Bill's Northwest Screensavers



Screensaver FAQ
General Help on Bill's Northwest Screensavers

Topics:

0. HOW TO INSTALL ONE OF THESE SCREENSAVERS.
A. HOW TO DE-INSTALL ONE OF THESE SCREENSAVERS.
B. SCREENSAVER CAUSES PROBLEMS WITH LARGE DOWNLOADS.
    / HOW TO STOP SCREENSAVER FROM RUNNING WITHOUT DE-INSTALLING IT.

C. HOW TO CHANGE WHICH SCREENSAVER RUNS.
D. HOW LONG WILL MY SCREENSAVER RUN?
E. DO SCREENSAVERS RUN ALL THE TIME?
F. HOW TO CHANGE THE NUMBER OF MINUTES OF INACTIVITY BEFORE A SCREENSAVER STARTS.
G. HOW TO MANUALLY START A SCREENSAVER.
H. HOW TO START A SCREENSAVER FROM KEYBOARD.
I. THE PICTURES LOOK FUNNY ON MY MONITOR.
J. HOW TO CHANGE HOW LONG/QUICK EACH PICTURE IS SHOWN.
K. I WANT EACH IMAGE TO FILL THE ENTIRE SCREEN.
L. I WANT A SLIDESHOW ON MY DESKTOP.
M. IS THERE A SHORT CUT FOR STARTING THE SCREEN SAVERS WINDOW?


Bill's screensavers are intended to run on PC/laptops running a Windows operating system. They are NOT intended to run on tablets or smart phones running Android Windows 10.

NOTE: Most of the screensaver information contained here does not apply to the desktop screensaver. That screensaver runs on your desktop in place of standard desktop images. As such, it is not stopped by mouse movements, keyboard entries, etc.


0. HOW TO INSTALL ONE OF THESE SCREENSAVERS.

Windows XP Windows 7  Windows 10
If you have any problems installing the screensaver, then double click the installation/setup exe file. This may require Admin rights.   If you have any problems installing the screensaver, then right click onthe installation/setup exe file and choose "Run as Administrator".   If you have any problems installing the screensaver, then:
1. Rright click on the installation/setup exe file and choose "Run as Administrator"
2. Click Yes to allow unknown publisher to make changes.
3. Click OK to allow screensaver installation.
4. Read and accept license agreement.
5. Click OK to acknowledge intallation.
6. Wait and then set options and click OK.
7. Wait and click OK on screen saver settings. You might want to first click PREVIEW to view screensaver.


A. HOW TO DE-INSTALL ONE OF THESE SCREENSAVERS.

It is very easy to remove any of the screensavers installed with one of Bill's CDs.
Just do the following:
Windows XP Windows 7  Windows 10
1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally found under SETTINGS on START menu).
2. Select Add OR REMOVE PROGRAMS.
3. Choose screensaver to be removed.
  1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally found on START menu).
2. Select UNINSTALL A PROGRAM.
3. Choose screensaver to be removed.
4. Click Uninstall/Change
  1. Click on SEARCH BAR at bottom left of screen (by big O)
2. Enter "Add or remove programs"
3. Click on "Add or remove programs - system settings"
4. Scroll down and click on screensaver to be removed.
5. Click Uninstall
6. Click Uninstall
7. Click Yes to allow unknown publisher to make changes
8. Click Yes to confirm file deletion
9. Click OK to close window saying program has been removed.
return to top



B. SCREENSAVER CAUSES PROBLEMS WITH LARGE DOWNLOADS.

HOW TO STOP SCREENSAVER FROM RUNNING WITHOUT DE-INSTALLING IT.

