Launches straight to Logon screen?

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Reds Green
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Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2012 8:35 pm

Launches straight to Logon screen?

Post by Reds Green »

I have ControlSS installed on a Windows 7 64-Bit machine. I have the hot key combination of <alt> + <z> configured to launch the screen saver. When I press the hot key combination, the screen saver appears to launch briefly, then I see the User Login screen. Its as if something happens just after the screen saver launches and causes Windows to think "oh, somebody has interacted with me, I will show them the Login screen". I have unhooked the mouse thinking that there may be some vibration on my desk causing motion from the mouse to be detected thus cancelling the screen saver - didn't change the problem. I tried changing the hotkey combination thinking that maybe some other application was using that particular hotkey combination - didn't change the problem. I'm using the super-neat Really Slick screensavers, which when launched through ControlSS work just fine. Its only when I invoke them from the hotkey that they fail to start (or start then quickly stop) and go straight to the Windows Login screen. This is a workstation, so I like the 'lock on resume' function, but I'd like to have the screensaver running when I leave my desk, rather than having the boring old 'please logon to continue' screen sitting there while I'm at lunch. Any body have any ideas what is going on?
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gpb
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Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2011 1:23 am

Re: Launches straight to Logon screen?

Post by gpb »

I just tested ControlSS on one of our windows 7 x64 computer and I didn't see any problem, it works well with standard windows screen saver and with gPhotoShow Pro. The only thing I can think about is that maybe you keep the hotkey pressed for a too long time and it is detected by the screen saver. Anyway it's rather strange since the screen saver should take some time to start and the key combination is registered as global hotkey, this means that it should never be sent to applications only the program that registered it should receive that hotkey.
Gianpaolo Bottin
gPhotoShow.com
Reds Green
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2012 8:35 pm

Re: Launches straight to Logon screen?

Post by Reds Green »

Good to know screen savers launch correctly on your Windows 7 64-bit platform using ControlSS. I had the same thought about my hotkey-press duration being long enough to cause Windows to detect it as interaction thus disabling the screensaver and bringing up the logon screen. Touching the hotkeys as briefly as possible didn't change the problem. The specific condition where the problem occurs is when the screensaver randomizer is enabled AND hotkey is enabled. Further investigation reveals that *some* screensavers do in fact launch correctly and *some* don't. Specifically, the screensavers bundled with Windows 7, like Mystify and Ribbons, launch using the ControlSS hotkey as expected. However, the Really Slick screensavers (http://www.reallyslick.com/screensavers/) don't behave. Launching these from ControlSS work fine EXCEPT when invoked using the ControlSS hotkey. Now I know whats coming next - 'then don't use those with ControlSS' - right? Okay, I'm fine with that, but the question remains unanswered - why are *some* screensavers incompatible with ControlSS and is there any workaround to help ControlSS deal with certain screensavers? The Really Slick screensavers ARE quite fancy, and they span dual monitors which my workstation uses. For fun, test these on your Windows 7 64-bit platform to see if you experience the same results and post your findings so other folks have visibility to incompatibilities they might be experiencing. Even better, if you discover a workaround, share it! Thanks so much for your consideration, I really enjoy the hotkey convenience and the screensaver randomizer ControllSS provides.
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gpb
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Re: Launches straight to Logon screen?

Post by gpb »

I did further tests on two computers with Windows 7 x64, I installed some of the Really Slick screensavers and I didn't notice any issue. I configured the same hotkey (Alt-Z), random screen saver change and I didn't see any problem, screen savers always start correctly. BTW, non Windows 7 if you interrupt the screen saver within few seconds the workstation is not locked. Since in your case the screen saver exits immediately and the workstation is locked I guess there is something else but I can't guess what can cause that effect.
Gianpaolo Bottin
gPhotoShow.com
Reds Green
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2012 8:35 pm

Re: Launches straight to Logon screen?

Post by Reds Green »

Thank you for evaluating the specific screen savers on your platform and posting your findings. Evidently there is some other interaction the Really Slick screensavers have on my local machine. The real clue here is your observation that screensavers, when launched via the ControlSS hot key, have a 'grace period' where if Windows detects interaction within a period of time (maybe 5 seconds) after the screensaver is launched, it brings the desktop back into view (and NOT the logon screen). This behavior works when ControlSS hotkey launches a native Windows screensaver. However, when it launches a Really Slick screensaver, I go straight to jail (the logon screen) and there is no post-launch grace period . There is something about my local machine thats causing this that I'll dig deeper into. If I conclude something, or if anybody reading this at some point in the future has solved this, maybe the answer will become known to all. Group policy? Registry conflict?

[UPDATE]
News Flash - I uninstalled the Really Slick screensavers using the uninstaller in Control Panel. I then refreshed the screensaver list in ControlSS. I then downloaded the Really Slick screensavers as a .zip file, following the instructions on their site. After extracting the .scr screensaver files to a folder, I manually copied them into the C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ folder. I then refreshed the screensaver list in ControlSS. Now the really slick screensavers launch correctly when invoked with the ControlSS hotkey with the ControlSS randomizer enabled. I think this one might be solved. Good luck to those following in my footsteps reading this.
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