Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional in 10 Minutes

By Dorothy Burke and Jane Calabria

• Table of Contents
  • Copyright
  • Tell Us What You Think!
  • About the Authors
  • Introduction
  • Conventions Used in This Book
  • Lesson 1. Navigating Windows 2000 Professional
  • Lesson 2. Working with a Window
  • Lesson 3. Using Menus
  • Lesson 4. Using Windows 2000 Professional Help
  • Lesson 5. Using Dialog Boxes
  • Lesson 6. Working with Multiple Windows and Applications
  • Lesson 7. Copying, Moving, and Linking Between Windows and Applications
  • Lesson 8. Using My Computer
  • Lesson 9. Managing Files with My Computer
  • Lesson 10. Using WordPad
  • Lesson 11. Understanding File Properties and the Recycle Bin
  • Lesson 12. Printing
  • Lesson 13. Using My Network Places
  • Lesson 14. Using the Control Panel
    • What Is the Control Panel?
    • What Can You Accomplish in the Control Panel?
    • Selecting a Screen Saver
    • Configuring Video Options
    • Configuring Sound Options
    • Configuring Multimedia Devices
    • Configuring Your Keyboard and Mouse
  • Lesson 15. Using Outlook Express Mail
  • Lesson 16. Sharing Workstations and Setting Passwords
  • Lesson 17. Using Internet Explorer 5
  • Lesson 18. Web Site and Document Searching
  • Lesson 19. Troubleshooting, Restarting, and Disaster Planning
  • Lesson 20. Customizing the Windows 2000 Environment

Selecting a Screen Saver

A screen saver is a moving picture or pattern that appears on your screen when you've left the computer idle for a specified number of minutes.

Screen savers can be interesting and fun to watch, but did you know that screen savers are designed to prevent monitor "burn in"? When the same image stays on the screen for periods of time without changing, it can leave a ghost image that you can see even when the monitor is turned off. To prevent "burn in," turn off your monitor when you walk away from it, or use a screen saver. Screen savers display constantly moving images to prevent "burn in."

Newer computer monitors are not as susceptible to "burn in" as older models were. Many of them are equipped with energy saving or reducing features that put the monitor on standby mode in which the monitor blanks out until you move the mouse or press a key.

When a screen saver is enabled, or turns on and off automatically, an idle keyboard and mouse trigger the screen saver to start, and touching the mouse or pressing a key on the keyboard deactivates the screen saver.

The screen saver also has an optional security feature in which you can assign a password. Once the screen saver activates, the password is needed to deactivate the screen saver and continue working. Use this feature when you don't want casual passersby or co-workers to have access to your computer when you walk away from your desk.

Windows 2000 comes with several screen savers. To select a screen saver:

1. Choose Settings, Control Panel from the Start menu and then double-click the Display icon, or right-click the desktop and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
2. When the Display Properties dialog box appears, select the Screen Saver tab (see Figure 14.2).
   

   Figure 14.2 The small monitor in the middle of the dialog box previews the selected screen saver.

3. From the Screen Saver drop-down list, select a screen saver. A sample appears in the monitor on the dialog box. Click Preview to see a full-screen version.
4. Many of the screen savers can be customized. With screen savers such as 3D Text or Scrolling Marquee, you need to enter the text that will be moving across your screen. Other screen savers let you set the speed, the colors, the number of elements, or the shape of the elements. To customize your screen saver, click Settings. After you set your options, click OK to return to the Display Properties dialog box.
5. In the Wait box, enter the number of minutes that represents the amount of time the system is idle before the screen saver activates. There isn't a recommended number of minutes here, but don't set your time under, say two minutes, or your screensaver will go on while you're reading your email (and not touching the keyboard). Think of setting the minutes in terms of 5 to 10.
6. Click OK to accept your settings and close the dialog box. Click Apply to accept your settings without closing the dialog box. Click Cancel to close the dialog box without saving your settings.

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