Screen Saver stops every so often

Kent · 09-07-2003, 01:41 PM

Every so often the Marine Aquarium Ver2 screen saver stops for a fraction of a second. Is this normal? I have nothing else running or open on my computer.

Tiny Turtle · 09-07-2003, 02:02 PM

Nope, that's not normal. What OS are you running?

/Tiny Troubleshooting

Jav400 · 09-07-2003, 02:16 PM

We need to know more than that. What OS are you running, what video card do you have, and which drivers are you running?

Kent · 09-07-2003, 02:35 PM

Thanks for the quick help. I love screen savers, but the Marine Aquarium Ver2 is the very best by far I've seen, and the only one I am using as my screen saver.

My video card was changed 16 months ago by Gateway so I will have to find out which card and drivers I have. I noticed under settings that my Limit-Frame-Rate (fps) box was checked and set at 62 would this cause it to stop every so often. I left the box unchecked.

And If I have suggestions about the screen saver do I post my ideas or e-mail SereneScreen.com

Thanks,

Kent

Jav400 · 09-07-2003, 02:45 PM

Well first off, Welcome to the forum.

If you want, you are welcome to come into the chatroom and I will be glad to help you find out what you have without waiting for them. The limit frame rate is there to help keep cpu utilization from running at 100% all the time, I don't think it is what's causing your problem. Most problems are caused by the video card drivers, and thats changable.

As far as suggestions go, post them on the wishlist thread. You can find it listed in the threads or by clicking the wishlist box at the top of the page in the header.

feldon34 · 09-07-2003, 05:12 PM

Kent said:
I noticed under settings that my Limit-Frame-Rate (fps) box was checked and set at 62 would this cause it to stop every so often. I left the box unchecked.

Set it to 58. Setting it to "62" is pointless. I've been trying to prod Prolific to change this to 58 but no dice.

Also, do you have Norton Anti-Virus on your PC?

Kent · 09-07-2003, 07:31 PM

I did not reload the Norton anti virus software when I reloaded windows last May.

What is Prolific?

Jav400 · 09-07-2003, 07:34 PM

Prolific is the publishing company that has produced the CD version for Jim. They also have some of their own screensavers, and we cover information about them here on the forum.

Jim Sachs · 09-07-2003, 09:53 PM

Kent -

When you say that the Aquarium stops "every so often", could you be a little more specific? Is the time between pauses random or regular? Is it the old 1-second interval caused by networks? Is it fixed by pressing the "s" key?

Kent · 09-08-2003, 12:12 PM

It was pausing for a fraction of a second every few minutes. I set the fcs at 58 and pressed the S key. I will check later to see if it pauses and if it is a regular or a random pause. It is a home computer not on a network.

Thanks

Steven J Lowe · 09-20-2003, 08:16 AM

Mine does exatly the same! What does pushing the s key do? I am running xp home, xp2000 cpu, 128mb Radion 9000 card, 512mb memmory, 2x80gb hdd. I have set the fps to 58. Any ideas??

Jim Sachs · 09-20-2003, 10:16 AM

There are some programs and drivers which stop everything to do their housekeeping at regular intervals. Network software is especially known for causing a brief pause at 1-second intervals.

For some unknown reason, having a program print text on the screen sometimes causes everything to smooth out. So when you press the "s" key and the Aquarium prints the statistics in the upper left corner of the screen, all the text drivers are loaded and the internal configurations and priorities are changed (maybe).

Steven J Lowe · 09-20-2003, 10:23 AM

Thanks Jim, Do you think my video card is up to this screensaver?

Steve Lowe

Jim Sachs · 09-20-2003, 11:36 AM

That card should have 10 times the power needed for the Aquarium.

Kent · 09-20-2003, 05:02 PM

Jim, so far the SS is running smoothly without hitting the "S" key, but if it does slow down again and hitting the "S" key resolves this problem maybe, adding a default to a newer version that when the Screen Saver fist comes on it activates the drivers (like hitting the "S" key long enough to load the other drivers and then shuting off. Unless the "S" key (drivers) have to stay activared even after the drivers have been loaded.

feldon34 · 09-20-2003, 07:21 PM

Press Ctrl-S once and then press the SPACE Bar twice. You'll need to turn off 'Exit on Mouse Move' temporarily to do this.

This will likely resolve your problem.

Jim Sachs · 09-21-2003, 02:14 AM

Kent - the instructions Morgan just gave you are for the exact question you asked, but since the program is running smoothly without text on the screen, don't do it. When you asked if the printing has to be actually taking place for the system to use the font routines -- the answer is yes. So, for those few people who were experiening jerkyness EXCEPT when the text was on the screen, I added the ctrl-s function, which prints a blank character on the screen. (Pressing the SPACE bar twice saves this setting to the registry.)

But if you don't need it, then don't use it. Any printing slows down the program. People don't know it, because the only time they can see the frame rate is when the statistics are displayed. Kind of a Heisenberg Uncertainty Prinicple thing --- looking at it changes it.

09-07-2003, 01:41 PM	#1
Kent Registered Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Providence, RI Posts: 21	Screen Saver stops every so often Every so often the Marine Aquarium Ver2 screen saver stops for a fraction of a second. Is this normal? I have nothing else running or open on my computer.

09-07-2003, 02:02 PM	#2
Tiny Turtle is pleased Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 7,365	Nope, that's not normal. What OS are you running? /Tiny Troubleshooting Thanks to Morgan, Tiny Snapshots is up and running again with "Tiny Järvafält" as the latest addition – Go have a look and tell me what you think. "We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another." /Robert Oppenheimer on witnessing the first thermonuclear detonation in history.

