Turning off screensaver - bad idea?
 

My new laptop, HP running Vista, turns off my wireless modem when the screensaver goes on. I've called their tech support and there is no way to make it stop doing this except turning off the screensaver.

So my question is - is it a bad idea to turn off the screensaver? Will this cause problems further down the road?

It's unlikely to be an issue. Modern monitors take a long long time to burn in. As long as you're not leaving it open for days at a time, it's not a problem. Just be sure, when walking away for extended periods, to close the lid as that will shut the screen off.

Also, depending on how the wireless cut-off problem is manifesting, a workaround can be to go into your power management options and set the screen itself to turn off, while disabling the screensaver, after whatever period you would have had the screensaver activate.

Thanks!

You could also set a much longer delay time on the screensaver, I believe.

Is burn-in even an issue on LCD screens? I know that the problem was originally on CRT's.

BTW: Plasma screens also have a burn-in issue.

Yes and no. It's a different physical process than burn-in, but they CAN end up with persistent images. Of course, it takes a VERY long time of the exact same thing being displayed continuously, and it is possible for it to go away if the image is subsequently changed enough. It's unlikely to affect the average LCD consumer.

The biggest thing to watch out for with LCD is contrast issues. If a particular part of the screen often has images of high contrast, it'll cause issues. This is particularly common on LCD tv's if you're watching a lot of 4:3 formatted programming, The edge where the 4:3 image ends on the 16:9 display can eventually have some brightness issues. But again, avoidable by watching 16:9 content enough to "reset" the crystals.

Thank you for the edumucation

Every one loves those plasmas... and those TV bugs ;)

I don't like screen savers and prefer to have the monitor go to sleep... if i leave the room i turn mine off anyway... saves some power on top of that... (pending how long its closed versus going to be reopened / restarted soon)