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How-To Fix Screen Blanking

Recently, my computers received an update and it changed the way they behaved. I noticed that if I left my computer unattended for around 10 minutes or so, the screen would go blank. I thought it had to do with something I recently installed or something that I had changed on my computer, but then I noticed it was happening to both of my laptops. It didn't affect my desktop computer; however, this problem may affect other desktop systems.

I searched online for a solution that worked for me and my problem. I also found additional solutions that work for others that had a similar problem.
Picture
Not My Actual Laptop
Steps for Fixing Screen Blanking

  1. Open your Control Center.
Picture
  2. When the Control Center opens, scroll down to the Hardware section and click on Power Management.
Picture
  3. Make sure that you have On AC Power tab selected at the top. Under the Actions section, set the option Put computer
      to sleep when inactive for:
to Never. Under the Display section, set the option Put display to sleep when inactive
      for:
to Never and uncheck the option Dim display when idle. Then click the close button.
Picture
  This might fix your dimming or blanking problem if any of the options above were changed. I recommend that you reboot
  your computer and then leave your computer unattended for around 10 to 15 minutes to see if the blanking returns. If it
  does, go to the next step.
  4. Open the Control Center and scroll down to the Personal section and click on Startup Applications.
Picture
  5. When the Startup Applications Preferences dialog box appears, click on the +Add button.
Picture
  6. When the Edit Startup Program dialog box appears, enter the following information. (You can copy & paste.)
          Name: Stop Screen Blanking
          Command: xset -dpms s off s noblank s 0 0 s noexpose
          Comment: This prevents the screen from going blank.
       Then click the Save button and then reboot your computer.
Picture
When your system returns from the reboot, leave it unattended for around 10 to 15 minutes to see if the blanking returns. If it does, go to the next step.

 *** I am using the nano text editor in my solution below. If you do not have nano installed and you would like to install it,
       then open your    

         Terminal and enter the following (then press Enter or Return):
            sudo apt-get install nano
       You can replace nano with your favorite text editor, if you prefer. 
  7. Open the Terminal and enter sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf and then press the Enter or Return key. Enter your
      password when prompted.
Picture
  8. The nano editor will be displayed within your Terminal and it will display the file name that you will edit or create and
      the location of that file.
Picture
  9. If your file has data within it, then you'll add the the following options at the end of your ServerLayout section in
      /etc/X11/xorg.conf file.
 Section "ServerFlags"
     Option                 "BlankTime"             "0"
     Option                 "StandbyTime"        "0"
     Option                 "SuspendTime"       "0"
     Option                 "OffTime"                 "0"
     Option "dpms"  "false"
     EndSection
DPMS is an abbreviation for Display Power Management Signaling. DPMS  is a standard to reduce power consumption in monitors. DPMS has four modes of operation: "BlankTime", "StandbyTime", "SuspendTime" and "OffTime." Each of these affect the power use of your monitor. Using 0 (zero) disables that mode. So putting a 0 for each of these will turn off each of these features.
Picture
10. When you finish entering the data press the ctrl key and the x key. You will be prompted, at the bottom to save your
       changes by pressing the y key.
Picture
11. After you press the y key, to save the file name at the given location. Press the Enter or Return key to accept the
      location and file name.
Picture
Close your Terminal and any other programs that maybe running and then reboot your computer. When your systems returns from the reboot, leave it unattended for around 10 to 15 mintues to see if the blanking returns. If it does, go to the next step.
12. If you are still getting a blank or black screen after 10 to 15 minutes after no activity, then your screensaver could be
      causing your problem. Open your Control Center and scroll down to the Look and Feel section and click on the
      Screensaver option.
Picture
13. When the Screensaver Preferences dialog box appears, drag the slider to the end for a maximum time of 2 hours. Then
      make sure they are no checks in the boxes in front of "Activate screensaver when computer is idle" and "Lock
     screen when screensaver is active"
.
Picture
14. Next you'll want to make sure that idle-activation-enabled is turned off using the dconf-editor. The dconf-editor is
      not installed by default, but you can install it by opening your Terminal and entering the following:
         sudo add-apt-repository universe
         sudo apt update
         sudo apt install dconf-cli dconf-editor
       Then enter the command dconf-editor and press the Enter or Return key.
Picture
15. When the dconf-editor appears, click the "I'll be careful" button. This will close the small dialog box. Just be careful
      making changes using the dconf-editor. You could mess up your computer if you change a wrong setting. 
Picture
16. If you are not within the screensaver directory follow these steps:
       Click on org in the upper left corner and then click on the mate folder.
Picture
       Then scroll down and click on the screensaver folder.
Picture
       Then make sure that idle-activation-enabled is turned off. If it is not, click the switch to turn it off.
Picture
       Then close the dconf-editor and Terminal and then restart your computer. When it turns back on, leave it unattended
       for around 10 to 15 mintues to see if the blanking returns. Hopefully it won't.

