I recently (within the last month) purchased a Dell Inspiron 531 desktop
running Vista home basic. I have not installed any programs, games, etc.
My computer randomly "freezes up" when the screensaver is running. A
picture will remain on the monitor indefinitely, with all the keys
unresponsive. I must turn the computer off when it happens, with the
resultant "Improper shutdown" warnings upon restart. It seems to be
completely random, as to when it occurs (or not) and what picture is
displayed when it happens. Lately, it seems to be happening at least once a
day. It has become intolerable, especially since my old computer, running
Windows ME, never had this occur. My computer has the auto update enabled,
and indicates that there are no new updates available. Could anyone tell me
what might be the cause of this problem? Thanks.

This can happen if you have videos in the folder you are using for the Pictures
screensaver. Remove any videos from the folder to see if that solves the
problem.


I Bleed Blue and Gold
GO BEARS!


"Epictetus" <Epictetus@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:26710099-109E-4B90-9CB2-4002BD04E13D@xxxxxx

>I recently (within the last month) purchased a Dell Inspiron 531 desktop
> running Vista home basic. I have not installed any programs, games, etc.
> My computer randomly "freezes up" when the screensaver is running. A
> picture will remain on the monitor indefinitely, with all the keys
> unresponsive. I must turn the computer off when it happens, with the
> resultant "Improper shutdown" warnings upon restart. It seems to be
> completely random, as to when it occurs (or not) and what picture is
> displayed when it happens. Lately, it seems to be happening at least once a
> day. It has become intolerable, especially since my old computer, running
> Windows ME, never had this occur. My computer has the auto update enabled,
> and indicates that there are no new updates available. Could anyone tell me
> what might be the cause of this problem? Thanks.

Excellent! Thanks so much Cal Bear. Sure enough, I did find a few movies
that got moved in with the pics when I transferred them to my new computer.
The fact that there was only a few movies amongst the hundreds of pics
perfectly explains the random nature of this frustrating hang-up. I have
moved them out, and now have my fingers crossed that I won't see this problem
again. Thanks again!

"Cal Bear '66" wrote:

> This can happen if you have videos in the folder you are using for the Pictures
> screensaver. Remove any videos from the folder to see if that solves the
> problem.
>
>
> I Bleed Blue and Gold
> GO BEARS!
>
>
> "Epictetus" <Epictetus@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:26710099-109E-4B90-9CB2-4002BD04E13D@xxxxxx

> >I recently (within the last month) purchased a Dell Inspiron 531 desktop
> > running Vista home basic. I have not installed any programs, games, etc.
> > My computer randomly "freezes up" when the screensaver is running. A
> > picture will remain on the monitor indefinitely, with all the keys
> > unresponsive. I must turn the computer off when it happens, with the
> > resultant "Improper shutdown" warnings upon restart. It seems to be
> > completely random, as to when it occurs (or not) and what picture is
> > displayed when it happens. Lately, it seems to be happening at least once a
> > day. It has become intolerable, especially since my old computer, running
> > Windows ME, never had this occur. My computer has the auto update enabled,
> > and indicates that there are no new updates available. Could anyone tell me
> > what might be the cause of this problem? Thanks.

>
>

You're very welcome.

I'm glad this sorted out your problem.


I Bleed Blue and Gold
GO BEARS!


"Epictetus" <Epictetus@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news45403D9-F7CF-4253-8527-47AB9B68CDA2@xxxxxx

> Excellent! Thanks so much Cal Bear. Sure enough, I did find a few movies
> that got moved in with the pics when I transferred them to my new computer.
> The fact that there was only a few movies amongst the hundreds of pics
> perfectly explains the random nature of this frustrating hang-up. I have
> moved them out, and now have my fingers crossed that I won't see this problem
> again. Thanks again!
>
> "Cal Bear '66" wrote:
>

>> This can happen if you have videos in the folder you are using for the
>> Pictures
>> screensaver. Remove any videos from the folder to see if that solves the
>> problem.
>>
>>
>> I Bleed Blue and Gold
>> GO BEARS!
>>
>>
>> "Epictetus" <Epictetus@xxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:26710099-109E-4B90-9CB2-4002BD04E13D@xxxxxx

