Mac OS X: Screen Saver Slide Show Goes Blank (or Black)

Symptom

1. The screen goes blank after a slide show starts.

2. The time required for the screen to go blank is usually the difference between the Activation setting in the Screen Saver pane of System Preferences and the Sleep setting in the Energy Saver pane of System Preferences.

Note: The system will behave the same way when third-party software is used for a slide show, and Energy Saver is set to put system to sleep or display sleep.

Example:

Activation is set to 5 minute, and Display Sleep is set to 20 minutes. After 5 minutes of computer inactivity, the slide show begins. The Slide Show is displayed for 15 minutes, then the screen goes blank.


Solution

Adjust the desired time until sleep in the Energy Saver pane of System Preferences. Follow these steps:

1. Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu.
2. Choose Energy Saver from the View menu.
3. Click the Sleep tab.
4. Set the sliders as desired.
5. Quit System Preferences.

Try iPhoto

As an alternative to Screen Saver, iPhoto allows you to specify the display duration for each slide, play background music, and other options. For more information, see the iPhoto product page (http://www.apple.com/iphoto/).