A large download usually means that you will not be doing anything during the download. This means that you won't be using your keyboard. Depending on your settings, your PC/laptop windows operating system will automatically start your screensaver after "x" minutes of no activity. These screensavers, and many other commercial screensavers take a large amount of CPU cycles when they are running. Normally, this causes no problems, since you aren't doing anything - which is why the screensaver started in the first place. But, if you will be doing a large download, then you probably should do the following:
Windows XP Windows 7  Windows 10
1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally found under SETTINGS on START menu).
2. Select DISPLAY.
3. Select SCREEN SAVER tab.
4. Change your screen saver to NONE (usually found at top of list). (Use the drop down button in the Screen saver box).
5. Click OK to apply and exit. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
  1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally on START menu).
2. Click APPEARANCE AND PERSONALIZATION.
3. Click CHANGE SCREENSAVER (found under PERSONALIZATION.
4. Change your screen saver to NONE (usually found at top of list). (Use the drop down button in the Screen saver box).
5. Click OK to apply and exit. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
  1. Click on SEARCH BAR at bottom left of screen (by big O)
2. Enter "change screen saver"
3. Click on "change screen saver - control panel"
4. Change your screen saver to NONE (usually found at top of list). (Use the drop down button in the Screen saver box).
5. Click OK to apply and exit. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
return to top



C. HOW TO CHANGE WHICH SCREENSAVER RUNS.

Most of us have more then one screensaver installed on our PC/laptop. It is very easy to change the "active" screensaver.
Windows XP Windows 7  Windows 10
1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally found under SETTINGS on START menu).
2. Select DISPLAY.
3. Select SCREEN SAVER tab.
4. Select another screensaver from the list.
(Use the drop down button in the Screen saver box).
5. Click OK to apply and exit. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
  1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally on START menu).
2. Click APPEARANCE AND PERSONALIZATION.
3. Click CHANGE SCREENSAVER (found under PERSONALIZATION.
4. Select another screensaver from the list. (Use the drop down button in the Screen saver box).
5. Click OK to apply and exit. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
  1. Click on SEARCH BAR at bottom left of screen (by big O)
2. Enter "change screen saver"
3. Click on "change screen saver - control panel"
4. Select another screensaver from the list. (Use the drop down button in the Screen saver box).
5. Click OK to apply and exit. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
return to top




D. HOW LONG WILL MY SCREENSAVER RUN?

Your screensaver will run until either you move your mouse or enter a key (I like to use the CTRL key), or your power settings shuts everything down.
return to top




E. DO SCREENSAVERS RUN ALL THE TIME?

No. Your screensaver only runs under either of two conditions. Either you manually started the screensaver, or your windows operating system started the screensaver for you. Your screensaver does not continually run in the background. Your windows operating system (Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, etc.) monitors your activity and starts the screensaver program running after "x" minutes of inactivity from you or when you manually start the screensaver.
return to top




F. HOW TO CHANGE THE NUMBER OF MINUTES OF INACTIVITY BEFORE A SCREENSAVER STARTS.

Windows XP Windows 7  Windows 10
1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally found under SETTINGS on START menu).
2. Select DISPLAY.
3. Select SCREEN SAVER tab.
4. Change the number shown in the WAIT box. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
  1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally on START menu).
2. Click APPEARANCE AND PERSONALIZATION.
3. Click CHANGE SCREENSAVER (found under PERSONALIZATION.
4. Change the number shown in the WAIT box. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
  1. Click on SEARCH BAR at bottom left of screen (by big O)
2. Enter "change screen saver"
3. Click on "change screen saver - control panel"
4. Change the number shown in the WAIT box. 5. Click OK to apply and exit. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
return to top



G. HOW TO MANUALLY START A SCREENSAVER.

Windows XP Windows 7  Windows 10
1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally found under SETTINGS on START menu).
2. Select DISPLAY.
3. Select SCREEN SAVER tab.
4. Select the PREVIEW button (or change the WAIT time to 1 minute and wait). If you use mouse, be careful not to move mouse afterward or screensaver will stop right away. (Besides using the mouse, you can use the TAB key to move the highlighted/box area to the PREVIEW button and then press the ENTER key.) When done viewing screensaver, just move your mouse. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
  1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally on START menu).
2. Click APPEARANCE AND PERSONALIZATION.
3. Click CHANGE SCREENSAVER (found under PERSONALIZATION.
4. Select the PREVIEW button (or change the WAIT time to 1 minute and wait). If you use mouse, be careful not to move mouse afterward or screensaver will stop right away. (Besides using the mouse, you can use the TAB key to move the highlighted/box area to the PREVIEW button and then press the ENTER key.) When done viewing screensaver, just move your mouse. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
  1. Click on SEARCH BAR at bottom left of screen (by big O)
2. Enter "change screen saver"
3. Click on "change screen saver - control panel"
4. Select the PREVIEW button (or change the WAIT time to 1 minute and wait). If you use mouse, be careful not to move mouse afterward or screensaver will stop right away. (Besides using the mouse, you can use the TAB key to move the highlighted/box area to the PREVIEW button and then press the ENTER key.) When done viewing screensaver, just move your mouse. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.