Hopefully you have found a working solution to eliminate the screen blanking on your computer.

Take care!
Picture





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  • Home
    • Screen Tearing on Intel Graphics
    • Screen Tearing on AMD Graphics
    • How to install Realtek WiFi Driver >
      • How to install Realtek WiFi Driver (Pt 2)
    • Authentication is Required to Mount
    • Traditional Menu
    • Software >
      • App Grid
      • AppCenter
      • GNOME Software
      • Modern Apps
    • Welcome & Software Boutique
    • Remove Welcome & Software Boutique
    • TeamViewer
    • Simple How to Tips >
      • Change Wallpaper
      • Pin a Program
      • Change Date & Time
      • Enable Screensavers >
        • Cosmos Screensaver
      • Decrese Icon Padding
      • Enable Magnification
      • Fading Windows
      • Replace Clock Indicator
      • Remove Media Players
      • Fix ​​Error Mounting
      • Create a Submenu
      • Remove the Collection Menu
      • Preferred Applications
      • Upgrade LibreOffice
      • Install Fonts >
        • Install New Fonts
      • Play a DVD
      • Enable Livepatch
      • ESM-Apps
      • Update Software
      • Unresponsive Program
      • Install HWE >
        • Install HWE 20.04
      • Open HEIC Images
      • Open WebP Images
      • Packages Kept Back
      • USB Flash Drive
      • No Audio
      • Screen Flickering
      • Screen Blanking
      • Draining Battery
      • Reduce Shutdown Time
      • Create a Mount Point
      • Thunderbird Emoticons
      • Sound Preview
      • Failed To Download >
        • Failed to Download (#2)
      • Enter Password to Unlock
      • Two Wifi Icons
      • System Program Problem
      • CD Burner Issue
      • Firefox Homepage Fix
      • VLC Closes Fix
      • Desktop Error
      • Trash Bin
      • MATE Weather Applet
      • OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe
      • PolicyKit vulnerability
    • Install Ubuntu MATE >
      • Burn an ISO to DVD
      • Create a Bootable USB
      • Upgrade Ubuntu MATE
  • Ubuntu MATE
    • How to Scan
    • How to Take a Screenshot
    • How to View a PDF File
    • Multiple Workspaces
    • Software Updater
    • Archive Manager
    • How to Burn CD/DVDs
    • Setup & Use Email >
      • Email Filter
      • Upgrade Thunderbird
    • Firefox Web Browser
    • Shotwell Photo Manager
    • Image Viewer
    • Caja File Manager
    • Trash
    • Play Videos
  • Additional Software
    • Antivirus >
      • BitDefender Antivirus
      • ClamTK Antivirus >
        • Clamscan Antivirus
        • ClamTK Caja Add-on
      • Comodo AntiVirus
    • Archive Managers >
      • Archive Manager
      • Ark
      • B1 Free Archiver
      • P7Zip-Desktop
      • PeaZip
      • Xarchiver
    • Browsers >
      • Brave
      • Chrome
      • Chromium
      • Falkon
      • Firefox
      • GNOME Web
      • Iridium Browser
      • LibreWolf
      • Microsoft Edge
      • Midori
      • Min Browser
      • NAVER Whale
      • Opera
      • Otter
      • Pale Moon
      • SeaMonkey
      • Sidekick
      • Slimjet Browser
      • SRWare Iron
      • Ungoogled Chromium
      • Vivaldi
      • Waterfox
      • Yandex Browser
    • Office Applications >
      • Couturier
      • PDF-Shuffler
      • PDF Studio Viewer
      • Xournal
      • Foxit Reader
      • Okular
      • gLabels >
        • Multiple Name Badges
        • CD & DVD Labels
        • Business Cards
        • Mailing Address Labels
        • Return Address Labels
      • Font Downloader
      • Calendar
      • Pcal
      • Spice-Up
      • Stickynotes
    • Educational Programs >
      • Galculator
      • GeoGebra Classic
      • GNOME Calculator
      • KCalc
      • NumWorks
      • Pebbles
      • Qalculate!
      • QT-Calculator
      • How To Install R >
