silently install screensaver
Ferry
how can i install a screensaver.scr ?
Have I only to copy it in the %systemroot%\system32 directory?
I've read somewhere that's not enough and that it had to be used
rundll32.exe desk.cpl,InstallScreenSaver <SCREENSAVER.SCR>
... i've tried this in win2000 and in XP but did not work :(
it opens the tab screensaver in screen properties and nothing else happens
:((
Do you have some useful solutions? :))
Ted Davis
Change the registry entry
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\SCRNSAVE.EXE
to the fully qualified filespec of the screen saver to be used. There are
three other nearby fields that influence screen saver behavior.
--
T.E.D. (tda...@mst.edu) MST (Missouri University of Science and Technology)
used to be UMR (University of Missouri - Rolla).
.
Esra Sdrawkcab
> On Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:37:20 +0200, Ferry wrote:
>
>> hallo!
>>
>> how can i install a screensaver.scr ?
>>
>> Have I only to copy it in the %systemroot%\system32 directory? I've read
>> somewhere that's not enough and that it had to be used rundll32.exe
>> desk.cpl,InstallScreenSaver <SCREENSAVER.SCR>
>>
>> ... i've tried this in win2000 and in XP but did not work :( it opens
>> the tab screensaver in screen properties and nothing else happens :((
>>
>> Do you have some useful solutions? :))
>
> Change the registry entry
>
> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\SCRNSAVE.EXE
>
> to the fully qualified filespec of the screen saver to be used. There are
> three other nearby fields that influence screen saver behavior.
>
screensaver in configure or save mode with a parameter of /c or /s
respectively.
Doesn't seem to work these days (XP)
foxidrive
>how can i install a screensaver.scr ?
>
>Have I only to copy it in the %systemroot%\system32 directory?
>I've read somewhere that's not enough and that it had to be used
>rundll32.exe desk.cpl,InstallScreenSaver <SCREENSAVER.SCR>
I think just copying it will allow it to appear in the list of availabale
screensavers. Just try it.
Here's a random screensaver batch file I wrote some years back:
@echo off
:: Start a random screensaver
if "%1"=="!" "Blank Screen.scr" /s & goto :EOF
set /a count=0
echo dummy>"%temp%.\scrnsaver.tmp"
for /f "delims=" %%a in (
'dir "%systemroot%\*.scr" /s /b ^|find /i /v ".script"'
) do echo %%a>>"%temp%.\scrnsaver.tmp"&set /a count+=1
ping -n 1 -w %random% 127.0.0.1 >nul
ping -n 1 -w %random% 127.0.0.1 >nul
ping -n 1 -w %random% 127.0.0.1 >nul
ping -n 1 -w %random% 127.0.0.1 >nul
ping -n 1 -w %random% 127.0.0.1 >nul
set /a ssnum=1+(%random% %% %count%)
if %ssnum% GEQ %count% %0
for /f "skip=%ssnum% delims=" %%a in (
'type "%temp%.\scrnsaver.tmp"') do (
if /i "%%~nxa"=="Blank Screen.scr" %0
if /i "%%~nxa"=="scrnsave.scr" %0
start "" "%%a" /s
del "%temp%.\scrnsaver.tmp"
goto :EOF
)
Todd Vargo
Why did you use 5 ping commands?
Also, not all .scr files are guaranteed to be screensavers on every system.
--
Todd Vargo
(Post questions to group only. Remove "z" to email personal messages)
foxidrive
wrote:
I believe it was to get millisecond delays Todd, then one wasn't enough so
I tacked some more on. :) I can see now that each one will reply in less
than 1 millisecond because the IP address is going to respond - not sure I
saw that originally. I think the delay is there to allow the %random%
variable to increment instead of returning the same number all the time,
when run in quick succession.
>Also, not all .scr files are guaranteed to be screensavers on every system.
In the system32 folder? The code above filters out .script files so I must
have had that which matched the filespec.
Another gotcha is that not all the screensavers are in the system32 folder.
I moved all mine there to get around that.
Ferry
parameters work (open in configure mode, test= execute) but i didn't know
how to install
Ferry
> Also, not all .scr files are guaranteed to be screensavers on every
> system.
but i know what .SCR I'm going to run , and this *is* a screensaver.
my problem is how to set it as "installed" and... why not, set it as the
default screensaver :-)
that would be great :)
Ted Davis
> parameters work (open in configure mode, test= execute) but i didn't know
> how to install
Put in in %SystemRoot%\System32\ with the others.
ebloch
- Right click on desktop, select properties, screen saver, and select the
one you moved.
There is no "install"
Eric
"Ferry" <so...@nomail.invalid> wrote in message
news:48b9d7c9$0$1073$4faf...@reader2.news.tin.it...
Todd Vargo
"Ferry" <so...@nomail.invalid> wrote in message
news:48b9d7c9$0$1073$4faf...@reader2.news.tin.it...
It would be great if people would use a search engine to locate information
before asking a FAQ.
Ferry
> - Move it to folder with other screen savers.
> - Right click on desktop, select properties, screen saver, and select
> the one you moved.
