Set Up a Vista Screen Saver

1. Right-click the desktop and choose Personalize. In the resulting Personalization window, click the Screen Saver link to display the Screen Saver Settings dialog box.

2. From the Screen Saver drop-down list, choose a screen saver.

3. Use the arrows in the Wait xx Minutes text box to set the number of inactivity minutes that Windows Vista waits before displaying the screen saver.

4. Click the Preview button to take a peek at your screen saver of choice. When you’re happy with your settings, click OK.

Screen savers used to be required to keep your monitor from burning out because an image was held on your screen for too long. Newer monitors don’t require this, but people are attached to their screen savers, so the feature persists. Screen savers are also useful for hiding what’s on your screen from curious passersby if you happen to wander away from your desk for a while. If you want no screen saver to appear, choose None from the Screen Saver list in the Screen Saver Settings dialog box.

Some screen savers allow you to modify their settings: for example, how fast they display or how many lines they draw onscreen. To customize this, click the Settings button when in the Screen Saver Settings dialog box.