remove screen savers

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Level 1

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remove screen savers

I erroneously added jpg pictures to the Screen Saver application by right clicking them. I have removed all known copies from my hard drive - but they are still in the System Preferences screensaver application. I have looked, and the folder /Library/Screen Savers is empty, and I cannot find any other folders named "Screen Saver" or "Screensavers" on my HD. Where are they hiding, and how do I remove them?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Sep 27, 2008 9:43 AM

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Answer 1

V.K.

Level 9

56,192 points

Sep 27, 2008 9:58 AM in response to MarkN3366

MarkN3366 wrote:
I erroneously added jpg pictures to the Screen Saver application by right clicking them.

don't know what you mean by that. where did you click on what?

I have removed all known copies from my hard drive - but they are still in the System Preferences screensaver application. I have looked, and the folder /Library/Screen Savers is empty, and I cannot find any other folders named "Screen Saver" or "Screensavers" on my HD. Where are they hiding, and how do I remove them?

start by clearing your screensaver pref files. go to homedirectory/library/preferences/by host and delete the plsit files with screeensaver in their names. log out/in.

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Answer 2

MarkN3366 Author

Level 1

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Sep 28, 2008 3:20 PM in response to V.K.

Did not work. Used "find" to locate all screensaver.plsit files. All where you said they were. Deleted all to trash, emptied trash, Logged out and back in. Went to System Preferences > Desktop & Screensaver - and they were all still there. What did I do wrong?

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Answer 3

joshz

Level 4

3,290 points

Sep 28, 2008 3:28 PM in response to MarkN3366

MarkN3366 wrote:
Did not work. Used "find" to locate all screensaver.plsit files.

He meant "com.apple.screensaver.someword.somenumberplist", NOT .plsit. (Note: the screensaver files may or may not have the ".someword" part.)

Good luck!

Message was edited by: joshz

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Answer 4

V.K.

Level 9

56,192 points

Sep 28, 2008 3:35 PM in response to MarkN3366

can you explain what exactly is still there? also, you didn't explain what exactly and how you've added in the first place. did you click on "choose folder" in the screensaver preference pane and set the screensaver to display pictures in some folder?

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Answer 5

MarkN3366 Author

Level 1

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Sep 29, 2008 8:15 AM in response to joshz

Thanks. But. I went to homedirectory/library/preferences/by host and I deleted everything with screensaver in it that ended in somenumberplist. Logged out and back in, and then restarted. And when I went back to System Preferences > Desktop & Screensaver - the screensavers were all there again. Are these somehow "imbedded" in the application itself?

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Answer 6

MarkN3366 Author

Level 1

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Sep 29, 2008 8:23 AM in response to V.K.

1. What exactly is still there? gif pictures. To be exact, comic strips.
2. How they got there. If you "right click" on an image, one of the options that is displayed is "Use image as Desktop Picture." Apparently I erroneously hit this while trying to save a comic strip I thought was particularly funny. But I don't want them as screensavers.
3. I did not click on the "choose folder" option in the screensaver preference pane. What I want to delete are shown in the screensaver preference pane as separate items under the "choose folder" option. How do I get rid of them? I need all the help I can get here.

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Answer 7

V.K.

Level 9

56,192 points

Sep 29, 2008 8:31 AM in response to MarkN3366

ok, now we finally getting somewhere. You've set a picture as a desktop background not as a screensaver. that's quite a different thing. to reset you desktop background delete the file homedirectory/library/preferences/com.apple.desktop.plist and log out/in.

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Answer 8

MarkN3366 Author

Level 1

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Sep 30, 2008 6:07 AM in response to V.K.

Thanks - but did not work. Removed com.apple.desktop.plist, logged out - and screensavers still in System Preferences > Desktop & Screen savers application. Also, while I think I saved the items by right-clicking on them, they never appeared on the Desktop (left) side of the Desktop & Screen Saver application (that is, the desktop side,) they only show on the Screen Saver side, the right side.

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Answer 9

V.K.

Level 9

56,192 points

Sep 30, 2008 7:23 AM in response to MarkN3366

MarkN3366 wrote:
Thanks - but did not work. Removed com.apple.desktop.plist, logged out - and screensavers still in System Preferences > Desktop & Screen savers application. Also, while I think I saved the items by right-clicking on them, they never appeared on the Desktop (left) side of the Desktop & Screen Saver application (that is, the desktop side,) they only show on the Screen Saver side, the right side.

that sounds very strange. there is no option to do that when you right-click on an image. are you sure you didn't do anything else? did you import those things in iphoto maybe? iphoto albums will all show up in as screensaver options. Open iphoto and delete those pictures from there.

Message was edited by: V.K.

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Answer 10

MarkN3366 Author

Level 1

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Sep 30, 2008 10:35 AM in response to V.K.

That did it. I never would have thought to look in iPhoto. The screensavers are gone. But something new has been added. Two folders have suddenly appeared in the Screensaver application. Both are empty - but the application says if I put anything in them I will have a new screensaver. Is there any way to delete the empty folders from the screensaver? I can leave them empty - but it is annoying to have them there at all.

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Answer 11

V.K.

Level 9

56,192 points

Sep 30, 2008 10:41 AM in response to MarkN3366

are those maybe iphoto events? I don't know what else it could be.

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Answer 12

MarkN3366 Author

Level 1

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Sep 30, 2008 3:46 PM in response to V.K.

Yes. You hit it. I went into iPhoto (which I really do not use) deleted the event folders, and they disappeared from the ScreenSaver. Thanks very much.

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