I lock my PC every time I leave it (Shortcut: Win + L), and until recently, that would cause my screen to shut off too after only a minute. When it can take upwards of 30 seconds to turn the screen back on, that can get pretty annoying if you’re just gone for that one minute.
You would perhaps think there was a simple setting for adjusting the time it takes before your screen turns off – and there is – but for some reason, it seems to be disabled and hidden in Windows by default. To enable it, you’ll need to make a change to your Windows registry. Once you’ve done that, you can easily adjust the timeout as you like.
Here’s an export of the registry key you’ll need (1):
NOTE: For security reasons, the file is saved and named as a “.txt” file here. In some older browsers, this might cause the file to open as a plain text file. If so, you can download it by right clicking the link and selecting “Save As” instead. Once you’ve downloaded the file, rename it to “EnableLockScreenTimeoutChange.reg” (remove the “.txt” part). You will then be able to import it by double-clicking it and accepting the warnings.
If you want to edit the key yourself, manually, you’re obviously free to do so, e.g. by using Regedit (win + R, and run “regedit“). The path to where you need to make the change is:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\7516b95f-f776-4464-8c53-06167f40cc99\8EC4B3A5-6868-48c2-BE75-4F3044BE88A7
…and the node to change is the DWORD “Attributes“. Double click it to change it`s value from “1” to “2”.
Once you’ve done that, you should be able to set whatever timeout you like under the advanced power settings:
- Right click the windows start icon, and select “Power Options”.
- On the right hand side of the window that opens, click “Additional Power Setting”.
- In the panel on the left side of this window, click “Change when the computer sleeps”
- That will open the following settings window, where the “Console lock display” options should now be available, allowing you to specify whatever timeout you like:
(1) This assumes you’re willing to trust a registry key shared online by a stranger (me), which is something you should never do. By all means, please trust me right now, just don’t trust any other strangers online… 😉