Running CCleaner breaking WIN 10 Screen timeout setting

[J Doe]

Whenever I run CCleaner, it breaks my screen timeout setting.  I don't know if this is because of any changes I made to the settings in CCleaner or if it is a default setting.  There ate 2 ways that I have discovered to fix this.  One is to go back to the screensaver setting, which I have set to a blank screen and 3 minute timeout, and click on the ok button. then 3 minutes later it will go to a blank screen. the other way is of course to restart the computer. So, it seem to me that CCleaner is cleaning something that is involved in this setting.  Is there some setting in CCleaner that I can change to fix this?

Edited January 18, 2022 by J Doe
more detail

[redwolfe_98]

my guess is that the problem is not being caused by ccleaner.

a couple of times, in the past, an update for windows messed up my computer's power-settings.

try to resolve the problem by going into your computer's power-settings, including the advanced settings, and resetting everything, there. and, then, double-check to make sure that all of the settings are the way that you want them, to make sure that your settings have been applied.

[J Doe]

Thanks for replying.  I was aware that Windows keeps breaking my power settings with their updates.  However, this seems to be specific to running CCleaner.  Each and every time I run CCleaner if I want the screen saver to work I have to go to that specific setting and hit the ok button or the screen will never time out.  I have tried unchecking all the boxes on CCleaner and still have the problem.  I am thinking now that it is a bug in the CCleaner software.

[redwolfe_98]

follow the instructions. go into your power-settings, into the advanced settings, there, and re-adjust the settings, there, and double-check to make sure that the settings have been applied.

something i forgot to mention, before re-adjusting your power-settings, you may first need to restore the default power-settings, and then adjust the settings to where you want them.

just keep fiddling with the settings until you see that they are the way that you want them, and that your settings have actually been applied.

 

 

[J Doe]

Thanks again for trying to help with this.  I had already done what you suggested, however I went back into my power settings and restored the defaults to the high performance plan as you suggested.  I then went back into the advanced settings and changed everything to never shut off which is what I want, even though Microsoft does not want that.  It kept changing the disk shutdown to 0 minutes from the never that I had set, so I changed the time to over 10K minutes.  It also did not like that I changed the hibernate sleep setting to never but eventually took it.  When I was finished I closed everything, restarted the computer and went back to make sure nothing changed.  I waited for 3 minutes and the screensaver setting kicked in and the screen went blank.  I then ran CCleaner and the screensaver never timed out.  Again, there seems to me to be a bug in the CCleaner software.

[redwolfe_98]

when you say that you restored the default settings, do you mean that you clicked the button that says "restore default settings," or do you mean that you manally adjusted the settings to where you though that they were the default settings? you need to click the button that says "restore default settings."

as for the "turn off hard disk" setting, "never" = "0"

..so don't worry about it's switching from "never" to "0"

as for hibernation, the way that you disable it is to use "command prompt" and run the command:

"powercfg.exe /hibernate off" (minus quotation marks)

on my computer, the default setting is for "balanced," not "performance."

i am speaking from experience. after my power settings got messed up, i found that my settings would not be saved until i first clicked "restore default settings."

 

[J Doe]

When I said that I had restored the default settings I meant that I had clicked on the button that says restore default options for this plan.  I just checked and all settings have remained the same as I had set them.  As for the hard disk setting, there is a never setting, so it seem stupid to have 0 do the same thing, but whatever.  Anyway I have it set to not shut off for over a week, so that should not be an issue.  As for the hibernate setting, are you saying that the advanced settings box does not really set it?  Also, If it is a power setting causing the problem and not CCleaner, why does the screen timeout setting continue to work as long as I do not run CCleaner?

[redwolfe_98]

i was just saying that the way that i know to disable hibernation is the way that i said.

i don't see an option for disabling hibernation in my power settings but maybe that is because i have it disabled.

as for showing "never," for never turn off harddisk, maybe that is for people who don't know that "0" = "never"? i think that is why they show "never," there, for people who don't know that "0" is the setting to use for "never."

as for ccleaner's allegedly somehow changing your sleep settings for your monitor, if you are using a third-party program to manage your power settings and it is storing it's configuration files in one of windows' temp folders, where ccleaner removes the files when it removes junk files from the temp folders, that is the only thing that i can think of. if that is the case, you could add the files to ccleaner's "exclude" list.

[J Doe]

Not using third party software to manage my power settings.  But, I tried adding the temp folder to CCleaners exclude list.  It did not make a difference as I suspected.  If that was the problem, it seems to me that when I unchecked every single box in CCcleaner it would not clean anything including temp folders and files.  I am curious as to why you seem so reluctant to conclude that it is CCleaner that is causing the problem.  If I do not use CCleaner, the screen saver comes on after 3 minutes of inactivity as it is set for and is supposed to do.  Only if and when I run CCleaner does the screen saver not time out due to inactivity.  If it was one of the check boxes in CCleaner that I had checked that was the problem, then I would think that when I unchecked ALL the boxes, the screen saver would have timed out due to inactivity after running CCleaner with NO boxes checked.  I can only conclude based on this evidence that there is a conflict between CCleaner and the screen saver/power settings that I am using.  The only options I see left is to either stop using CCleaner, reset the Screensaver every time after using CCleaner or to try going to another configuration in my power settings, but since I don't really want to change my power settings, I guess that I will have to decide if I want to continue using CCleaner, to try some other cleaner.

[nukecad]

Firstly; you say that you are unticking all the Custom Clean boxes and then running CCleaner?
That would not clean anything at all if you ran Custom Clean.

So are you using Health Check?
The ticking/unticking of boxes on the Windows and Applications tabs is only for Custom Clean, they don't apply to Health Check which always does it's own thing.

Perhaps more relevant - Are you running the Registry Cleaner as well?

 

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I am curious as to why you seem so reluctant to conclude that it is CCleaner that is causing the problem.

Redwolfe_98 is reluctant about that because screensaver settings is not something that CCleaner's cleaning would normally change. (Unless you specifically told it to with an 'include').
And as nobody else is reporting the same issue then It does tend to point to either something that you are doing differently, or something a bit different with your setttings.

So you/we need to work out what that difference is.
My first thought is that you may be running the registry cleaner and removing a registry entry, which is why I asked.

[J Doe]

Well, I am running a custom clean and not health check, and no, I have not run registry cleaner in months.  Since my last post I uninstalled CCleaner, changed my power settings to balanced and windows default settings and then reinstalled CCleaner with default settings.  I rebooted and waited to see if the activity timer would start my screen saver at the 3 minute mark and it did. I then ran a custom clean with CCleaner at it's default settings and waited for my screen saver to come on and it never did.  I don't understand why the screensaver activity timer would be changed by running a custom clean with CCleaner either, but it seems that it does. 

[hazelnut]

 Did you do an upgrade from a previous Operating System ?

What screensaver do you use?

If you make another user (just as a test) make it admin , do your screensaver settings etc, and then after testing they work a couple of times, run ccleaner and see if the same thing happens. You can then boot into your normal admin user and delete the test one you made in accounts.

Have you tried this?

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/you-cannot-change-or-save-screen-saver-settings-52b70368-e352-5102-965b-e26f14d1f076

 

[J Doe]

Hazelnut, As I posted before I am using the blank screen screensaver. I have not upgraded since the Free Microsoft upgrade to WIN 10 several years ago.  I am the only user of this computer and have admin rights assigned to the user account.  If there IS a problem with ANY setting I have made on the computer, I would like someone to explain to me why the screensaver works consistently ALL the time, WHENEVER I use the computer, the activity timer ALWAYS turns on the blank screensaver as long as I DO NOT use CCleaner.

[J Doe]

I can see where there could be a conflict between a setting on my computer and the running of CCleaner it seems obvious that there is.  But, the way I see it the Microsoft settings are working and the third party CCleaner software is somehow messing up the inactivity timer or blocking the trigger that turns on the screensaver after the inactivity timer counts 3 minutes.  What in the running of CCleaner could do that regardless of all these configuration changes that have been tried so far.

[J Doe]

I also want to point out that a problem is never reported until the first person reports it.

[hazelnut]

The reason I suggested trying out, as a test, a new user profile is that sometimes a certain setting in a users account profile can become corrupted and lead to strange happenings.

You do not have to set up a Microsoft Account to do this. Just go Settings..Accounts.. Add another user, and follow the prompts (I do not have this persons sign in details etc)

Anyway it's a strange one this as it has never been mentioned as an issue before.

Does it also happen if you select a picture for example as your screensaver ?

 

 

[nukecad]

8 hours ago, J Doe said:

 I have not upgraded since the Free Microsoft upgrade to WIN 10 several years ago.

Can I ask what version and build of Windows 10 you are currently running?

It may not be relevant, but when something odd like this is reported then you have to start looking if anything else is unusual. (eg. an old Win10 version).

We are not disbelieving what you are saying, you run CCleaner your screensaver setting changes  - but that is very odd and shouldn't happen so we are trying to work out what may be going on.
Yes someone has to be first to report anything new happening, but nobody else is reporting this issue at all. If someone else was seeing the same issue then that would give us more info to work with.

You can find the Windows version and build in Settings>System>About.

[J Doe]

Well, Crap.  I don't know whether to thank hazelnut or curse her.  Here is all the Operating system info, although it is irrelevant at this point.  When I created a new user account and switched to it, the problem went away.  That means that I have to delete my original account and make ALL the changes to the new account to make it look and operate the way I want.  Crap!!!  Too much work!!!  Anyway I will be able to continue to use CCleaner with my computer operating the way I want

 

Edition: Windows 10 Home

Version: 20H2

Installed On: 2/‎18/‎2021

OS Build: 19042.1466

Experience:  Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.3920.0

 

Thanks for everyone's Help with this.

[hazelnut]

 

@J Doe

Glad it got figured out (even if it did give you a headache )

Take care now and happy computing !!