>
> There is no "install"
there is no... ?
and what about all those referencies to "rundll32.exe
desk.cpl,InstallScreenSaver " ?
I mean i searched and tried, but it seem not to work properly everywhere.
and about "click" ... what's this? ;) this is a NG about commandline ,
isn't it?
Ferry
> On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:26:07 +0200, Ferry wrote:
>
>> parameters work (open in configure mode, test= execute) but i didn't
>> know how to install
>
> Put in in %SystemRoot%\System32\ with the others.
and this is OK for all the system? no need for other settings?
Ferry
> "Ferry" <so...@nomail.invalid> wrote in message
> news:48b9d7c9$0$1073$4faf...@reader2.news.tin.it...
>> Todd Vargo wrote:
>>
>>> Also, not all .scr files are guaranteed to be screensavers on every
>>> system.
>>
>> but i know what .SCR I'm going to run , and this *is* a screensaver.
>> my problem is how to set it as "installed" and... why not, set it as
>> the default screensaver :-)
>>
>> that would be great :)
>
> It would be great if people would use a search engine to locate
> information before asking a FAQ.
Mister Todd, where is this that FAQ entry? i googled around, found that i
can use "rundll32.exe desk.cpl,InstallScreenSaver [screensavername.scr] and
tried it.
and failed.
so, sorry if i write badly or i am unpleasant for some reason I ignore, but
I searched.
are there other solutions, or suggestions?
Folks, what happened to newsgroups? I thought in a NG with this topic people
was polite, kind and so on...
I know that i don't write very well in english, but it seems to me that i've
been frank and clear, kind and obedient to the NG rules.
If i'd know everything, i wouldn't ask.
Todd Vargo
> Mister Todd, where is this that FAQ entry? i googled around, found that i
> can use "rundll32.exe desk.cpl,InstallScreenSaver [screensavername.scr]
and
> tried it.
> and failed.
> so, sorry if i write badly or i am unpleasant for some reason I ignore,
but
> I searched.
>
> are there other solutions, or suggestions?
>
> Folks, what happened to newsgroups? I thought in a NG with this topic
people
> was polite, kind and so on...
> I know that i don't write very well in english, but it seems to me that
i've
> been frank and clear, kind and obedient to the NG rules.
>
> If i'd know everything, i wouldn't ask.
First of all, a FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) does not imply solutions are
listed in any repository of Frequently Answered Questions.
Second, if the method you posted was the only solution you found and tried
then you need to do more research. There is more than one way to poke your
screensaver path to into the registry.
Third, "tried it and failed" is a very uninformative statement. The rundll32
method works for me in both Win98 as well as XP. What actually occurs on
your system, only you can tell us. Be specific.
Desktop applet opened but did it change the screensaver or not?
Any error messages?
Are you expecting the applet to go away silently?
Where do you have the SS located?
Have you tried using the registry method Ted suggested?
Ted Davis
It is supposed to work with all on-topic versions, but nothing is certain
with Windows. Putting the file in the System32 directory makes it
available and causes it to appear on the screensaver selection list; what
you do with it from there is up to you - you can manually select it (which
causes the registry entry to change, or you can force the registry entry
either with regedit or with reg, or you can just ignore it.
Ferry
>>> Put in in %SystemRoot%\System32\ with the others.
>>
>> and this is OK for all the system? no need for other settings?
>
> It is supposed to work with all on-topic versions, but nothing is
> certain with Windows. Putting the file in the System32 directory
> makes it available and causes it to appear on the screensaver
> selection list; what you do with it from there is up to you - you can
> manually select it (which causes the registry entry to change, or you
> can force the registry entry either with regedit or with reg, or you
> can just ignore it.
thanks ted.
are Administrative Rights necessary to do that copy?
and if are they, do you think that would be a good idea to use a copy
command in a batch file and run that batch file using "run as" ?
thanks to all
Ferry
> First of all, a FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) does not imply
> solutions are listed in any repository of Frequently Answered
> Questions.
all right.
and that's why one goes to the expert and makes a question, am I wrong?
> Second, if the method you posted was the only solution you found
no, i asked specifically for that method; I am happy (and i really want to
hear) about the existence of other methods, but since that appears to be the
"official" method of installing a .SCR, i wanted to understand in what were
I wrong, using that method.
> and
> tried then you need to do more research. There is more than one way
> to poke your screensaver path to into the registry.
Sorry, it's clear I explained badly. I'll willingly try every other method,
my first problem was about that rundll32 "official" method.
> Third, "tried it and failed" is a very uninformative statement. The
> rundll32 method works for me in both Win98 as well as XP. What
> actually occurs on your system, only you can tell us. Be specific.
sorry.
of course:
in OSes in wich i tried (2000pro SP4 / XPpro SP2) it can behave in two ways:
in one simply nothing happens. in the other the "screensaver" tab in the
desktop settings panel opens and nothing else happens: no screensaver (but
the standards) listed, no screensaver set up
> Desktop applet opened but did it change the screensaver or not?
in no one of my tries screensaver changed. Sometimes it seems to be
installed (listed among the others) but only if user scrolls the list;
sometimes the desktop/screensaver panel opens and nothing else happens.
