Accidentally deactivated screensaver with terminal

[raevynn]

Hello,

I've had my MBP for about a month now. Yesterday I tried some with terminal, and I think while I was trying to set my (word of the day) screensaver as the desktop background, I might have accidentally deactivated it. All I know is that since today the Screensaver isn't activated anymore after the usual 5 minutes. The display just goes to sleep after about 15 minutes.

I tried to change the System Settings for the screensaver, but that doesn't help either. It's still set for the screensaver to start after 5 minutes, but it doesn't start. How can I activate it again?

 

[misterredman]

Hello,

I've had my MBP for about a month now. Yesterday I tried some with terminal, and I think while I was trying to set my (word of the day) screensaver as the desktop background, I might have accidentally deactivated it. All I know is that since today the Screensaver isn't activated anymore after the usual 5 minutes. The display just goes to sleep after about 15 minutes.

I tried to change the System Settings for the screensaver, but that doesn't help either. It's still set for the screensaver to start after 5 minutes, but it doesn't start. How can I activate it again?

It would be useful to know what you typed in the terminal.

 

[raevynn]

It would be useful to know what you typed in the terminal.

This, a few times because of some typos:

/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine -background

 

[misterredman]

This, a few times because of some typos:

/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine -background

That command only start the screensaver, so it shouldn't really be a problem. I tried it now on my macbook and it works fine. After clicking control c to terminate the program in the terminal the desktop goes back to normal and the screesaver startup automatically as expected (setting in the pref panel).

A stupid question. have you tried restarting the mac? Also try to use one of the standard screensavers that came with the OS, to be sure it's not an issue with the one you are using.

 

[raevynn]

Oh I forgot to mention that it didn't actually work. The screensaver wasn't on my desktop after I typed that command, so I tried a few more times and then just abandoned the idea.

I've tried changing the screensaver to other ones, which didn't work either. The "word of the day" screensaver I'm using is one of the Standard ones that come with Leopard...

 

[merl1n]

Oh I forgot to mention that it didn't actually work. The screensaver wasn't on my desktop after I typed that command, so I tried a few more times and then just abandoned the idea.

I've tried changing the screensaver to other ones, which didn't work either. The "word of the day" screensaver I'm using is one of the Standard ones that come with Leopard...

Try deleting the plist file(s) in your home directory:

~usr/Library/Preferences/com.apple.ScreenSaver.Engine.plist
~usr/Library/Preferences/com.apple.desktopscreensaver.<name of screensaver>.plist

Then reboot and try setting your screensaver in System Prefs.

 

[merl1n]

Try deleting the plist file(s) in your home directory:

~usr/Library/Preferences/com.apple.ScreenSaver.Engine.plist
~usr/Library/Preferences/com.apple.desktopscreensaver.<name of screensaver>.plist

Then reboot and try setting your screensaver in System Prefs.

Sorry there is a typo in the paths I specified from my previous post:

~usr should be ~user in both lines.

 

[Consultant]

There is a Widget that does what you want to do. No need for terminal.

Just go to the Apple Widget page and search.

 

[raevynn]

I solved the problem by restarting - no idea what really went wrong. I guess I should restart my MBP more often...

 

[misterredman]

I am glad it worked!

 

[JNB]

Unix Rule #1: Do not type ANYTHING in Terminal if you don' t know exactly what the result is. You can easily thrash a lot more than a screensaver there.

Unix Rule #2: Nothing is ever by accident. Ever.

Unix Rule #3 (The Elevator Button Rule): If, after entering a command, nothing happens, re-entering it will not convince the system that you're really serious.

Unix Rule #3a: Typos should be avoided, as it still may mean something (see rule #1). Ctrl-C is your friend.

 

[merl1n]

Unix Rule #1: Do not type ANYTHING in Terminal if you don' t know exactly what the result is. You can easily thrash a lot more than a screensaver there.

Unix Rule #2: Nothing is ever by accident. Ever.

Unix Rule #3 (The Elevator Button Rule): If, after entering a command, nothing happens, re-entering it will not convince the system that you're really serious.

Unix Rule #3a: Typos should be avoided, as it still may mean something (see rule #1). Ctrl-C is your friend.

Rule 4: Unix is "case sensitive" meaning you can inadvertently type a command flag in the wrong case (upper and lower case have different meanings) and do some serious damage.

Rule 5: If you don't know what you are doing, DON'T DO IT!