MGA9, Xfce4, xscreensaver: energy manag. broken

[Markus Robert Kessler]

Hello all,

after upgrading to MGA9 my HP 24" monitor is no longer switched off
automatically after a certain time.
I have set xscreensaver as the default screensaver,
in xfce4 "Application autostart" Power manag. is set to start on login,
in xfce4 power manager, "Display power management" is set to "switch off
after" 15 min.
If I wait for that time and don't touch anything, the monitor still shows
xscreensaver's pictures.

Anyone have a solution, or know how to test in detail?

Thanks!

Best regards,

Markus

[David W. Hodgins]

Post by Markus Robert Kessler
Hello all,
after upgrading to MGA9 my HP 24" monitor is no longer switched off
automatically after a certain time.
I have set xscreensaver as the default screensaver,
in xfce4 "Application autostart" Power manag. is set to start on login,
in xfce4 power manager, "Display power management" is set to "switch off
after" 15 min.
If I wait for that time and don't touch anything, the monitor still shows
xscreensaver's pictures.
Anyone have a solution, or know how to test in detail?
Thanks!
Best regards,
Markus

You can use "xset q" to see the current screen saver and dpms settings, rather then
waiting to test them.

The xscreensaver program overrides desktop environment settings using
/etc/X11/app-defaults/XScreenSaver. Uninstall xscreensaver-common and xscreensaver
and chbg, if you're not going to be using xscreensaver, or change the settings,
settings. Reboot (likely logout/in would be enough) after changing the settings or
uninstalling the packages.

The xscreensaver package is primarily meant for use on desktop environments that do
not include a screen saver or power management feature, though it can be used in
other desktops.

I find it's easier to use a script rather then dig through the settings of each
desktop environment. In my case, I normally do not want any screen saver or
blanking.

I have two scripts ...
[***@x3 ~]$ cat ~/.config/autostart-scripts/noblank
#!/bin/bash
/home/dave/bin/noblank &

[***@x3 ~]$ cat ~/bin/noblank
#!/bin/bash
sleep 60
xset s 0 0
xset s noblank
xset s off
xset dpms 0 0 0
xset -dpms

The sleep 60 allows the desktop to set things as it's configured, and then the
script overrides them. By having the first script start the second in the
background, the second script doesn't hold up starting the desktop.
See "man xset" for the various configuration options available.

I haven't looked into how to do this if you're using wayland instead of xorg.

Regards, Dave Hodgins

[Markus Robert Kessler]

Post by Markus Robert Kessler
Hello all,
after upgrading to MGA9 my HP 24" monitor is no longer switched off
automatically after a certain time.
I have set xscreensaver as the default screensaver,
in xfce4 "Application autostart" Power manag. is set to start on login,
in xfce4 power manager, "Display power management" is set to "switch off
after" 15 min.
If I wait for that time and don't touch anything, the monitor still
shows xscreensaver's pictures.

In MGA9 there are many things messed up. What I've found out is, for
instance, that xfce's energy settings do not take effect at all, though
they look like coworking with xscreensaver's settings, and xscreensaver
"forgets" its settings, so that every checked box is unchecked after
leaving and reentering. So, it's never clear what xscreensaver does. After
opening the settings form and reading the values, they should be displayed
correctly, as it was in former versions.

Markus

[Daniel65]

On Tue, 26 Sep 2023 05:13:32 -0000 (UTC) Markus Robert Kessler

Post by Markus Robert Kessler
Hello all,
after upgrading to MGA9 my HP 24" monitor is no longer switched
off automatically after a certain time. I have set xscreensaver as
the default screensaver, in xfce4 "Application autostart" Power
manag. is set to start on login, in xfce4 power manager, "Display
power management" is set to "switch off after" 15 min. If I wait
for that time and don't touch anything, the monitor still shows
xscreensaver's pictures.

In MGA9 there are many things messed up. What I've found out is, for
instance, that xfce's energy settings do not take effect at all,
though they look like coworking with xscreensaver's settings, and
xscreensaver "forgets" its settings, so that every checked box is
unchecked after leaving and reentering. So, it's never clear what
xscreensaver does. After opening the settings form and reading the
values, they should be displayed correctly, as it was in former
versions.
Markus

Hmm!! "so that every checked box is unchecked after leaving and
reentering" .... Could it be the preferences file is set to "Read Only"??

[Markus Robert Kessler]

Post by Daniel65

Post by Markus Robert Kessler

Post by Markus Robert Kessler
Hello all,
after upgrading to MGA9 my HP 24" monitor is no longer switched off
automatically after a certain time. I have set xscreensaver as the
default screensaver, in xfce4 "Application autostart" Power manag. is
set to start on login, in xfce4 power manager, "Display power
management" is set to "switch off after" 15 min. If I wait for that
time and don't touch anything, the monitor still shows xscreensaver's
pictures.

In MGA9 there are many things messed up. What I've found out is, for
instance, that xfce's energy settings do not take effect at all, though
they look like coworking with xscreensaver's settings, and xscreensaver
"forgets" its settings, so that every checked box is unchecked after
leaving and reentering. So, it's never clear what xscreensaver does.
After opening the settings form and reading the values, they should be
displayed correctly, as it was in former versions.
Markus

Hmm!! "so that every checked box is unchecked after leaving and
reentering" .... Could it be the preferences file is set to "Read Only"??

Hi, good point, thanks!
Unfortunately, that seems not to be the "root cause" -- I tested with a
newly created user and empty home space and the same occurred.

Best regards,
Markus