Comments on: Screensaver not working in Mac OS X? Fix ScreenSaverEngine.app launch problems

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:12:16 +0000

I began experiencing this problem after the Microsoft Silverlight plugin to Firefox crashed my Mac.

By: Rosie

Rosie — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:58:54 +0000

Tried disabling screen sharing in system preferences before executing the terminal commands, and it seems to do the trick for my little minimac. Before that, the “Dunc syndrome” above applied (hot corner, after 4 seconds the screen saver stopped).

By: Daenen

Daenen — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 21:33:44 +0000

I tried the solution and it worked great, thank you.

By: Danny

Danny — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 05:45:44 +0000

I have the same problem, tried the terminal deal and it didn’t work. Im still tryin for another solution….what else can i do? help! i can’t stand not havin a workin screensaver!

By: Lance

Lance — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 05:18:26 +0000

Wow, you are a godson, I was actually having trouble with a screensaver shortcut I created with services and this fixed the problem perfectly, thank you for saving me some time and effort.

By: August

August — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 11:18:41 +0000

Thanks! This worked great.
Now…..anyone know of any good fixes for screen burn-in? Apple official website says to leave screen on (w/o screensaver) showing white screen with lowest backlighting, but it still seems really bad.

By: Dunc

Dunc — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 23:59:40 +0000

I tried this but I still have the same problem whenever I use a hot corner or whenever the screensaver kicks in on its own. After 4 seconds it stops. ANy other suggestions?

By: Phil M

Phil M — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 22:09:04 +0000

Same problem here and at the same date than Suzanne. I also use screen sharing and never had any SS problem before. I have tried the Terminal cmd from above but was not able to get the final step to register. The only update I had was the iTune PING I think. Suggestions are welcomed. Thx

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 20:15:16 +0000

I believe this is related to the use of screen sharing (for anyone else who encounters this issue and finds your article as I did). It appears there has been more discussion about it in the Apple forums and interestingly, I was using screen sharing last night for about four hours. Even after rebooting today, suddenly this error appears. FWIW.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:31:54 +0000

Thanks for this tip, the randomly “breaking” screensaver was driving me nuts, and led me to reboot to solve the problem. Question: would rebuilding the Launch Services database with a utility such as Onyx or Cocktail give the same result? I’m no stranger to Terminal, but if I can achieve the same result with fewer clicks and keystrokes, I’ll be a happy camper.