5 Best Ways to Fix Screen Saver Settings Greyed Out in Windows 11

Windows offers features to personalize your computer, including adding screen savers. However, many users experience a problem where their screen saver options are greyed out. This issue can be frustrating as it prevents you from activating your preferred screen saver.

In this article, we will discuss how to fix screen saver settings in Windows 11. Let’s get started.

The ‘Enable screen saver’ policy is crucial for changing screen savers on your Windows PC. Disabling this policy prevents screen saver changes and causes various issues. To fix the problem, enable this policy in the Local Group Policy Editor. Here’s how:

Note: The Local Group Policy Editor is only available in Windows Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. For Windows Home, eliminate the ‘gpedit.msc missing error’ to access the Group Policy Editor by following our guide.

Step 1: Press Windows + R to open the Run tool.

Step 2: Type “gpedit.msc” in the search bar and click OK.

Step 3: In the Local Group Policy Editor, go to:

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization

Step 4: Double-click on the ‘Enable screen saver’ policy in the right pane.

Step 5: Choose the Enabled option. Then, click Apply and OK buttons.

2. Edit the Registry

If screen saver options are greyed out in Windows, incorrect registry edits likely cause the issue. You must access the Registry Editor and edit certain keys to fix it.

Note: Before following the below steps, create a restore point and back up the registry to ensure the security of your data and settings in case something goes wrong during the editing process.

Step 1: Press Windows + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run tool, type “regedit” in the search bar, and click OK.

Step 2: In the Registry Editor, go to the location: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop.

Step 3: Right-click ScreenSaveActive and delete it.

Step 4: Click Yes to confirm your selection.

Similarly, remove the following string values if they are available as well:

ScreenSaverIsSecure
ScreenSaveTimeout
SCRNSAVE.EXE

3. Modify the Power Plan

Windows has a power-saving mode that automatically pauses tasks to reduce power consumption. However, enabling this mode can sometimes disable screen saver settings. To fix this issue, you’ll need to modify the power plan settings. Here’s how:

1. Press the Windows key to open the Start Menu.

2. Type “Edit power plan” in the search bar and choose Open from the right pane.

Step 3: Click ‘Change advanced power settings’.

Step 4:

In the Power Options window, double-click on the Display node.

Step 5: Double-click on the ‘Turn off display after’ node.

Step 6: Configure both On battery and Plugged in options to Never.

Step 7: Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

Another reason for the issue may be a corrupt graphics driver. To fix it, update the graphics driver. Follow these steps: Right-click the Windows icon in the Taskbar, select Device Manager from the Power User menu.

Step 2: Double-click Display adapters.

Step 3: Right-click on the installed graphics driver and choose Update driver.

Step 4: Select the ‘Search automatically for drivers’ option in the Update driver window.

Windows will search and download graphics driver updates.

Alternatively, visit your graphics card manufacturer’s website (AMD, NVIDIA, or Intel) for the latest update.

5. Run SFC and DISM Scan

If updating the graphics driver wasn’t helpful, corruption in the system files may be causing the issue. You can fix these files by running an SFC scan.

System File Checker (SFC) scan is a built-in Windows utility you can use to find and repair corrupt system files. To run an SFC scan, follow these steps:

Step 1: Click on the Start icon on the taskbar to open the Start Menu, type Command Prompt in the search bar, and choose ‘Run as administrator’ from the right pane.

To review the provided text, eliminate redundant words or phrases, and make the content more concise and impactful, please follow these steps:

Step 2: Type “sfc /scannow” and press Enter.

The utility will search for computer corruption. After the process finishes, you’ll see a message indicating if the scan was able to find and fix a problem.

Next, check if the screen saver settings are normal. If not, run the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) scan, which will search for corruption in the recovery and boot sector.

To perform the DISM scan, open Command Prompt as an administrator and execute the following commands:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Personalize Your Computer

Adding a screen saver is a great way to personalize your system. But what if screen saver options are greyed out in Windows? It’s a common issue you can resolve using the above solutions.