Configuring Display Appearance

You can use the Display option in Control Panel to set the screen saver and the background pattern used on the desktop. (These options replace Desktop options in the Windows 3.x Control Panel.)

You can also use settings in Screen Saver properties to take advantage of Energy Star Monitor support in Windows 95 if your hardware supports this feature. This is similar to the standby mode commonly used in portable computers to save power. Windows 95 can support screen saver power management if both of the following conditions are true for your computer:

• In the Change Display Type dialog box, the option named Monitor Is Energy Start Compliant is checked.

  This option is checked automatically if, during Setup, hardware detection determined that the monitor supports the VESA DPMS specification. You can also check this option manually.

• The device driver for this display uses either the Advanced Power Management (APM) 1.1 BIOS interface with support for device "01FF" (which is not supported by every APM 1.1 BIOS), or the VESA BIOS Extensions for Power Management. For information about whether your display adapter supports these BIOS interfaces, see the documentation for your device driver.

The display monitor is typically one of the most "power hungry" components of a computer. Manufacturers of newer display monitors have incorporated energy-saving features into their monitors based on the VESA Display Power Management Signaling (DPMS) specification. Through signals from the display adapter, a software control can place the monitor in standby mode or even turn it off completely, thus reducing the power the monitor uses when inactive. To do this, Windows 95 extends the screen saver capabilities to provide both a time-delay setting that allows the user to put the display monitor in a low-power standby mode, and a delay setting to turn the monitor off completely.

If your computer can use Energy Star power consumption features, additional options appear in Screen Saver properties. To take advantage of these features, both the display adapter and monitor must meet the Energy Star specifications. Also, the display driver must support the extensions needed to control the monitor. Several hardware providers currently manufacture monitors designed to support the Energy Star goals.

To use Energy Star power consumption features

• In Display properties, click the Screen Saver tab and specify the time intervals for when to use low-power standby and when to shut off power.

For example, you might want to set these options:

• Display a specific screen saver after 5 minutes of inactivity
• Set the computer to standby after the screen saver has displayed for 10 minutes
• Turn off the monitor after 15 minutes of standby

For information about setting up a screen saver, or changing the appearance of display colors, type styles, background pattern, and wallpaper, see online Help.