        • Install R Commander
        • Install RStudio
      • SpeedCrunch
      • TI-83 Plus
      • TI-84 Plus CE
      • KWordQuiz
      • Granule
    • Graphics >
      • 4K Slideshow Maker
      • Imagination
      • Gnome Screenshot
      • Ksnip
      • Shutter >
        • Shutter 0.94.3
      • PhotoFlare
      • Pinta >
        • Tool Palette >
          • Tool Palette (Cont)
        • File Menu >
          • Screenshot Tool
        • View Menu
        • Edit Menu >
          • Palette
        • Image Menu >
          • Image Size
        • Layers Menu
        • Adjustments Menu >
          • Invert Colors
        • Effects Menu >
          • Red Eye Removal
          • Pixelate
        • Add-ins Menu
        • Window Menu
        • Help Menu
        • Restore Layout
        • Pinta 1.7
        • Pinta 2.0.1
      • Bing Wallpapers
      • Variety Wallpaper
      • Converseen
      • Curtail
      • Imagine
      • ​Annotator
      • Aliza MS
      • Brightness Controller
      • Gifcurry
      • Photoprint
      • Peek
    • Image Viewers >
      • Deepin Image Viewer
      • Eye of Gnome
      • Fotoxx
      • Geeqie
      • GPicView
      • gThumb
      • Gwenview
      • Mirage
      • nomacs
      • PhotoQt
      • Phototonic
      • Pix
      • Qimgv
      • qView
      • Ristretto
      • Viewnior 1.6 >
        • Viewnior 1.7
      • XnView MP
      • Xviewer
    • Music Players >
      • Amarok
      • Audacious
      • Clementine
      • DeaDBeeF
      • foobar2000
      • Guayadeque
      • Lollypop
      • Museeks
      • Noise Music Player
      • Pragha
      • Quod Libet
      • Rhythmbox
      • Sayonara
      • Strawberry
      • Violin
    • Networking >
      • Dukto
      • LAN-Share
      • Nitroshare
      • Warpinator
    • Utility Software >
      • BleachBit
      • Stacer
      • Ubuntu Cleaner
      • CPU-G
      • CPU-X
      • Hardinfo
      • I-Nex
      • Alarm Clock
      • Caffeine
      • Conky >
        • Widgets & Themes
        • Title Bars
      • deb-get
      • GNOME Split
      • GParted
      • GtkOrphan
      • Ice SSB >
        • MS Office Online
        • Pixlr Editor
        • Photopea
      • KRename
      • KShutdown
      • Magnus
      • Radeon Profile
      • Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Installer
      • Y PPA Manager
    • Sound & Video >
      • Avidemux >
        • Merge Videos
        • Cut Videos
        • Crop Videos
      • Selene
      • Radio Tray >
        • Radio Tray Lite
      • Pithos
      • Spotify
      • Asunder
      • EasyTag
      • SimpleScreenRecorder
      • OBS Studio
      • FF Multi Converter
      • FFmpeg
      • SoundConverter
      • MediaInfo
      • Bomi
      • Gnome MPV
      • MPlayer
      • SMPlayer
      • VLC Media Player
      • HandBrake >
        • Convert A Video
        • Boost Audio
    • Entertainment >
      • Hypnotix
      • IPTVnator
      • Airy TV
      • Crackle
      • Plex Live TV
      • Pluto TV
      • Popcornflix
      • Stirr TV
      • Tubi TV
      • Xumo TV
      • YouTube Movies
      • Plex Media Server
      • Emby Media Server
    • Themes & Colors >
      • Themes
      • Installing Themes
      • Customize Themes #1
      • Customize Themes #2
      • Change App Icons
    • USB Image Writer Tools >
      • Bootqt
      • Etcher
      • GNOME MultiWriter
      • MX Live-USB Maker
      • Popsicle
    • Diagnostics >
      • Hiren's BootCD PE
  • Reviews
    • YouTube Reviews >
      • Ubuntu MATE 16.10
      • Ubuntu Mate 17.04
      • Ubuntu MATE 17.10
      • Ubuntu MATE 18.04
      • Ubuntu MATE 20.04
      • Ubuntu MATE 22.04
  • Info
    • How Safe are Your Paasswords >
      • Cyber Security Leaks
      • Hotmail Leak
      • YaHoo Leak
      • Windstream Hacked
    • Windows 7
    • Wireless USB Adapters
  • About
    • In Memory of ...