I have noticed that whenever I use Cubase Pro or Dorico my screen saver no longer activates (Win10). This only happens when one (or both) of these programs are running - at all other times the screen saver works normally.
Is there something within either application which can be set to change this behaviour?
Hi,
I’m not Windows expert, it might be, it’s possible to tweak it somehow somewhere… But definitely this behaviour is by purpose.
Very annoying that they have chosen to disable all power saving options while cubase is open. I understand why this might be desirable for certain users but it does not work for me and I’m sure many others who prefer to leave cubase running instead of going through the lengthy startup/load drivers/load project process every time they sit down to record or jam. There needs to be a configuration option for this. Right now I’d even settle for a registry tweak.
Agreed. This is BAD and is still a THING in 2023 and Cubase Pro 12.
Can’t you use the Sleep function of Windows? I am sure Apple has something similiar.
There is a big difference between turning off your monitors while you machine is running and turning off your machine. 
That’s why screen savers exist, and why monitors are designed to go into a power-save mode all by themselves after a USER CONTROLLED timeout. My machine runs ALL THE TIME, so it can do other important things, like backups. But I don’t need my monitors burning 200 Watts for that to happen while I sleep. See the difference?
Whether intentional or not, Cubase 12 PREEMPTS the user’s choice to enable screen savers, probably because a few high-profile users had their screensaver ruin their perfect recording (once), so the rest of us have to suffer through it (or shut down Cubase every time you walk away from your computer). That’s not ideal and needs to change, or at least be an option.
Screensaver were made to prevent screen burn on CRT monitors. AFAIK this doesn’t happen on LEDs. So a screen saver nowadays is rather cosmetic.
I want Cubase to block any interferences as good as possible while it is up and running.
If I want to secure the computer while away I log off the user. If I want nobody to see my screen I turn off the monitor or, alternatively, put a shortcut to a screensaver on my desktop and launch it by double clicking. You can find screensavers in C:\Windows\System32
I really appreciate your help, but you’ve missed the point here completely. This isn’t about not knowing how to use Windows; I’ve been using Windows since the beginning of time. This is about an application that, without asking (OR informing) the user, changes a user’s machine’s behavior, which makes is not only less secure but less energy efficient.
THAT is the point, and based upon your description of your workflow, you might consider updating your approach for both better security and efficiency.
Usually I am an advocate that a software shouldn’t change the behaviour or settings of the machine.
In this particular case, however, I prefer Cubase to block anything that can be disturb a recording.
Two different opinions, none of us is right or wrong but we are exchanging views and give some feedback to Steinberg.
Agreed. We want different things. The problem I have is that Steinberg has forced only one option on ALL users. This should be an option that is configurable in the Preferences, to allow users to decide for themselves the behavior they want. Having the option to disable screensaver or auto lock is cool, but making it a FEATURE is not. That’s all I’m saying.
Had a similar problem with screensaver not kicking in myself on my new windows 11 computer. In this case it was a start-up program (Steam) issuing a command about video that seemed to cause the problem. On windows, process manager or autoruns would both inform on strange start-up behaviour as would the Event Viewer
Best wishes.
Yep. I have the same issue. I even enquired from Co-pilot about it. It kept referring to my Windows 11 time-out/screensaver.
Like one person mentioned. It should be the user’s option to enable, or disable it. C’mon Steinberg! How hard can it be?
I also use Studio One and Mixcraft 10. Both of those DAWS timeout after a predetermined time. As long as I save my work, I don’t lose anything when I log back in.
I use this in a program I wrote, maybe Steinberg uses it, as well.
… which can make sense. If you are running a longer recording (let’s say a live concert), a launching screensaver can have negative impact on the recording continuity on certain computers (also depending on how resource-consuming the screensaver might be especially during startup).