not installed by Windows Essentials. DELL installed it at the factory. The installation date is Nov 14 2012. I received the machine the next day.
--
When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:44:40 EDT

plencnerb posted : I wanted to update this thread, with something I noticed about the install of "Windows Essentials 2012".

I noticed something odd in another post when I made a screen shot of the "Programs and Features" list inside of Control Panel.

One of the items I noticed was "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition [ENU]".

For me, this last test of Windows 8 was done on 01/22/2013, and all of my programs listed have that date. Yet, this had an install date of 01/27/2013. Since I had no idea what I installed on that date, I sorted the list by Installed On, and got my answer! :)

Why would Windows Essentials 2012 need SQL Server? Sure its not really big now, but what kind of information is Microsoft "collecting" that they need a whole SQL Server DB? :hmm:

--Brian
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============================
--Brian Plencner

E-Mail: CoasterBrian72Cancer@gmail.com
Note: Kill Cancer to Reply via e-mail

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 11:43:33 EDT

plencnerb posted :

said by Mele20:

Thank you so much for testing this! :)

Not a problem! :) I actually enjoy helping people out with their issues. Since I'm unemployed, it gives me something to do during the day. Not to mention, I look at it like a challenge...it works for me, so there has to be a reason why its not working for you. Its just a matter of getting the right setting or finding the item that is "broke".

said by Mele20:

Does this make sense to you?

"" set the idle time-out to a value that is lower than the value of the Photos Gallery screen saver time-out""

That is what a Microsoft engineer said to do. I don't understand what he said. He pointed me to two sets of FAQ to learn what he meant...but I had already read them (one for Power Options and the other for Screen Savers) and there is nothing in them about "idle time out values" much less something about what he said that reads as gobblydegook to me.

That does not make any sense to me. If you set the idle time-out value to be lower then your screen saver time-out value, you will never see your screen saver, as the monitor would go to sleep first. I would think you would want it the other way around (as you and I both have it set), so that your screen saver (whatever one you select), runs first, and THEN your monitor goes to sleep. I don't understand why Microsoft would have said that to you.

For reference, I have run this command to disable hibernation on my desktop.

powercfg.exe /hibernate off

In doing that, I'm not able to set the option for "Fast Startup" as shown in Pic #1 above. I mention this in case other options are removed that you may have set that I don't have available to me, in the event one of them could be causing your issue. I don't think so, but I did want to make a note of that just in case.

Below is the full set of options and my values from the Advanced Power Settings Screen. I've listed every item and what value I currently have them set to. For reference, you set these on the screen shown in Pic #2.

Balanced --> Require a password on wakeup Setting: Yes

Hard Disk --> Turn off hard disk after Setting: Never

Internet Explorer --> JavaScript Timer Frequency Setting: Maximum Performance

Desktop background settings --> Slide show Setting: Available

Wireless Adapter Settings --> Power Saving Mode Setting: Maximum Performance

Sleep --> Sleep after Setting: Never
Sleep --> Allow wake timers Setting: Enable

USB settings --> USB selective suspend setting: Enabled

Power buttons and lid --> Power button action Setting: Shut Down
Power buttons and lid --> Sleep button action Setting: Sleep

PCI Express --> Link State Power Management Setting: Moderate power savings

Processor power management --> Minimum processor state Setting: 5%
Processor power management --> System cooling policy Setting: Active
Processor power management --> Maximum processor state Setting: 100%

Display --> Turn off display after Setting: 5 Minutes
Display --> Enable adaptive brightness Setting: Off

Multimedia settings --> When sharing media Setting: Prevent idling to sleep
Multimedia settings --> When playing video Setting: Optimize video quality

I've added a few pictures just to verify my settings
Pic #3 shows my screen saver settings.
Pic #4 shows the detailed Photos Screen Saver Settings
Pic #5 shows my power options screen, which shows the plan that I am using (balanced)
Pic #6 shows the settings for the balanced plan.

said by Mele20:

I have not set the turn off time to longer because the choices are arbitrary. In XP I could set it to 6 minutes, 7 minutes, etc., as far as I recall,( but I I have used 5minutes for many years so I could be wrong about thinking I recall being able to choose a value between 5 and 10 minutes). In Windows 8 it goes from 5 minutes to 10 minutes as the next choice and that is too long.

