Tech-Pro GreenSaver Support

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Tech-Pro GreenSaver is a standard Windows screen saver. Its settings are accessed via the Display Properties dialog.

GreenSaver Settings

The GreenSaver Settings dialog is used to set your preferences for the screen saver. The options are:

Shut down after hh:mm - This field sets the length of time in hours and minutes that the screen saver will run for before initiating the shutdown action. This field should not be set to less than one minute.
Shut down action - This field sets the action to be taken after the screen saver has been active for the time set above. These actions are:
Standby. The computer will shut down with the current state held in memory. This is the least power-saving option, as power is required to retain the current state, but it is the fastest to restore and the least likely to cause issues with software or hardware;
Hibernate. The computer will shut down with the current state written to disk. This is a real shutdown, except that the current state is stored allowing a faster start-up than from a shutdown. However, it may cause issues with some software or hardware. Not all Windows PCs support this option.
Logout. This is not a power saving option at all. The screen saver will log out of the current user.
Shutdown. The computer will execute a Windows shutdown.
Power off. On most computers this option is indistinguishable from Shutdown, but it ensures that the power is switched off when shutdown is completed.
Force? - If selected, Windows will force applications to close in order to shut down the computer. Applications will be closed even if work is unsaved. If this option is not selected, the computer will not be shut down if an application requires a response from the user before it can close.
Ignore Mouse Movements - If selected, the screen saver will not be disabled when the mouse is moved, only if a key is pressed or a mouse button is clicked.
Enable Additional Settings - If selected, this option enables a second set of shutdown options which will be invoked after a specified time. This can be used, for example, to have the screen saver shut down the computer instead of suspending it if the time is after normal office hours.

Frequently asked questions

Why isn't the screen saver animated?

An animated screensaver uses computer processor time, which causes the processor to use more power and run hotter. As a consequence, the computer will use more electrical power than it would displaying a static image. Because the purpose of Tech-Pro GreenSaver is to save energy and help reduce your carbon footprint, it has been designed to use as little processor time as possible.

How can I prevent users from changing the settings?

If you are using Windows XP Professional then you can prevent users from accessing the screen saver settings, and even from changing the screen saver itself, using the Group Policy Editor.

Click on Start, Run and enter gpedit.msc. Open User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Control Panel and select Display. Under Display select Hide screen saver tab and change the setting to Enable.

Alternatively you can use the following two registry settings files to disable and re-enable access to the screen saver tab of Display Properties:

To hide the Screen Saver tab use the file hidessavertab.reg
To un-hide the Screen Saver tab use the file showssavertab.reg

Can GreenSaver shut down a computer that has been suspended or logged out, at a set time?

No, unfortunately this is beyond the capabilities of a screen saver. Once GreenSaver has suspended or hibernated the computer or logged the user out, it is no longer running, so it is unable to wake up the computer at a later time in order to shut it down.

Can GreenSaver be used as the screen saver for the logon screen?

Whilst GreenSaver can be installed as a logon screen saver, the Windows security model does not grant a program which is run outside of a logged-in user the privileges to suspend, hibernate or shut down the computer. Therefore GreenSaver cannot suspend, hibernate or shut down the computer when run as a logon screen saver.

To ensure that a computer is shut down if it is still running at at a given time, you can schedule shutdown.exe to run under a user with sufficient privileges by using the Windows Task Scheduler. Type shutdown /? at a command prompt to see the parameters for shutdown.exe.