Ubuntu 12.04 Unity Screensaver not working until manually started

[Cavsfan]

Every time I boot up into Ubuntu 12.04 Unity. There is no screensaver. It just goes dark after a preset duration.
I believe I had to install the xscreensaver from Synaptic, which I also had to install.

The problem with the screensaver not starting up at boot may have something to do with this error message I get when I go to System Settings > Preferences > Screensaver.
I get this pop up box with this error message:

The XScreenSaver daemon doesn't seem to be running
on display ":0".  Launch it now?

Cancel or OK
When I click OK everything works as expected until I logout again.
I have only one monitor. I installed the NVIDIA (post-release updates) (version current-updates) version 295.49 from Additional Drivers.

Any ideas?

[Cavsfan]

No one has an answer to this question? I have been researching and cannot find anything.
I have found where others have had this problem but, there was no solution that fixed my problem.
I removed gnome-screensaver and installed xscreensaver and everything that came along with it.
Also have it set in Startup Manager as

xscreensaver -nosplash

Every time I login, the screen will only go blank until I click on Dash - screensaver and get the error mentioned above.
I click OK and the screensaver works OK until I logout or reboot.

[VanillaMozilla]

Keep searching. I saw an answer out there somewhere. It's reportedly possible to do this, and it may even work.

But basically, if the gods at GNU wanted you to have a screensaver, they would have given you one. As far as I can tell, the problem is that a lot of the screensavers -- especially the best ones, it seems -- lock up the display or have other problems, and no one is expending the effort to fix them. It may not be worth the effort.

[Cavsfan]

Keep searching. I saw an answer out there somewhere. It's reportedly possible to do this, and it may even work.

But basically, if the gods at GNU wanted you to have a screensaver, they would have given you one. As far as I can tell, the problem is that a lot of the screensavers -- especially the best ones, it seems -- lock up the display or have other problems, and no one is expending the effort to fix them. It may not be worth the effort.

I read where the Gnome screensavers have not kept up or been maintained. However the xscreensavers have been.
They work just fine once I manually start it a 2nd time and click on OK to start the daemon.
I've also seen many answers as to how to fix this but, none of them worked.
I just noticed that it wasn't even running, even though I set it up to start in Startup Applications with xscreensaver -nosplash.
I pressed ALT+PF2 and entered that and it started. I wonder why it is not starting up from Startup Applications.
Hmmmmm.

[Cavsfan]

Screenshot from 2012-06-08 09:48:24.png

I fixed it. I simply added another startup command. Don't quite know why it takes two.
But, viola problem solved.

[VanillaMozilla]

I read where the Gnome screensavers have not kept up or been maintained. However the xscreensavers have been.

No they haven't. Some of them will lock up the GUI. Bug reports just languish. It doesn't seem to happen on every computer, though, so if it works for you, go for it.

Starting twice is not the usual method of fixing the problem, but so what? I guess, if it works.

[peterx14]

Screenshot from 2012-06-08 09:48:24.png

I fixed it. I simply added another startup command. Don't quite know why it takes two.
But, viola problem solved.

The reason the one you didn't manually add doesn't work is very likely because of a typo in the instructions on a number of websites. See my explanation here:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...89&postcount=6

[Cavsfan]

The reason the one you didn't manually add doesn't work is very likely because of a typo in the instructions on a number of websites. See my explanation here:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...89&postcount=6

I added both manually.
Trust me it wasn't a typo.
A bug maybe, but definitely not a typo.

[jarathomas]

I was getting the same error message (about the xscreensaver daemon not running). When I followed the advice of peterx14 and changed "Applicaton" to "Application" in the
/etc/xdg/autostart/screensaver.desktop file, the error message no longer appeared after upon restarting. Thanks, peterx14!

[Cavsfan]

The reason the one you didn't manually add doesn't work is very likely because of a typo in the instructions on a number of websites. See my explanation here:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...89&postcount=6

Guess you were correct after all. I just now had time to look at it and sure enough application was misspelled.
I didn't know anything about a /etc/xdg/autostart/screensaver.desktop file.
I just knew that if both startup commands were in Startup Applications, it worked.