In regards to this, you can set the time value to be whatever you want, outside of the list that is shown. If you look at Pic #7, you can see the options that I can select from the drop down.

However, if you actually go into the advanced options, and then go to the setting
Display --> Turn off display after Setting:
You can put in any value you want for minutes.

If you look at Pic #8, I entered in a value of 8, which would be 8 minutes. Again, looking at Pic #7, that is not an option in the list, as it goes from 5 to 10 minutes.

If I do that, and save my changes, and then go back to the Edit Plan screen, and refresh it, you will see that I now have 8 minutes as my "Turn off the Display" value, as shown in Pic #9.

said by Mele20:

I'm wondering if this problem could be due to my video card (nVidia 660 GTX) or maybe this specific monitor (I don't have another one to hook up and test unfortunately). It is quite old...a Dell Ultrasharp 1901 LCD that will be 10 years old end of this coming October.

My video card is an nVidia GeForce GT220. It is currently running the latest driver, which is 310.90 WHQL, released on 01-05-2013.

I did go to nVidia's webpage (»www.nvidia.com/Download/index.as···ng=en-us) and put in your video card information, as shown in Pic #10. Doing that results in the same driver and version as I'm running for my card, as shown in Pic #11.

If you are not running that driver version, you may want to update to that one. By the way, I will point out that if you actually look in Device Manager, and go look at your video driver, the information there won't match 310.90 or have a date of 01-05-2013. To show you what I'm talking about, I've included a picture of mine (Pic #12). Even though I am running the 310.90 version from nVidia, the driver version shows up as 9.18.13.1090, with a date of 12/29/2012. Just wanted to point that out.

Finally, my monitor is a ViewSonic. Model # is VS13818 (VA2248M-LED). It is a 22 inch widescreen LCD, and was purchased in October of 2011 from Tigerdirect.com. In regards to this, I know that I installed some kind of "Update" for it from Windows Update. The details of that are shown in Pic #13. Not sure if there is something similar for your monitor, but you may want to look at the optional items from Windows Update and see if you see anything like that.

So, if you are running the latest video driver version, and you installed any kind of update for your monitor (if one did exist), and all your settings match mine, and it still does not work....them I'm at a loss! :(.

Few more things....Is there any kind of settings on your monitor itself that have to do with power options?

You may also want to check the BIOS settings too..not sure what may be in there, but maybe something is over-writing a setting in Windows with a setting in your BIOS.

Let me know what you find out after reading this later. I'll also think about this today too, and see if there is anything else that I can come up with.

--Brian

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============================
--Brian Plencner

E-Mail: CoasterBrian72Cancer@gmail.com
Note: Kill Cancer to Reply via e-mail

Pic #1
Pic #2
Pic #3
Pic #4
Pic #5
Pic #6
Pic #7
Pic #8
Pic #9
Pic #10
Pic #11
Pic #12
Pic #13

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 05:57:21 EDT

Mele20 posted : Thank you so much for testing this! :)

I feel even more frustrated though now since it works for you with my settings but won't for me. :(

Does this make sense to you?

"" set the idle time-out to a value that is lower than the value of the Photos Gallery screen saver time-out""

That is what a Microsoft engineer said to do. I don't understand what he said. He pointed me to two sets of FAQ to learn what he meant...but I had already read them (one for Power Options and the other for Screen Savers) and there is nothing in them about "idle time out values" much less something about what he said that reads as gobblydegook to me.

I have tried over and over to get it to work. At the designated monitor turn off time in Power Options (5 minutes after idle starts...2 minutes after screensaver kicks in) when Photo Gallery is the screen saver, I see the monitor screen go black and it should then shut off and the on button should change from greenish yellow to amber. Instead, after going black screen the monitor button does not change to amber rather the screen saver STARTS UP AGAIN. I have not set the turn off time to longer because the choices are arbitrary. In XP I could set it to 6 minutes, 7 minutes, etc., as far as I recall,( but I I have used 5minutes for many years so I could be wrong about thinking I recall being able to choose a value between 5 and 10 minutes). In Windows 8 it goes from 5 minutes to 10 minutes as the next choice and that is too long.