>> >I recently (within the last month) purchased a Dell Inspiron 531 desktop
>> > running Vista home basic. I have not installed any programs, games, etc.
>> > My computer randomly "freezes up" when the screensaver is running. A
>> > picture will remain on the monitor indefinitely, with all the keys
>> > unresponsive. I must turn the computer off when it happens, with the
>> > resultant "Improper shutdown" warnings upon restart. It seems to be
>> > completely random, as to when it occurs (or not) and what picture is
>> > displayed when it happens. Lately, it seems to be happening at least once
>> > a
>> > day. It has become intolerable, especially since my old computer, running
>> > Windows ME, never had this occur. My computer has the auto update enabled,
>> > and indicates that there are no new updates available. Could anyone tell
>> > me
>> > what might be the cause of this problem? Thanks.

>>
>>

Next day update--still freezing up. I reposted the problem.

"Cal Bear '66" wrote:

> You're very welcome.
>
> I'm glad this sorted out your problem.
>
>
> I Bleed Blue and Gold
> GO BEARS!
>
>
> "Epictetus" <Epictetus@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> news45403D9-F7CF-4253-8527-47AB9B68CDA2@xxxxxx

> > Excellent! Thanks so much Cal Bear. Sure enough, I did find a few movies
> > that got moved in with the pics when I transferred them to my new computer.
> > The fact that there was only a few movies amongst the hundreds of pics
> > perfectly explains the random nature of this frustrating hang-up. I have
> > moved them out, and now have my fingers crossed that I won't see this problem
> > again. Thanks again!
> >
> > "Cal Bear '66" wrote:
> >

> >> This can happen if you have videos in the folder you are using for the
> >> Pictures
> >> screensaver. Remove any videos from the folder to see if that solves the
> >> problem.
> >>
> >>
> >> I Bleed Blue and Gold
> >> GO BEARS!
> >>
> >>
> >> "Epictetus" <Epictetus@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> >> news:26710099-109E-4B90-9CB2-4002BD04E13D@xxxxxx
> >> >I recently (within the last month) purchased a Dell Inspiron 531 desktop
> >> > running Vista home basic. I have not installed any programs, games, etc.
> >> > My computer randomly "freezes up" when the screensaver is running. A
> >> > picture will remain on the monitor indefinitely, with all the keys
> >> > unresponsive. I must turn the computer off when it happens, with the
> >> > resultant "Improper shutdown" warnings upon restart. It seems to be
> >> > completely random, as to when it occurs (or not) and what picture is
> >> > displayed when it happens. Lately, it seems to be happening at least once
> >> > a
> >> > day. It has become intolerable, especially since my old computer, running
> >> > Windows ME, never had this occur. My computer has the auto update enabled,
> >> > and indicates that there are no new updates available. Could anyone tell
> >> > me
> >> > what might be the cause of this problem? Thanks.
> >>
> >>

>
>

I have the same problem on a recently purchased HP Pavilion dv6000z laptop w/
• 256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7200

I see two spec's online for a Dell Inspiron 531, and both come with some
NVIDIA GeForce card, e.g.
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU

I wonder if NVIDIA knows anything about this problem?


What video card
"Epictetus" wrote:

> Next day update--still freezing up. I reposted the problem.
>
> "Cal Bear '66" wrote:
>

> > You're very welcome.
> >
> > I'm glad this sorted out your problem.
> >
> >
> > I Bleed Blue and Gold
> > GO BEARS!
> >
> >
> > "Epictetus" <Epictetus@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> > news45403D9-F7CF-4253-8527-47AB9B68CDA2@xxxxxx

