Policy
Screen saver timeout
Microsoft Windows
Policy overview
Key metadata and intent for this policy.
Supported OS tags: Windows10, Windows10RT, Windows11, Windows2000, Windows7, Windows8, Windows81, WindowsRT, WindowsRT81, WindowsServer2003, WindowsServer2008, WindowsServer2012, WindowsServer2012R2, WindowsServer2016, WindowsVista, WindowsXP
Specifies how much user idle time must elapse before the screen saver is launched. When configured, this idle time can be set from a minimum of 1 second to a maximum of 86,400 seconds, or 24 hours. If set to zero, the screen saver will not be started. This setting has no effect under any of the following circumstances: - The setting is disabled or not configured. - The wait time is set to zero. - The "Enable Screen Saver" setting is disabled. - Neither the "Screen saver executable name" setting nor the Screen Saver dialog of the client computer's Personalization or Display Control Panel specifies a valid existing screen saver program on the client. When not configured, whatever wait time is set on the client through the Screen Saver dialog in the Personalization or Display Control Panel is used. The default is 15 minutes.
Registry values
How enabled and disabled states update the registry.
No explicit registry values are set for enabled or disabled states.
Policy elements
Inputs and configuration options exposed by this policy.
| Scope | Element | Type | Registry mapping | Constraints & behavior | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| User | Seconds: ID ScreenSaverTimeOutFreqSpin | decimal | Path Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop Value name ScreenSaveTimeOut Type REG_DWORD | Range: ? to 599940 |