I installed BOINC yesterday and can see in BOINC manager that the projects are running. I read the existing instructions on setting up the screensaver and all I get is a blank screen.

This is the procedure I followed:

1. Control Panel > Scrensaver Settings > Choose "BOINC" screensaver
2. BOINC Screensaver Configuration
* Blank screen after: "Never"
* Run BOINC screensaver for: "1 hr"
* Run project screensavers for: "1 hr"
* Switch between project screensavers every: "5"

I always lock my screen (Win+L) and after 5 minutes the screensaver is supposed to trigger. Except... blank screen.

I followed the instructions as written, so I suspect either hardware or software compatibility. I listed my specs in case anything in the list is incompatible with the screensaver.

Is there any tweak I can make to my settings or will the screensaver simply not work on my system?

• OS: Windows 10 Pro
  
• Version: 10.0.16299 Build 16299
  
• Processor: Intel Core i5-6600 CPU @ 3.30GHz, 3301 MHz, 4 cores, 4 logical processors
  
• Installed Physical Memory: 16 GB
  
• Display Adaptor: Radeon RX480
  

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Henry Wyckoff

Which projects do you run, and is this on the CPU or GPU or both?

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Which projects do you run, and is this on the CPU or GPU or both?

I am running only SETI@home and Rosetta@home.

As for whether it is on CPU, GPU, or both, I do not know how to determine that for sure. I looked in the event log and saw two separate lines that make me suspect both are used: "Requesting new tasks for CPU" and "Requesting new tasks for AMD/ATI GPU".

I looked under computing preferences and saw nothing to dictate whether to use CPU or GPU exclusively. When I installed BOINC, I used the default settings and didn't configure anything.

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Henry Wyckoff

I tested this with both BOINC and Windows built-in screensavers and at least on Anniversary Update lock screen simply doesn't show screensavers.

Screensavers work fine if you just leave the computer idle without switching to lock screen yourself.

I tested this with both BOINC and Windows built-in screensavers and at least on Anniversary Update lock screen simply doesn't show screensavers.

Screensavers work fine if you just leave the computer idle without switching to lock screen yourself.

I was able to replicate that. However, I need to manually lock my computer every time I step away because of others with no impulse control. They will gladly use my profile if I step away for even a second and the screensaver hasn't kicked in yet.

In other words, having the BOINC screensaver activate when the screen is manually locked would be a good feature to have.

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Henry Wyckoff

Some more googling and it's actually the lock screen that by default blanks screen after 1 minute. You can change that by following the steps in this article.

The plot thickens. I now see Rosetta screensaver, but when it's time to switch to SETI screensaver, I get blank screen.

I checked the settings and it appears that SETI uses my GPU, whereas Rosetta uses the CPU.

If SETI uses the GPU, does that mean the screensaver won't work? Would I have to force CPU to be used instead? Actually, I don't know how to do that. I've Googled it, but I haven't found anything obvious yet.

Oh, for the days of Windows 95, when the SETI Screensaver worked out of the box...

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Henry Wyckoff

Seti's screen saver/graphics only work on CPU tasks. Their GPU science applications don't come with a graphics application.

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It looks like you're right. Graphics is greyed out. Is there a way to request CPU jobs only, or is SETI GPU only nowadays?

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Henry Wyckoff