09-07-2003, 02:16 PM	#3
Jav400 Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9,725	We need to know more than that. What OS are you running, what video card do you have, and which drivers are you running? Michael Administrator of Inside:SereneScreen Aquarium Forum, Chatroom, Fan Site & *Gallery* DVD Collection

09-07-2003, 02:45 PM	#5
Jav400 Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9,725	Well first off, Welcome to the forum. If you want, you are welcome to come into the chatroom and I will be glad to help you find out what you have without waiting for them. The limit frame rate is there to help keep cpu utilization from running at 100% all the time, I don't think it is what's causing your problem. Most problems are caused by the video card drivers, and thats changable. As far as suggestions go, post them on the wishlist thread. You can find it listed in the threads or by clicking the wishlist box at the top of the page in the header. Michael Administrator of Inside:SereneScreen Aquarium Forum, Chatroom, Fan Site & *Gallery* DVD Collection

09-07-2003, 05:12 PM	#6
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,938	Kent said: I noticed under settings that my Limit-Frame-Rate (fps) box was checked and set at 62 would this cause it to stop every so often. I left the box unchecked. Set it to 58. Setting it to "62" is pointless. I've been trying to prod Prolific to change this to 58 but no dice. Also, do you have Norton Anti-Virus on your PC? "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

09-07-2003, 02:35 PM	#4
Kent Registered Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Providence, RI Posts: 21	Thanks for the quick help. I love screen savers, but the Marine Aquarium Ver2 is the very best by far I've seen, and the only one I am using as my screen saver. My video card was changed 16 months ago by Gateway so I will have to find out which card and drivers I have. I noticed under settings that my Limit-Frame-Rate (fps) box was checked and set at 62 would this cause it to stop every so often. I left the box unchecked. And If I have suggestions about the screen saver do I post my ideas or e-mail SereneScreen.com Thanks, Kent

09-07-2003, 07:31 PM	#7
Kent Registered Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Providence, RI Posts: 21	I did not reload the Norton anti virus software when I reloaded windows last May. What is Prolific?

09-07-2003, 07:34 PM	#8
Jav400 Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9,725	Prolific is the publishing company that has produced the CD version for Jim. They also have some of their own screensavers, and we cover information about them here on the forum. Michael Administrator of Inside:SereneScreen Aquarium Forum, Chatroom, Fan Site & *Gallery* DVD Collection

09-07-2003, 09:53 PM	#9
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,774	Kent - When you say that the Aquarium stops "every so often", could you be a little more specific? Is the time between pauses random or regular? Is it the old 1-second interval caused by networks? Is it fixed by pressing the "s" key? Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

09-08-2003, 12:12 PM	#10
Kent Registered Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Providence, RI Posts: 21	It was pausing for a fraction of a second every few minutes. I set the fcs at 58 and pressed the S key. I will check later to see if it pauses and if it is a regular or a random pause. It is a home computer not on a network. Thanks

09-20-2003, 08:16 AM	#11
Steven J Lowe Blue Angel Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: UK Posts: 45	Mine does exatly the same! What does pushing the s key do? I am running xp home, xp2000 cpu, 128mb Radion 9000 card, 512mb memmory, 2x80gb hdd. I have set the fps to 58. Any ideas?? Steven J Lowe

09-20-2003, 10:16 AM	#12
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,774	There are some programs and drivers which stop everything to do their housekeeping at regular intervals. Network software is especially known for causing a brief pause at 1-second intervals. For some unknown reason, having a program print text on the screen sometimes causes everything to smooth out. So when you press the "s" key and the Aquarium prints the statistics in the upper left corner of the screen, all the text drivers are loaded and the internal configurations and priorities are changed (maybe). Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium Last edited by Jim Sachs; 09-20-2003 at 11:38 AM.

09-20-2003, 10:23 AM	#13
Steven J Lowe Blue Angel Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: UK Posts: 45	Thanks Jim, Do you think my video card is up to this screensaver? Steve Lowe Steven J Lowe

09-20-2003, 11:36 AM	#14
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,774	That card should have 10 times the power needed for the Aquarium. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

09-20-2003, 05:02 PM	#15
Kent Registered Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Providence, RI Posts: 21	Jim, so far the SS is running smoothly without hitting the "S" key, but if it does slow down again and hitting the "S" key resolves this problem maybe, adding a default to a newer version that when the Screen Saver fist comes on it activates the drivers (like hitting the "S" key long enough to load the other drivers and then shuting off. Unless the "S" key (drivers) have to stay activared even after the drivers have been loaded.

09-20-2003, 07:21 PM	#16
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,938	Press Ctrl-S once and then press the SPACE Bar twice. You'll need to turn off 'Exit on Mouse Move' temporarily to do this. This will likely resolve your problem. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

09-21-2003, 02:14 AM	#17
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,774	Kent - the instructions Morgan just gave you are for the exact question you asked, but since the program is running smoothly without text on the screen, don't do it. When you asked if the printing has to be actually taking place for the system to use the font routines -- the answer is yes. So, for those few people who were experiening jerkyness EXCEPT when the text was on the screen, I added the ctrl-s function, which prints a blank character on the screen. (Pressing the SPACE bar twice saves this setting to the registry.) But if you don't need it, then don't use it. Any printing slows down the program. People don't know it, because the only time they can see the frame rate is when the statistics are displayed. Kind of a Heisenberg Uncertainty Prinicple thing --- looking at it changes it. Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium