need batch file to disable screen saver

ok the deal is i got a new controller for my pc to use with my emulator for ps2 the problem is now my screen saver kicks on while im playing which as you can guess is a real nucience so im wondering

first is it possible to disable my screen saver when i open my program and eneble it again once i close my program?

second if it is possible can it be done with a batch file?

ps:german i know youll probably see this so please be merciful and help im clueless when it comes to changing system settings it took forever to get used to copy and paste variables lol (im a batch nub)

 

Finally settings into the registry are responsible for the screensaver.
Have a look at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
The value ScreenSaveActive is 0 for disabled and 1 for enabled. But if you change it manually (or by batch) it will probably not work because it will not update your system automatically.
We could use a trick. In value SCRNSAVE.EXE you will find the full name of your screensaver. If you change the extension in data from *.scr to eg. *.sc_ the system cannot find it.

I'm currently in China and have no time to make some tests today. Tomorrow I will write the code. Should be easy: REG QUERY to read the current data, REG ADD to change it, call your program, change the data back to the former value.

Regards
GermanOne

 

that would be a great help if you could right the code with my luck in end up screwing up my system.....

btw what you doing in china? vacation?

 

Here it comes. Tried it on XP.

Code:

@echo off &setlocal
for /f "tokens=2* delims=	" %%a in ('reg query "HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop" /v "SCRNSAVE.EXE"') do set "original=%%b"
reg add "HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop" /v "SCRNSAVE.EXE" /d "%original:~,-1%_" /f >nul

:: change to your program:
start "" /wait "C:\your\path\to\app.exe"

reg add "HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop" /v "SCRNSAVE.EXE" /d "%original%" /f >nul

Note:
The sign behind delims= must be a TAB. Some forum software do not show it correctly.
Never close the batch window, you will lose the former registry setting. It is closed automatically if you quit your program.

To answer your question:
No, I'm not on vacation. Our company opened a plant near Shanghai. Now I'm here to help the guys starting serial production and to endure the customer audits... but its such a tropical climate here. pooh

Regards
GermanOne

 

lol cool whats ur company?

and i take it un like it kinda cold?

well it worked after i alterd program path a bit i just need to see if screen saver kicks on but im a little busy right now lol

 

ok i had time tested it and screensaver still kicked on during my game i think main problem is it doesnt recognize my controller as an input device so screen savers axctivating since i never had this problem with my keyboard when i was using it as a controller

 

OK, did you check the registry value by regedit.exe? Is there a value called "SCRNSAVE.EXE" and what data is it? Maybe I'm wrong and we have to change other data.

Btw. I don't wanna make advertising. It's a big company for tires, cooling hoses for cars and other automotve rubber products.
Currently we have 35°C (95°F). This is not much, but the air is verry humid and there is a lot of smog.

Regards
GermanOne

 

no i didnt

which data specificly do you want string data or bianary

sounds like s pretty successful buissness but the enviornment sounds horrid

 

I'm sure someone will think this to be trivial, but
we've really not needed screen savers since the day of the monochrome monitor.
So, since screen savers can be such a PITA, I just turn them all off.
End of problem, end of post.

Cheers Mates!
Shadow :cool

 

@The Shadow
I totally agree with you. I only activated it for tests and after that I deactivated it immediately. Screen savers are bugging me too.

@red death68
The data type of "SCRNSAVE.EXE" is REG_SZ, so it must be a string.
Run the following batch file and send me the content of reg.txt by PM.

Code:

>reg.txt reg query "HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop"

Regards
GermanOne

 

I was doing some Googling on the topic of "Toggle Screen Saver" and found this interesting site.
http://pcworld.about.com/magazine/2210p170id117423.htm

Using this info, I'd write two little .reg scripts, to turn off the screensaver and then later turn it back on.

I hope this is helpful

Shadow :cool

 

Tried it similar. Read my first reply, I said the same but this doesn't work for me. Think the system will not update automatically. When I tried to restart the computer it worked.
In a batch code you could write it as follows

Code:

@echo off &setlocal
reg add "HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop" /v "ScreenSaveActive " /d "0" /f >nul

:: change to your program:
start "" /wait "C:\your\path\to\app.exe"

reg add "HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop" /v "ScreenSaveActive " /d "1" /f >nul

Regards
GermanOne

 

im using an older monitor so i kinda need screensave especialy since i have a bad habit of leaving the monitor on and walking away lol

is your pm's disabled?

ill try this one as well

 

Sorry, PM was disabled. I never noticed it. After registration I never had a look at my profile settings.:-o

Regards
GermanOne

 

OK, I analyzed the content of your sent file. Seems to be absolutely normal. All values are existing and no special characters are in the path or name. So I cannot help you with batch.

There is an ugly way using VBScript.
You could use the Run Method and the SendKeys Method to simulate changing the settings manually.
Save as .vbs

Code:

Set oWSH = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
oWSH.Run "rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,,1", 1, False
WScript.Sleep 1000
oWSH.SendKeys "{UP}{UP}{UP}{UP}{UP}{UP}{UP}{UP}{UP}{UP}{UP}{UP}{UP}{UP}{UP}~"
WScript.Sleep 1000

oWSH.Run """C:\somewhere\your\app.exe""",, True

oWSH.Run "rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,,1", 1, False
WScript.Sleep 1000
oWSH.SendKeys "{DOWN}{DOWN}{DOWN}~"

{UP} is for Arrow UP, {DOWN} is for Arrow Down, ~ is for Enter.
So I wrote 15 Arrow Ups, this is probably enough to come to the first item (no screensaver).
You have to change the path to your program and you have to figure out how many Arrow Down key strokes you need to come back to your screensaver (try it by hand in the context menu of the desktop).

Regards
GermanOne

 

k thanks anyways i was hoping for the batch bhut o well thanks for ur time german

ps: outa curiosity is there a way to make it refresh the setting so to speak like renew comand in cmd when involving ip?

 

No, unfortunately no way to refresh the settings. I remember there was a chance in the past using rundll32, but since XP it doesn't work anymore.
Don't be shy, VBS is not complicated

EDIT Wait, what are you talking about? You try to change the IP Address or...

Regards
GermanOne

 

true but my bro tried a vbs script for disabling cmd and his system has all sorts of issues now and wont open cmd on admins account anymore

 

lolz My VBS file will not disable cmd. Try manually what the code will do.
BTW You could send me your brothers VBS code. I'm sure ther is a simple way to enable cmd.

 

ill send it if he even still has it on the system he may have deleted it in frustration

 

The reason that changing the registry setting does not work is because all that is happening is that the setting is being changed; Windows (and the actual windows and apps) are not notified of the change until the shell (Explorer) is restarted (or the system is rebooted). Alternately, you could try broadcasting the WM_SETTINGCHANGE message to all top-level windows via HWND_BROADCAST.

 

True. But did you read the topic Would you think you could use these functions in a batch code? No way!
However, since I know that red death68 is about to learn Java he could possibly apply your suggestion.

Regards
GermanOne

 

I don’t see why not. Some time back, I wrote an EXE that simply broadcasts the WM_SETTINGCHANGE message to all top-level windows. I use it mostly in batch files after importing REG files that make changes to the environment variables.

Alternately, it can be done in one of the VB scripts mentioned previously.

 

You cannot call these functions in an batch file or in a VBScript directly. You need a third party tool or you have to write your own in a progamming language where these functions are available.

Regards
GermanOne

 

I just did a quick Google, but it does look like there is a PostMessage/SendMessage function available to VBS.

 

Not at all.
It's available to other VB dialicts (VB, .NET, VBA ...).

Regards
GermanOne