I'm wondering if this problem could be due to my video card (nVidia 660 GTX) or maybe this specific monitor (I don't have another one to hook up and test unfortunately). It is quite old...a Dell Ultrasharp 1901 LCD that will be 10 years old end of this coming October.
--
When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 11:39:35 EDT

plencnerb posted :

said by Mele20:

I was also able to click on "Open File Location" from right click on the shortcut on Start8 menu. Now I see why I couldn't find it. Even with your screenshot, I still didn't realize it would not be listed as Photo Gallery in Program Files in Explorer. Now I see it is listed under "Windows Live" so when I was looking in Program Files, no wonder I didn't see it. I was looking for "Photo Gallery" or "Windows Essentials".

Correct. In my case, "Windows Essentials 2012" was installed to

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\"

The actual EXE name for "Photo Gallery" is "WLXPhotoGallery.exe" and is located at

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Photo Gallery"

By the way, not sure if this makes a difference or not, but in my testing of this in my previous post, I DID NOT click on either icon created (Photo Gallery or Movie Maker). I did so now (after my testing), and I get some kind of Service Agreement that I would have to "accept" before using the product. What's interesting is that the screen saver part appears to "work" even though I have yet to accept (or decline) the Service Agreement.

Again, not sure if that matters or not, but I did want to point that out.

--Brian
--
============================
--Brian Plencner

E-Mail: CoasterBrian72Cancer@gmail.com
Note: Kill Cancer to Reply via e-mail

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 11:32:30 EDT

plencnerb posted :

said by Mele20:

It's here:

»windows.microsoft.com/en-US/wind···-started

First, I'm sorry for taking a bit to get this tested. But, I had some time this morning to do it.

I went ahead and downloaded the photo gallery, which as has been point out is part of Windows Essentials 2012 from the link you gave me.

Once the download was complete, I installed it using the options shown in Pic #1.

After the install was complete, I went looking to see what icons and groups it had created in Metro. It did "pin" two icons to the first screen, as shown in Pic #2 (see the red arrows).

However, I did not like what it did on the "All Apps" screen of Metro. What it did was to create the actual shortcuts for "Movie Maker" and "Photo Gallery" at the following location: "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs". This of course just adds icons to the "All Apps" screen. Since I wanted them in some kind of group, I created a sub-directory called "Windows Essentials (Live)" inside of "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs", and dragged the two shortcuts to that location.

I then had to reboot for the change to show up in Metro. On a side note, anytime I make changes like that, a reboot is needed for it to refresh the display. I believe that most people won't be making changes like that to the underlying directory structure, which may be why it did not update automatically.

In any case, I got the result I wanted, as shown in Pic #3 (New heading and icons are in the red box).

I then went and looked at my screen saver options, and noticed a new one called "Photo Gallery" as shown in Pic #4.

If I select that as my screen saver, and then click on "Settings", I see the following options as shown in Pic #5.

Since the location listed does contain all my photo's, I make no changes to the options on that screen, and click the "Save" button to close it.

I then verify that I have the wait time be "3 Minutes", and then I hit the "Apply" button to save the changes, followed by the "OK" button to close the screen saver options Window.

Finally, I verify that my power management settings are still the same as they were before, which is to turn off the display after 5 minutes of inactivity.

With everything in place, I now make a note of the current time, and see what happens.

After 3 minutes, the screen saver did kick in, and it started to cycle through all of the pictures that I had in the location I selected on the settings screen of Pic #5.

After 2 more minutes (5 minutes total at this point), my monitor went into "sleep" mode. Meaning, the screen went black, and my light on the monitor went from blue to amber / yellow.

So, it appears that the screen saver "Photo Gallery" is working as it should be on my system.

If you want any more information (additional settings that I may have configured, hardware info, monitor type, etc), just let me know and I'll provide that for you.