> Any error messages?
no error messages
> Are you expecting the applet to go away silently?
it would be nice, but if that's not the normal behavior, I don't expect it.
The only information I repeatedly find is that that one is the method to use
to obtain that goal :-|
> Where do you have the SS located?
i tried in an arbitrary location and then copying (manually) in
[...]\system32 ... but that copy, i think, makes useless (right?) all that
rundll32 method. Really I don't know if it's enough the copy or there is
another "correct" method. For example: copying Fonts in the font folder is
often indicated as improper.
> Have you tried using the registry method Ted suggested?
I don't know how to change that value using commandline and I don't know if
that is an alternative solution or have to be combined (before? after?) the
one I was trying.
But i were going to try to :-)
Thanks to everybody helps
Todd Vargo
> Todd Vargo wrote:
>
> > First of all, a FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) does not imply
> > solutions are listed in any repository of Frequently Answered
> > Questions.
>
> all right.
> and that's why one goes to the expert and makes a question, am I wrong?
Nothing wrong with asking a question. Likewise, there is nothing wrong with
pointing out it has already been asked more than once and information _is_
readily available.
>
> > Second, if the method you posted was the only solution you found
>
> no, i asked specifically for that method; I am happy (and i really want to
> hear) about the existence of other methods, but since that appears to be
the
> "official" method of installing a .SCR, i wanted to understand in what
were
> I wrong, using that method.
Ok, here is some information about the rundll32 method. It is not an
"official" method per se. It is just a method that opens the Display
Properties applet and sets the screensaver (if one is given) but it always
leaves the applet open for the user to close. AFAIK, there is no silent
install switch for it.
>
> > and
> > tried then you need to do more research. There is more than one way
> > to poke your screensaver path to into the registry.
>
> Sorry, it's clear I explained badly. I'll willingly try every other
method,
> my first problem was about that rundll32 "official" method.
Fair enough.
>
> > Third, "tried it and failed" is a very uninformative statement. The
> > rundll32 method works for me in both Win98 as well as XP. What
> > actually occurs on your system, only you can tell us. Be specific.
>
> sorry.
> of course:
> in OSes in wich i tried (2000pro SP4 / XPpro SP2) it can behave in two
ways:
> in one simply nothing happens. in the other the "screensaver" tab in the
> desktop settings panel opens and nothing else happens: no screensaver (but
> the standards) listed, no screensaver set up
From my observations, if the SS is located in the 'system' folder when the
rundll32 command is given, then the SS is set and is selected in the
dropdown menu. However, if the SS is located in an arbitrary location,
rundll32 still sets it in the registry, but it may or may not be displayed
in the dropdown list as the file's basename (I don't know what determines
when it will not be displayed). Either way, pressing the "OK" button or
cancel button will make the applet go away but the new screensaver will be
set. The only time the new SS is not set is if you fiddle with the dropdown
box. Naturally, if your system is locked down, you will need Administrative
Rights.
>
> > Desktop applet opened but did it change the screensaver or not?
>
> in no one of my tries screensaver changed. Sometimes it seems to be
> installed (listed among the others) but only if user scrolls the list;
> sometimes the desktop/screensaver panel opens and nothing else happens.
For testing, try just pressing "OK". Then reopen the Display Properties
applet manually to verify nothing was set.
> > Are you expecting the applet to go away silently?
>
> it would be nice, but if that's not the normal behavior, I don't expect
it.
> The only information I repeatedly find is that that one is the method to
use
> to obtain that goal :-|
I'm sure you found other methods (regedit/reg) but they did not involve a
one line solution so they were overlooked. Ted tried pointing you in that
direction. Note, this method does not appear to have changed the screensaver
either (until you reboot). Administrative Rights apply to this method too.
>
> > Where do you have the SS located?
>
> i tried in an arbitrary location and then copying (manually) in
> [...]\system32 ... but that copy, i think, makes useless (right?) all that
> rundll32 method. Really I don't know if it's enough the copy or there is
> another "correct" method. For example: copying Fonts in the font folder is
> often indicated as improper.
>
> > Have you tried using the registry method Ted suggested?
>
> I don't know how to change that value using commandline and I don't know
if
> that is an alternative solution or have to be combined (before? after?)
the
> one I was trying.
>
> But i were going to try to :-)
IF the rundll32 method actually does work for you and you are happy if the
applet would just close, you could use a VBScript to automatically close it.
Ted Davis
On most of the machines I have access to, no; on the one I'm currently
setting up, probably yes. It's supposed to get a special screen saver
sonsiting of a slide show of Academy members, but it's the beginning of
the semester and neither my boss nor the chairman has the nerve to ask the
secretaries to scan the photos. Something else put off until too late
(I brought the machine up and installed everything else today - as far as
I'm concerned, it could go on display tomorrow - it's a computerized
building directory based on Firefox and Apache with some pages and cgi
scripts I wrote (it's rather complicated, but doesn't use JavaScript or
PHP)).