How to install a screen saver

Updated: 08/31/2020 by Computer Hope
Screensaver showing candy.

Below are steps on installing a new screen saver on your computer.

Tip

Most computers have more than one screen saver, allowing you to change your screen saver without having to install a new one. For steps on changing screen savers, see: How to change a computer screen saver.

Installing a screen saver in Windows

  1. Download the screen saver.
  1. If the download is a .zip or another type of compressed file, the screen saver files must first be extracted before it can be installed.
  1. Run the included executable file (e.g., setup.exe or screen.exe) to begin the setup or installation of the screen saver. If the screen saver only has files ending with .SCR or .DLL, the file needs to be copied to the C:\Windows\SYSTEM folder.

After installing the screen saver using the above steps, you'll be able to change your screen saver from the current screen saver to the new screen saver.

Installing and running a screen saver in MS-DOS

Once the file is downloaded, it must be installed or extracted. If the file ends with .zip, like screen.zip, this file must be extracted using a compression program.

If, however, the file ends with .exe, like screen.exe, type the name of the file to run the screen saver. In this example, you would type screen in the directory where the file is located.