--Brian
--
============================
--Brian Plencner

E-Mail: CoasterBrian72Cancer@gmail.com
Note: Kill Cancer to Reply via e-mail

Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
Pic 5

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 21:12:10 EDT

Mele20 posted : That brings up the icons at the bottom and if I choose the icon "open location" then is shows me the shortcut for it on Startup menu where I think it won't stay unless I use it regularly. I right clicked on the shortcut and was given the option to pin it to the Start8 menu. That way it won't disappear if I don't use it for awhile.

I was also able to click on "Open File Location" from right click on the shortcut on Start8 menu. Now I see why I couldn't find it. Even with your screenshot, I still didn't realize it would not be listed as Photo Gallery in Program Files in Explorer. Now I see it is listed under "Windows Live" so when I was looking in Program Files, no wonder I didn't see it. I was looking for "Photo Gallery" or "Windows Essentials".
--
When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:10:18 EDT

SoonerAl posted : On the modern UI (aka metro) start screen what happens if you right-click on the Photo Gallery tile then select Open file location? It should show you where the program or program shortcut is located. You can (or should be able to) right click then look at Properties to see the path to the file. Once you find that you can create a shortcut on your desktop.

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 09:02:21 EDT

Mele20 posted : It's here:

»windows.microsoft.com/en-US/wind···-started

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 09:01:56 EDT

Mele20 posted : I still can't find it...oh, I can go to Metro and start typing and find it. But where in Explorer it is located.....??

But Start8 has it in the all programs list now. But it won't keep it there. I could care less how often I use a program. That is irrelevant as all programs should be there in All Programs list at all times.

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 07:49:53 EDT

plencnerb posted : I will look into installing "Windows Live Essentials" on the Windows 8 side of things here on my test Windows 8 install. I'll then play around with it and see if I can get it to work or not.

You've provided enough information on how to get it, and how your settings are, so I should be able to figure it out.

Again, it may be a few days as I'm kind of busy, but I will test it out on my system and report back with what I find out.

--Brian
--
============================
--Brian Plencner

E-Mail: CoasterBrian72Cancer@gmail.com
Note: Kill Cancer to Reply via e-mail

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 07:46:11 EDT

SoonerAl posted : If you want Photo Gallery on the classic desktop just create a short cut to the application. Right click on the file and select Send to desktop. See the screen shot...

You can rename the short cut after its on the desktop if desired.

I used to run Start8, and still have it on this Win 8 laptop, but disabled its service because I found I did not need it. I like the new modern start screen and except for those programs that don't run there never really go there. I have my wife's tiles, ie. classic desktop programs, setup on the right side of the modern start screen so she can go straight to IE or Outlook or Quicken which is all she really uses on this machine.

This is a non-touch screen laptop running Win 8 Pro (32-bit)...

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 07:29:13 EDT

Mele20 posted : The best way to find something is to open Explorer and, if it is a program, then you look in C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86). It is not in either place. It also is not in All Programs list from Start8. I don't want to uninstall it or modify it so there would be no point in looking in the Control Panel for it. I didn't want to have to go to Metro to find it. I avoid Metro and would uninstall Metro if possible. With Start8 I rarely have to go to Metro thank goodness. But it is not a bad program for editing, managing photos...not nearly as good though as the Microsoft Digital Image program (part of Works Suite 2006) I have on the XP computer.

It should be on the Desktop NOT in Metro. No desktop user wants to have to use that horrible Metro page! Yes, I could have typed in the Search box but that is another big irritation about Win 8. I want a LIST of all programs. I dislike having to remember the name of every program I have so I can type it in search. That "feature" is one of the most stupid things Microsoft has dreamed up. They did it just because XP is almost perfect and they have to figure out some way to get people off it so they said typing and recalling the names of 200+ programs is easier than having all programs in neat columns accessible from the Start menu. I call that BS.

There are a lot of posts in Microsoft's forums about this screensaver in Win 7 messing with Power Savings Options and evidently there was no solution then and none now. Microsoft says it is such a complex screensaver that Windows never senses idle time so doesn't know when to turn off the monitor and/or tell the computer to sleep. So, it is a worthless screensaver which is a shame. It (like most everything else) works great on XP and the same monitor turns off with that screen saver on XP.
--
When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 06:54:39 EDT

SoonerAl posted :

said by Mele20:

I think it came on this computer because to access it I have to go to Metro page. It is not listed in Programs.

