Linux Power Management and Screensaver Control

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Different areas of the wiki have things written about this. First I will copy them all to here. Then they can be organized later.

disable screen blanking

After my computer with ubuntu 12.04 has been idle for a short while, the screen will go blank, and even enter standby mode. Drop out of MythTV frontend to Xfce and on the menu in the upper left:

  • Applications, Settings, Screensaver

Change "Blank After" to 0 or any value you want. Change "Screensaver" to "none."

STATUS: update. TV blanks on MythTV menu. Does not blank on livetv, player, or Xfce desktop. Culprit is a communications issue on the HDMI interface. HDMI technology flaw, implementation flaw, failure for some television and monitor manufacturers to adhere to HDMI specifications. On a Vizio brand display exhibiting the problem changing the automatic luminance to disabled seems to resolve. Keep in mind that pressing a button like "input" on the remote will recover display.

sudo xset dpms 0 0 0 && xset s off && xset s noblank
xset q
xset -dpms
xset s off

FROM: MythTV Setup- Operating System Adjustments

For Linux Mint 18.3 (and probably versions close to this):

  • Menu -> Preferences -> Power Management -> Power Options
  • Menu -> Preferences -> Screensaver -> Settings

Q: How do I choose a graphic animated screensaver?

A: Screensavers were removed in Ubuntu 11.10. Ubuntu 12.04 has no screensavers, instead, the screen simply goes black when the system is idle for the set amount of time. You can ditch this screen blanking and install screensavers if you prefer the eye candy.

sudo apt-get remove gnome-screensaver

Install XScreenSaver and some additional screensaver packages with the following command:

sudo apt-get install xscreensaver xscreensaver-data-extra xscreensaver-gl-extra

Get started by launching the Startup Applications utility from the Dash. Add a startup program with the following command. The name and comment here can be anything you like:

xscreensaver -nosplash

FROM: Ubuntu How Do I: A Linux Q&A

PREVENT CONSOLE MONITOR BLANK

This is like sleep mode, the monitor screen goes blank after a period of inactivity until a key press.

Modify the .bash_profile in your home directory.

echo "setterm -blank 0" >> .bash_profile

FROM: How Do I: A Linux Q&A

Disable Screen Lock

There is two steps involved into completely disabling the lock screen in Unity.

  • Go to Brightness & Lock panel from the Unity Launcher. And set Turn screen off when inactive: to Never
  • Install "Unity Tweak Tool" with sudo apt-get install unity-tweak-tool. Run it from the Launcher and select System > Security > Enhance system security by disabling Desktop lock

FROM: Kubuntu and Ubuntu Linux Distribution Reference

turn off screensaver and power-management

Use the "screen" or "brightness and lock" application. Click on the Unity Search and type "Brightness & Lock"

In the "Brightness & Lock" interface disable "Dim screen to save power" and set "Turn screen off when inactive for: Never"

You might find that the above solution is necessary, but not sufficient. The screen might still be blanking after 10 minutes. This is a default setting compiled into Xorg.

To disabled it for the current session, run:

xset s off

You can put this in your .xsession file to disable it upon every login.

FROM: Kubuntu and Ubuntu Linux Distribution Reference