Sometimes there are flying toasters...

February 26, 2008 1:03 AM

Help me get rid of this stupid screensaver!

I am running xubuntu on my old laptop and it has a password-protected screensaver installed (Xscreensaver 4.24) that drives me insane. It comes on even if I just half-way close the laptop to move it somewhere else in the house and sometimes it takes FOREVER to get back to the desktop. The laptop never leaves my house so I could care less about password-protection and besides this thing is just plain ugly. I know next to nothing about Linux, whenever I want something changed or fixed I just beg someone more knowledgeable among my geeky friends and family, but none of them are around at the moment (and one of them who had a look at this before gave up after about five minutes). So please help! (and as for my level of linux knowledge, I know how to open the terminal and shut down a program if it's hanging up. And that's it.)

posted by Wroksie to computers & internet (4 comments total)

I use vanilla Ubuntu, not xubuntu, but a quick google for xubuntu turn-off screensaver brings up a thread from ubuntuforums, which confirms that the best thing is to uninstall xscreensaver.

You need to go to System>>Administration>>Synaptic Package Manager (screenshot), search for xscreensaver, unselect it and apply. This page is mostly about installing, but includes info about uninstalling as well.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 1:22 AM on February 26

Oh, yes and as it says in the ubuntuforums thread, don't worry if it tells you that you have to uninstall xubuntu-desktop as well as xscreensaver. That doesn't mean you will lose your desktop, just that xubuntu-desktop is not 'complete' without xscreensaver.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 1:25 AM on February 26

Thanks! Worked like a charm - no more toasters or kaleidoscope shapes or spinning marquees of the time and date! Amazing how the little things can make life so much better.
posted by Wroksie at 1:32 AM on February 26

running xscreensaver-demo allows you to configure it -- you can get it to go into blank screen only mode, disable password protection, change the time before it kicks in etc.
posted by tallus at 8:01 AM on February 26