> > > Excellent! Thanks so much Cal Bear. Sure enough, I did find a few movies
> > > that got moved in with the pics when I transferred them to my new computer.
> > > The fact that there was only a few movies amongst the hundreds of pics
> > > perfectly explains the random nature of this frustrating hang-up. I have
> > > moved them out, and now have my fingers crossed that I won't see this problem
> > > again. Thanks again!
> > >
> > > "Cal Bear '66" wrote:
> > >
> > >> This can happen if you have videos in the folder you are using for the
> > >> Pictures
> > >> screensaver. Remove any videos from the folder to see if that solves the
> > >> problem.
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> I Bleed Blue and Gold
> > >> GO BEARS!
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> "Epictetus" <Epictetus@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> > >> news:26710099-109E-4B90-9CB2-4002BD04E13D@xxxxxx
> > >> >I recently (within the last month) purchased a Dell Inspiron 531 desktop
> > >> > running Vista home basic. I have not installed any programs, games, etc.
> > >> > My computer randomly "freezes up" when the screensaver is running. A
> > >> > picture will remain on the monitor indefinitely, with all the keys
> > >> > unresponsive. I must turn the computer off when it happens, with the
> > >> > resultant "Improper shutdown" warnings upon restart. It seems to be
> > >> > completely random, as to when it occurs (or not) and what picture is
> > >> > displayed when it happens. Lately, it seems to be happening at least once
> > >> > a
> > >> > day. It has become intolerable, especially since my old computer, running
> > >> > Windows ME, never had this occur. My computer has the auto update enabled,
> > >> > and indicates that there are no new updates available. Could anyone tell
> > >> > me
> > >> > what might be the cause of this problem? Thanks.
> > >>
> > >>

> >
> >

i have the exact same problem and inspiron 531 with home basic.spoken to dell
support and they said problem with my logitech mouse driver.upgraded .did not
help!!!i also have no videos in my photo slide screensaver.i think an issue
dell still working on.their support live now is very good!!but some issues do
not seem to have resolved until new update they told me in jan.if you turn
off the screensaver.no problem.never freezes!!!l never an issue with my old
xp!!!!

"Epictetus" wrote:

> I recently (within the last month) purchased a Dell Inspiron 531 desktop
> running Vista home basic. I have not installed any programs, games, etc.
> My computer randomly "freezes up" when the screensaver is running. A
> picture will remain on the monitor indefinitely, with all the keys
> unresponsive. I must turn the computer off when it happens, with the
> resultant "Improper shutdown" warnings upon restart. It seems to be
> completely random, as to when it occurs (or not) and what picture is
> displayed when it happens. Lately, it seems to be happening at least once a
> day. It has become intolerable, especially since my old computer, running
> Windows ME, never had this occur. My computer has the auto update enabled,
> and indicates that there are no new updates available. Could anyone tell me
> what might be the cause of this problem? Thanks.

I switched from "random" to "pan and zoom" style - I think it normally locks
up for me on black/white, or one of the fading scenarios. Maybe if I stick
with pan/zoom it will be okay?

Epictetus,

I have the exact same problem on my new Dell computer with Vista. Saying it
is frustrating is an understatement. One thing that might help, is when the
screen is frozen, hit Ctrl + Alt + Delete instead of shutting down the
computer (then just hit cancel when the menu comes up). That prevents you
from incorrectly shutting down your computer too often.

"SF" wrote:

> I have the exact same problem on my new Dell computer with Vista. Saying it

is frustrating is an understatement.........

I agree, and the three finger salute is not the solution. I'm adding this
comment for the benefit of others with this problem.
My "Pictures Screen Saver" in XP worked fine for many years, until I used
Paintshop Pro's browser to access the pictures folder and the program added a
browser file *.jbf to it.

Earlier solutions identified video files as the cause of the freezing screen
saver, but it appears, that any file other than picture files may cause this
problem. The screen saver tries to read the file and is not able to. This
results in the currently displayed image to remain on the screen until the
attempt is interrupted manually.

I suggest, to remove all NON Picture files from the folder or use a
designated folder for the screen saver pictures. It worked for me, and I
hope, this can help others, who come here for help.

I haven't researched it, but picture files that are not compatible with the
"windows picture and fax viewer" and require an external program to open may
also cause the hanging. (*.tif, *.psp, etc.)