screen saver no longer kicks in

lleb · 06-02-2020, 06:41 AM

Running Pop_!OS, after about 6 days the screen saver no longer kicks in and blanks out the screens no locks the system when I step away.

Running all of my normal processes, web browsers, F@H, terminal windows, nothing more than normal.

A reboot fixes the issues, but I'd like to figure out what is the root cause to resolve without a reboot.

I have no clue were to start so looking for some basic direction.

What information do you need to help you help me?

Thank you,
lleb

jamison20000e · 06-02-2020, 09:40 AM

I have have similar problems in Debian, I like KDE. There's so many different settings and their in so many different places...

In my case the problem is usually that I don't want the screen to shut off but after telling it not to, it still does! If we don't want to save power, it still wants us to be secure. I often fix it by just combing through all the settings I can find.

It might help if others knew what desktop top environment and\or searching things like Linux screensaver stops working?

frankbell · 06-02-2020, 08:21 PM

Which screensaver are you using, xscreensaver or something else?

Have you looked in the log files? I reckon POP uses systemd. This article includes information on how to use journalctl to filter logs by time and by unit (that is, by application).

Instead of autostarting the screensaver, you could start the screensaver from a terminal

Code:

[screensaver] &

minimize the terminal, and then check it when the problem occurs on the off chance there will be an error message. I think it's a long shot, but worth a try.