return to top




H. HOW TO START A SCREENSAVER FROM KEYBOARD.

WINDOWS XP
Here's a nifty way to manually start any screensaver. Open up your C: drive and right click on the WINDOWS folder. Look for SCR (screen saver) file types. (Don't see them: Click on ADVANCED OPTIONS and make sure that there is a check mark by Search system folders, Search hidden folders, and Search subfolders. Leave Case sensitive unchecked. Enter ".scr" in the filename. Click on Search. You will see a list of all your screensavers.) Right Click on one of them and select SEND TO, and choose "Desktop (make shortcut)". Presto, any time you want to see your screensaver run, you can simply double click the shortcut icon on your desktop.

Feeling lazy? Drag the shortcut to the task bar and now it will only take 1 click to activate it.

For those who want to take this one step further, right click on the desktop shortcut icon and select PROPERTIES and select the SHORTCUT tab. You can then set up a Shortcut key by moving your mouse to the Shortcut Key box. Click anywhere in the box and the press the CTRL key. You'll see "Ctrl + Alt +" appear. Now press any key (maybe the S for screensaver or G for go). Click OK and you're done. You can now press Ctrl+Alt+S and the screensaver will start. Instead of pressing the CTRL key you could press one of the F keys. Try pressing F7 and after you press APPLY the F7 key will start your screensaver. But keep in mind that many F keys serve other functions which will be lost once you reassign that F key to start your screensaver.
  WINDOWS 10
Open up your C: drive and select the WINDOWS folder. Look for SCR (screen saver) file types. Don't see them. Click on VIEW at top and make sure "File Name Extenstions" and "Hidden Files" are both checked. Right Click on the screensaver you want and select SEND TO, and choose "Desktop (make shortcut)". Presto, any time you want to see your screensaver run, you can simply double click the shortcut icon on your desktop.
return to top




I. THE PICTURES LOOK FUNNY ON MY MONITOR.

If the screensaver pictures look funny on your monitor, you might want to check the video settings for your monitor. Chances are, your current settings are set to something like "256 colors". I believe that your pictures look best when you video setting is "True Color", "High Color", "Highest(32 bit)" or something similar. These are "Color Quality" settings. There is a related setting called "Screen Resolution" or "Screen area". This affects how big the icons and fonts are displayed on your monitor. Sometimes, you cannot change the "Color Quality" without changing the "Screen Resolution". So, if you really want a higher color quality for better looking pictures, then you may have to go with bigger icons and fonts. (Interestingly, the smaller the screen resolution/area, the bigger the icons and fonts). Here is how to change your Color Quality setting:
Windows XP Windows 7& 10
1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally found under SETTINGS on START menu).
2. Select DISPLAY.
3. Select SETTINGS tab.
4. Change the setting shown in the Color Qulity box. The best settings for your monitor (in terms of picture quality) are the highest level settings. Click on the drop down box, and choose the bottom entry. It will be the highest level available for your monitor. (Actually, it will be the highest level available for your PC/operating system/ video card/monitor combination.
5. When you change your video settings, you may need to reboot your PC. If you are given a choice, select the option to apply the changes without rebooting. This will usually give you a chance to "preview" the new setting, and to accept or reject it based on how it looks. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
  Details pending.
return to top