Its part of Windows Essentials as you noted before. You can simply search for it using Search. Not hard...

FWIW I have a tile for Photo Gallery on my modern start screen, not the classic desktop, because I also use it on occasion for editing photos. I very rarely use the classic desktop, only for those few programs that don't run under the modern start screen. My wife does use the classic desktop for most of her tasks on the laptop.

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 01:56:51 EDT

Mele20 posted : I know with Photo Gallery the screensaver does NOT kick in. Maybe it does with photos. I'll check it again. I am not sure where Photo Gallery comes from. I thought it was on all Windows 8 Pro machines. I guess not.

It's the same as the Microsoft slideshow screensaver on XP but has more options. It's part of Windows Essentials. (Photo Gallery is also how I organize my photos and edit them).

I don't know if Dell put it on this machine or if I downloaded it. I don't recall downloading it but since I have downloaded a lot of programs since I got this computer I could have just forgotten.

It's very neat for a screensaver with all the different options. I LOVED it on XP and it is more advanced on Win 8. But I guess I need to log into my Microsoft account and ask them why it doesn't cut off when it should. I think it came on this computer because to access it I have to go to Metro page. It is not listed in Programs.
--
When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 08:48:07 EDT

plencnerb posted : Ok here is my post to share the results of my test.

After making the changes that I noted above, I watched the clock. 3 minutes later, my screen saver kicked in, and it started to cycle through all the pictures that I had selected.

2 minutes after that, my monitor went into "sleep" mode. It did not turn off, as the the power indicator went from Blue to "Amber/orange" and the screen went black.

And to clarify, it was 2 minutes after the screen saver kicked in that the monitor went to sleep mode, as that would be a total of 5 minutes of inactivity (Turn off Display was set to 5 minutes).

As far as I can tell, it is working as designed.

Since I'm not fully on Windows 8 yet, I'm going to switch hard drives and go back to Windows 7. However, McAfee has finally released patch 3 for Virus Scan Enterprise 8.8 (which is what I was testing). So, I should be moving fully to Windows 8 in the very near future.

So, if you need me to check any other setting, let me know and I'll switch things back.

--Brian
--
============================
--Brian Plencner

E-Mail: CoasterBrian72Cancer@gmail.com
Note: Kill Cancer to Reply via e-mail

Re: [WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 08:22:14 EDT

plencnerb posted : I'm in Windows 8 Pro x64 this morning, and am going to test it out and see.

To make sure we're on the same page, I've modified my settings as shown above.

I usually don't run a screen saver at all, nor do I modify the power settings to turn anything off (including the monitor). If I want things off, I'll power them off myself! :)

So, the first picture shows what I have changed the screen saver settings to. This should be similar to what you said you use (Photo option, and 3 minutes of no activity).

I have also set my power options to turn off the display after 5 minutes (2nd picture).

Finally, you mention an option of screen saver called "Photo Gallery". The third picture lists all the options I have...as you can see, I don't see "Photo Gallery" listed. Is this some kind of add-on that you have done?

I'll post the results in a new post after this test is complete, as its going to take a few minutes to see if it works! :)

--Brian
--
============================
--Brian Plencner

E-Mail: CoasterBrian72Cancer@gmail.com
Note: Kill Cancer to Reply via e-mail

Screen Saver Options
Power Options
Screen Saver Options

[WIN8] Screen saver photos, photo gallery?

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 01:48:18 EDT

Mele20 posted : On XP Pro photos, photo gallery work fine and the monitor shuts off at the time specified in Power Options. (Hard drives never shut down and power is always on).

On Win 8 Pro, Ribbons, Bubbles, etc. work correctly but photos, and photo gallery do not. If I use one of them as a screen saver the monitor never turns off.

Are these two screensavers broken in Win 8? I like using them on XP and would like to be able to do so on Win 8. (Yes, I know a screensaver is not really necessary on LCD monitors, but I LIKE using one so I do).
--
When governments fear people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson