I have noticed that when Windows comes out of screensaver mode, that WS (which in my case is set to autocollapse) is not drawn properly, like this:



Note the top portion of the screen. Here is a shot of WS when it is draw correctly:

Hmmm... It is obviously being drawn incorrectly. Couple of questions:

1 - What screen saver are you running?
2 - Does it change your screen resolution?
3 - Does this also happen with other screen savers?
4 - Is WorkShelf un-collapsed when the screen saver starts?

Normally I am using the windows 3d-pipes. I don't think it changes resolution.
This does happen with other screen savers, some use OpenGL and change resolution.

I have also noticed this on occasion when I have a few windows open and some are non-maximized but covering the WS. I'll suddenly look up and WS is collapsed but not drawn correctly.

I have yet to come up with a good way of reproducing this, I'll let you know if I do.

I have noticed general screen repaint issues (WSx aside) when the video subsystem is short on resources, or the system is straining because of resources.

What video card and how much ram is on the card do you have?

How much ram does the system itself have?

What CPU do you have?

Do you notice this after running a while or does it happen right after a fresh reboot and the screen saver kicks in and out, without you doing anything else?

Does it fix itself if you tell the desktop screen to refresh when it's not painted correctly?

I have an Nvidia GeForce Go 7900 GS with 256 Mb onboard ram running at 1400 x 900, My processor is an Intel T2400 DuoCore running at 1.84 GHz with 1 Gb Ram, which normally is only 30% full.

I have never noticed when this effect occurs, only that it has occurred.

Well, doesn't look to me like its a hardware/resource issue at all.

Well, doesn't look to me like its a hardware/resource issue at all.

Nah, it's some kind of painting bug for an inverted/collapsed shelf... I still need to know how to reproduce it here though, so I can identify the problem and fix it.

Alright, try this:

Put WS up top, set to autocollapse, and load a WSX theme, like Aero Lo Res. Then, before WS collapses, highlight the desktop tab (so it is highlighted whilst collapsed).

Now, using NS, show the desktop icons.

Wait till WS is collapsed and delete an icon off the desktop. When you confirm, WS changes orientation.

Cannot for the life of me figure out why screen savers some times screw up WS, but maybe this is related.

I should also mention that this does not seem to happen with old WS themes... like Nextstep.

Along the same subject. My screen saver does not come on at all when I'm running WS. I'm running AquaZone. I have a big machine so I know there is plenty or memory.

It looks like it tries to launch but never quites gets there.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Ok, this definitely pointed me in the right direction, thanks. When the current WS shelf points to a hard disk folder (and the Desktop is a folder), WS keeps an eye for file system changes on that folder, such as the removal and/or addition of files, and files being renamed. If any of these happens, the shelf is automatically repainted to reflect the changes.

Problem is when the shelf is collapsed, of course. I'll fix it by detecting this situation and only updating the contents when the shelf is expanded.



Have you tried with other screen savers? Looks like your current screensaver is detecting some kind of system activity that makes it go out of screensaver mode immediately on launch.

For the life of me, I cannot get it to reproduce with the screen savers... So I am not sure if changing the screen saver will help, I'll fool around with it though.

Regarding the AquaZone screen saver.

I tried the Pipes screen saver and it works so I'm guessing that you are right about it immediately sensing something and shutting down.

Happy New Year,

Ken
www.runnerduck.com