J. HOW TO CHANGE HOW LONG/QUICK EACH PICTURE IS SHOWN.

Most of Bill's Northwest Screensavers allow you to choose how long each picture should be shown before it is replaced with the next picture. Here's how:
Windows XP Windows 7  Windows 10
1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally found under SETTINGS on START menu).
2. Select DISPLAY.
3. Select SCREEN SAVER tab.
4. Select the screensaver that you want to change from the list. (Use the drop down button in the Screen saver box).
5. Click the SETTINGS box.
6. Set the VIEW IMAGES FOR (SEC) input box to the desired time.
7. Click OK to apply and exit the settings dialog.
8. Click OK to apply and exit. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
  1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally on START menu).
2. Click APPEARANCE AND PERSONALIZATION.
3. Click CHANGE SCREENSAVER (found under PERSONALIZATION.
4. Select the screensaver that you want to change from the list. (Use the drop down button in the Screen saver box).
5. Click the SETTINGS box.
6. Set the VIEW IMAGES FOR (SEC) input box to the desired time.
7. Click OK to apply and exit the settings dialog.
8. Click OK to apply and exit. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
  1. Click on SEARCH BAR at bottom left of screen (by big O)
2. Enter "change screen saver"
3. Click on "change screen saver - control panel"
4. Select the screensaver that you want to change from the list. (Use the drop down button in the Screen saver box).
5. Click the SETTINGS box.
6. Set the VIEW IMAGES FOR (SEC) input box to the desired time.
7. Click OK to apply and exit the settings dialog.
8. Click OK to apply and exit. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
return to top




K. I WANT EACH IMAGE TO FILL THE ENTIRE SCREEN.

Many of Bill's Northwest Screensavers allow you to choose whether each image/photo should fill the entire screen (either the heigth or the width will be stretched); or whether each image/photo should fit the screen (normally this means there will be some black space on the right and left side of the image/photo). There is a third option: Normal Size, which is not recommended.
Windows XP Windows 7  Windows 10
1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally found under SETTINGS on START menu).
2. Select DISPLAY.
3. Select SCREEN SAVER tab.
4. Select the screensaver that you want to change from the list. (Use the drop down button in the Screen saver box).
5. Click the SETTINGS box.
6. Set the VIEW IMAGES input box to "Full Screen" or "Fit to Screen".
7. Click OK to apply and exit the settings dialog.
8. Click OK to apply and exit. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
  1. Start CONTROL PANEL (generally on START menu).
2. Click APPEARANCE AND PERSONALIZATION.
3. Click CHANGE SCREENSAVER (found under PERSONALIZATION.
4. Select the screensaver that you want to change from the list. (Use the drop down button in the Screen saver box).
5. Click the SETTINGS box.
6. Set the VIEW IMAGES input box to "Full Screen" or "Fit to Screen".
7. Click OK to apply and exit the settings dialog.
8. Click OK to apply and exit. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
  1. Click on SEARCH BAR at bottom left of screen (by big O)
2. Enter "change screen saver"
3. Click on "change screen saver - control panel"
4. Select the screensaver that you want to change from the list. (Use the drop down button in the Screen saver box).
5. Click the SETTINGS box.
6. Set the VIEW IMAGES input box to "Full Screen" or "Fit to Screen".
7. Click OK to apply and exit the settings dialog.
8. Click OK to apply and exit. It is very important to exit this window when you are finished.
return to top




L. I WANT A SLIDESHOW ON MY DESKTOP.

Windows 7 gives you this ability. Windows XP does not. Bill's screensavers do not provide this ability.
But you can select your own pictures to do this. The fun thing about this (in Windows 7) is that while the background is constantly changing, your icons are all still there waiting for you to click on thm.
Windows XP Windows 7  Windows 10
Not available in XP.   1. Right click your mouse in an empty area of your desktop.
2. Select PERSONALIZE.
3. Select DESKTOP BACKGROUND.
4. Use BROWSE to find the folder containing the pictures you want to see.
Click to select multiple photos to be included.
  Pending...
return to top




M. IS THERE A SHORT CUT FOR STARTING THE SCREEN SAVERS WINDOW?

Yes. Send $100,000 to me to learn how. Just kidding.
Windows XP Windows 7  Windows 10
1. Right click your mouse in an empty area of your desktop.
2. Select PROPERTIES.
3. Select SCREEN SAVER tab.
  1. Right click your mouse in an empty area of your desktop.
2. Select PERSONALIZE.
3. Select SCREEN SAVER.
  1. Right click your mouse in an empty area of your desktop.
2. Select DISPLAY SETTINGS.
3. Type "Screen Saver" into search bar.


Alt Approach
1. Right click your mouse in an empty area of your desktop.
2. Select PERSONALIZE
3. Select LOCK SCREEN from left side
4. Scroll down and Select "Screen Saver Settings"
return to top


 



Privacy Statement