Force specific screen saver
Verified with Windows 11 25H2 — updated on July 30, 2026
Supported on: At least Windows 2000 Service Pack 1
Path in the GPO console
User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Control Panel\Personalization Description
Specifies the screen saver for the user's desktop. If you enable this setting, the system displays the specified screen saver on the user's desktop. Also, this setting disables the drop-down list of screen savers in the Screen Saver dialog in the Personalization or Display Control Panel, which prevents users from changing the screen saver. If you disable this setting or do not configure it, users can select any screen saver. If you enable this setting, type the name of the file that contains the screen saver, including the .scr file name extension. If the screen saver file is not in the %Systemroot%\System32 directory, type the fully qualified path to the file. If the specified screen saver is not installed on a computer to which this setting applies, the setting is ignored. Note: This setting can be superseded by the "Enable Screen Saver" setting. If the "Enable Screen Saver" setting is disabled, this setting is ignored, and screen savers do not run.
Registry
Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop MDM / Intune (CSP)
./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_ControlPanelDisplay/CPL_Personalization_SetScreenSaver Microsoft Learn documentation Mapping data: Microsoft Learn (CC BY 4.0)
Export Builder
BETAConfigure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.
These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO. ⓘ
.reg file
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Force specific screen saver
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows 2000 Service Pack 1
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop]
"SCRNSAVE.EXE"=""More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)
PowerShell
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Force specific screen saver
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows 2000 Service Pack 1
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
$path = 'HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'SCRNSAVE.EXE' -Value '' -Type StringIntune XML
OMA-URI: ./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_ControlPanelDisplay/CPL_Personalization_SetScreenSaver
Data type: String
Value:
<enabled/>
<data id="ScreenSaverFilename" value=""/>Intune Remediation
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Force specific screen saver
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows 2000 Service Pack 1
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop' -Name 'SCRNSAVE.EXE' -Expected '' -Kind String)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Force specific screen saver
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows 2000 Service Pack 1
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
$path = 'HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'SCRNSAVE.EXE' -Value '' -Type StringSCCM scripts
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Force specific screen saver
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows 2000 Service Pack 1
# SCCM Configuration Item guidance:
# Create a Configuration Item of type "Setting: Script".
# Discovery script: use the Detection script below.
# Remediation script: use the Remediation script below.
# Compliance rule: the Discovery script output equals 'Compliant'.
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Force specific screen saver
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows 2000 Service Pack 1
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop' -Name 'SCRNSAVE.EXE' -Expected '' -Kind String)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Force specific screen saver
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows 2000 Service Pack 1
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.
$path = 'HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'SCRNSAVE.EXE' -Value '' -Type StringBuilding a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.