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Windows 98 - Disable screen saver during Windows defragmentation

November 27, 2013
Updated: December 6, 2021
Quick overview:

In addition to ScanDisk, regular hard disk maintenance also includes defragmentation in particular. As the program integrated in Windows 9x/Me restarts itself with every slightest change or access to the hard disk, it is not advisable to have a screen saver switched on. It is inconvenient if the screen saver is switched off before defragmentation and switched on again afterwards. In the Windows registry however, there is a key that can be used to deactivate the screen saver only for the duration of the program:

Deactivate screensaver

1. Click one after the other on Start > Execute and type in the command line regedit on. A program appears that is easy to use thanks to the handling of Windows Explorer.

2. Now navigate to the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Defrag\Settings and click with the right mouse button in the right-hand pane. Now select New > Character string and give it the name DisableScreenSaver.

3. Now double-click on the value you have created and enter the following in the line that appears Yes inside. When you restart Windows, the screen saver no longer prevents smooth defragmentation.

NOTE FOR NEW PUBLICATION: This article was produced by Sandro Villinger and comes from the Windows Tweaks archive, which has been built up since the late 1990s.

Founded Windows Tweaks as a teenager in 2001, his helpful PC tricks made it Germany's most visited Windows site (at the time Sandro looked like this). He then went on to write for international publications such as PC-Praxis, Computerbild, PCWorld in the USA, IMTEST.de and Hifi.de. Sandro's main job is as Global Product Marketing Lead and Consultant for various global tech companies, including Microsoft, AVG, Avast, Nero, TeamViewer, Swiss IT Security Group and now currently in the fintech sector for Gendigital. But he can't get rid of his passion and shares his tweaks here again. Privately, he enjoys traveling the world and loves Asia, especially Japan, Singapore and Korea, but also natural places like Iceland and the Nordics. You can reach Sandro via e-mail.

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